Getting started with mobile advertising for small stores.

Mobile advertising is expected to surge 75% according to Advertising Age. While this is impressive growth, what does it mean for the small local shop? It means more people are doing mobile searches and purchases on the go, your customers. The time is right to get into mobile advertising and create some strategy for your business to be competitive.

SOME TIPS TO START:

1. Make your site mobile friendly. Use a responsive design to create or rebuild your site so it appears very user friendly on all devices. Do not overload the users phone with useless content that will take a long time to download and does not lead to sales for your store. With a  responsive website design you can tailor your content for each platform.


2.  Target your ads to locations where your clients are. Mobile ads allow geo-targeting that allow ads to show within a specified area only. Another alternative is to use local coupon apps such as "The Confident Shopper" that serves a local area only and will contain most businesses in the areas they serve.


3. Encourage users to take action. With smart phones and tablets users can call you directly from your ad or send an email or locate you on a map etc. Design your ad with a strong call to action.


4. Use PPC advertising to get ranked on the first page of search results. Google Adwords or Bing Ads are a good way to start. Basically it works like this: A user perform a search for a particular product or service and all results show up. The search performer may or may not click on your ad if it is included in the results, only when the user clicks your ad you will pay an amount determined by you.

An interesting graphic from theatlantic.com.

If you are interested in setting up adwords or bing ads campaign or would like to convert your site to a mobile friendly version  please feel free  to contact me.