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When Should a Business Invest in a Mobile App?

With the rising prominence of mobile search in recent years, and the expectation for this trend to continue growing, many businesses are wondering if it makes sense to invest in a mobile app. According to estimates, 92% of mobile device usage is spent on apps while only 8% is used on web browsing. While this may seem like a dramatic shift, that doesn’t mean that all businesses need or should pursue the release of a mobile app.

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Digital Marketing News Marketing

Improving Your Mobile Marketing Strategy

In the modern age, a business will often have a hard time finding success through digital mediums if they aren’t accounting for their mobile marketing strategy. According to Google, more than 50% of global search queries now come from a mobile device and mobile-first indexing plays a prominent role in search engine results placement. If you are ready to fine-tune your mobile marketing strategy, here are some easy ways to get started.

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Digital Marketing News Marketing

Google’s Mobile-First Indexing Is Here!

As Skynet Solutions has predicted over the last year, Google has now started rolling out mobile-first indexing to more sites. This means that the mobile version of your website’s content will ultimately create and determine how you rank, even for desktop users. This announcement is the first time Google has verified a large number of sites will be included in the mobile-first indexing process.

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Marketing

How Important is a Mobile Friendly Website?

We now live in a digital age where information is at our fingertips at all times. The arrival of internet connected phones has allowed consumers to find information no matter where they are. Fortunately, business owners can benefit from this phenomenon as well. The addition of mobile friendly features into your updated website design is paramount in the modern age. In fact, mobile and tablet access has actually surpassed desktop internet usage. The affordability of new mobile phones and tablets has allowed unprecedented internet access worldwide and this trend shows no signs of slowing.

Why is Mobile Friendly Important for Business Owners?

When searching for search engine optimization solutions you have likely come across the phrases bounce rate and click back. These two factors play a critical role in how users are interacting with your website and, in turn, how relevant is should be in the search results. Let’s look at what each factor means:

Bounce Rate

A bounce from your website is logged each time a user visits your website but doesn’t visit another page. This can be tracked if the user clicks an outbound link or manually enters a new URL.

Click Back

A click back occurs when a user visits your website and either doesn’t like what they see or can’t properly use it. In this instance, the user will click the back button on their browser and find a more relevant search result. Google also calculates the time the user spends on each page while visiting your site before performing either a click back or bounce. These factors play a critical role in how well your website ranks in the search engine.

But how can a mobile friendly site help improve these numbers?

When you invest the time in creating a mobile friendly website, you ensure that the information presented will be easily seen by visitors. This can immediately help decrease the number of click backs and bounces seen by the website owner because a large portion will likely be using a mobile device. Ultimately, this tiny detail can help your website rank higher in the long term as Google continues to focus on mobile friendly search results as a ranking factor. You can fill out our contact form to get started today. You can also connect with us on FacebookTwitterGoogle+ and LinkedIn!

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Marketing

Skynet Solutions Recieves Congressional Commendation

The team at Skynet Solutions was recently honored with a Congressional Commendation by U.S. Representative Jim Bridenstine, in recognition of all the work we have been doing to educate, enhance and strengthen the small business community in Oklahoma. A Congressional Commendation is awarded by a member of Congress to officially recognize outstanding public achievement by those in their districts. One of the most rewarding parts of being an official Google Partner is all the events we get to host and speak at where Skynet Solutions marketing experts get to share their knowledge and interact with other local businesses.

Here at Skynet Solutions, we love being a part of the small business community and using our skills to help other local entrepreneurs succeed as well. Since fall 2015, we have been hosting and participating in “GYBO” (Get Your Business Online) seminars throughout Oklahoma to help small business owners get their businesses online. Thanks to our partners at Google, the REI Women’s Business Center, the Tulsa chapter of SCORE, area chambers of commerce and others, we have been able to help dozens of local business—like yours—improve their online presence in a variety of ways!

We’ve hosted workshops across the state, from Ponca City to Stillwater and Muskogee to Bartlesville and have covered topics ranging from how to use Google Analytics effectively to what S.E.O. is and how you can use it to amplify your business’ online presence. We also covered and held entire workshops dedicated to helping business owners get their business listed on Google Maps and other maps listing services, like Bing and Apple, and other effective tactics to make sure potential customers are able to easily find their business online. We have found maps listings to be one of the most effective ways to help a small, local business grow.

Skynet Solutions also recently co-hosted a special event in May to celebrate and promote National Small Business Week. Along with Tulsa SCORE, we created and hosted the inaugural SCORE Small Business Summit Tulsa, which brought together about 100 mentors, business experts and entrepreneurs from around the region to network and discuss all aspects of starting, owning and running a small business. Speakers from The Small Business Administration, Constant Contact, Tulsa Economic Development Corporation, the Tulsa chapter of SCORE, Skynet Solutions, REI Women’s Business Center and other local and regional institutions discussed everything from email marketing and small business taxes to bookkeeping for small businesses and social media marketing.

It’s hard to overstate the importance of a robust and up to date online presence for a local business; 50 percent of all mobile searches are conducted in hopes of finding local results, and 61 percent of those searches result in a purchase, according to Search Engine Watch. In addition to that, 56 percent of mobile searches are from users seeking local information, like business hours, directions or a physical address for your store—which is why maps listings are so critical. If your business can’t be easily found online, customers are going to go elsewhere. You also have to make sure your business website is mobile friendly.

With the majority of internet searches originating from mobile devices, not desktops or laptops, according to Google, the majority of people who end up on your business’ website are going to get there from a mobile search. The majority of customers believe it is easier to find information on a mobile-optimized site and 48 percent of people who visit a site that’s not friendly feel that the company doesn’t care about their business. That’s definitely not the impression you want to give off to your valued customers!

To learn more about all of the educational small business-focused events that Skynet Solutions participates in and hosts, you can keep up with our blog, follow us on social media or give us a call. In the meantime, you can always get in touch with the experts at Skynet Solutions for help with your online business listing, website development, social media marketing or anything else you need to help make your business succeed. With our diverse range of skills and experience, we are sure to have the tools you need to make 2016 your business’ best year yet. You can fill out our online contact form on our website to get started today. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn!