Tag: mobile site

They may look black and white, but you need to find the grey area to get the most out of them.

If you have been looking into mobile marketing or even if you simply own a smartphone, then the odds are that you will already have seen QR codes for the first time, and you may even have scanned a few to see where they lead.

These mobile barcodes are popping up in advertising, signage, and product packaging everywhere.
The reason is that QR codes can quickly, easily, and very inexpensively help you to better engage with your customers. These simple black and white squares can be the key to bridging the gap between an offline and online interaction with a consumer.

With a properly placed barcode, you’ll encourage an individual to scan to find out more about your company, brand, or product. Then, provided you offer the smartphone user something relevant that he or she considers to be worthwhile, then you’ll be able to create a call to action and achieve very positive conversion rates.

The trick is not to mistake QR codes for a simpler way to enter a URL into a mobile device.

Though QR codes are a way to allow a smartphone user to simply scan and be automatically directed to a link, it shouldn’t simply be a pathway to a website. Successful use of these barcodes is dependent on engaging the customer, not simply presenting a web presence.

The following are a few of the most vital points you should consider if you want QR codes to help your business grow:

• Make sure that they link to a page or site that is mobile compatible and optimized.

• If they are being used for a specific promotion, link the barcodes directly to a page about the item, event, or service being advertised.

• Give the consumer a reason to scan and pay attention by offering an exclusive deal, such as an offer, mobile discount coupon, or other opportunity. Offers to obtain something for free or to save money are the most successful use for QR codes.

• Make sure your contact information is available, including click-to-call and a feature to find the nearest location. Once the consumer is interested, you don’t want to discourage him or her by creating a struggle to find you!

• Provide relevant and useful information in step by step “how-tos” or even video instructions demonstrating how your product can be used.

QR codes can be implemented rapidly and without great expense. They can be worked into existing packaging, signage or marketing materials and, as long as you give consumers a reason to scan, can make a significant difference to your business.

One of the top challenges to mobile SEO is the proper use of pre-existing content.

Those who are new to mobile face a significant challenge with their SEO efforts, as they fear using duplicate content from their traditional site onto their mobile optimized website, which could cause them to lose their ranks with the top search engines.

The reality is that properly formatted content will not be penalized if it is duplicated between traditional and mobile sites.

That said, it is vital that proper formatting and use be achieved, or the risk of losing the best ranks will still exist. The following are the characteristics which must be avoided by mobile websites in order to make certain that you are not causing yourself more harm than good:

• Splitting link equity with app promotion – don’t over-promote your app in the free space on your traditional website as there is a small chance that the platform-specific URLs will be linked and shared instead of the homepage.

• Diluting link equity with carrier pages – even though Google’s webmaster guidelines for mobile no longer state that a duplicate page should not be created for each carrier, it is still wise to avoid the behavior.

• Duplicates between indexed transcoder and legacy sites – if a transcoder was originally used to build a mobile presence, but an in-house site has since been created, the many duplicates could be the result.

• Cross domain duplicates in other forms – though the mobile content from transcoded sites is the most common form of cross-domain duplication of content, there are some other examples of the same site being hosted by several domains without canonical tags to tell search engines which is the primary location. This can hurt the ability to achieve a competitive rank.

• Showcasing the mobile optimized website on the traditional site – creating desktop pages meant to advertise mobile sites can generate mobile site results when they are intended for desktop users. Even worse, those results often outrank the official mobile site.

• Doubled WAP sites – this can occur when a site was originally created for a feature phone but another was built to replace it for a smartphone.

• Promoting the apps ahead of the mobile site – when the mobile app is promoted more heavily than the optimized website, content is often duplicated for the same channel and the link equity is divided. At the same time this will not create additional shares or links that would help to competitively boost the overall rank. The mobile web should always be promoted first.