The following article was originally published on our main agency website. We’ve gone through the process now of setting up these Google Guarantee Ads for a couple of roofers and they’re seeing great results. We know this is going to be huge for auto repair shops as well. We hope you find value in this article. Let us know if you have any questions about Google Guarantee Ads or the process of becoming verified. The best way to do that is to join our Facebook group – “Auto Repair Marketing Mastermind” – and ask in there, that way others benefit from your questions and comments.
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How many times have you gone to a website on your mobile phone in the past couple of days? How about in the past week, or in the past month? How about on a tablet, like your iPad or Android tablet? Probably more than you realize. In early 2014, for the first time ever, more people spent time on the internet on their mobile devices than they did on their personal computers – and that number is getting larger. The future of the Internet is going mobile, and if you want your website to move with your customers, you want to make it responsive.
Responsive web design essentially means that your website’s pages re-format themselves depending on what kind of device they’re displayed on, so the website remains user-friendly whether it’s on a tablet, phone, laptop, or desktop. No squished tiny type, no weird layout issues because of picture sizing, just a smooth transition from PC size down to smaller sizes. Want an example? Try looking at the 5 Stones Media website! Look at it on your desktop and then on your phone – you’ll see the difference in size, but it’s still very readable and you can navigate it easily.
A big reason that you should use responsive design – it helps when people are searching for you! Google has come out and said that they prefer websites with responsive design. If your website is beginning to get a lot of traffic from mobile users, then you definitely want to make sure you’re not being pushed down to the bottom of search results. This will help with your SEO (Search Engine Optimization), which gets your website noticed. The more people see you, the more people contact you, shop your website, and so on!
The other main reason we recommend responsive design for new websites – a user-positive experience! According to Google’s Think Insights for mobile devices, if a user lands on your mobile website and is frustrated or doesn’t see what they are looking for, there’s a 61% chance they will leave and go to another website. If a customer has a positive experience with your mobile website, a user is 67% more likely to buy a product or use a service. Those are some big numbers!
One thing to note is that a responsive web website is NOT the same as a mobile web website. Mobile website design is when you specifically create a layout for mobile devices only. One of the drawbacks to mobile websites is that they can look totally different from one device to another. With a responsive website, you can email a link from your iPhone to your friend with an Android device and not have to worry about whether they’ll see the same thing as you! With the advent of responsive web design, mobile websites are fading into the background.
If you are interested in giving your website a new responsive facelift, contact 5 Stones Media. Our website creators, administrators, and SEO specialists are here to help make your website SHINE!
