Web traffic has undergone its biggest shift in history, completely redefining the dynamic of online marketing beyond all recognition. With new figures revealing that desktop traffic has depleted by 50% in 12 months, are the days of desktop doomed?
Web traffic has undergone its biggest shift in history, completely redefining the dynamic of online marketing beyond all recognition.
The proliferation of mobile and tablet devices have undoubtedly changed the landscape forever; with new figures revealing that desktop traffic has depleted by 50% in 12 months, are the days of desktop doomed?
According to the latest research analysis of online consumer behaviour from Clickwork7, web traffic has undergone the biggest shift yet in relation to the devices consumers are using to access sites.
The main consumer sites from Clickwork7 including producttesting.co.uk and paidoffers.co.uk have seen a decline of 50% in desktop traffic compared to a 42% increase in mobile traffic peaking at 88% in the case of Producutesting.uk.com. In addition to this, tablet traffic has also increased by an average of 40%, and based on this analysis, is expected to grow further in the coming six months.
However, although the importance of mobile optimisation is known by marketers and sales persons alike, almost two-thirds of consumers are still frustrated by brands sites that aren’t ‘mobile ready’, according to a recent study from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Kantar Media.
Head of Consumer, Carley Talbot, commented: “Some would argue that traffic by device is determined by your marketing methods and of course they would be correct. However, with marketing mediums like Google PPC and Facebook driving a greater volume of traffic from mobile and tablet users, without optimisation your marketing opportunities and reach could deplete rapidly as desktop traffic continues to decline.
“We’re seeing that, in the UK, mobile and tablet users are dictating the future of website and email optimisation. Brands need to more quickly recognise that data is king – so use it, understand your users, look at your analytics and observe your users’ behaviour. Respond to users and provide them with the required optimisation to ensure you maximise conversions.”
She continued: “As technologies continue to emerge and users spend increased time online it is paramount that brands and business dedicate the same care and attention to their online presence as they would a physical retail space.”
What do you think? Should marketers ditch desktop and think only mobile-first?
One of the key things our clients look at before we send out an email broadcast on their behalf, is how the HTML renders on a smartphone/tablet. This was the case with most B2C clients, but B2B clients are becoming increasingly wary of this too.