Mobile is the new king of search

Mobile and tablet searches have surpassed desktop-based searches

The time as come, mobile has taken the number one spot for searches. On May 5th, Google officially announced that for the first time, searches are more frequently made on mobile phones and tablets than laptops and desktops.

In response to this shift, Google has made some significant changes. They built mobile ads that are formatted to stand out on the top of search results, and grew their programmatic media buying tools and location-based tools that allow for better tracking of mobile campaigns. Additionally, they rebuilt dynamic search ads to be served based on website content, rather than search keywords.

This presents a challenge for marketers—it forces us to be present in the micro-moments—aka the short bursts of activity that are made while consumers are on the go. Now more than ever, consumers are using their smartphones to search trivial things—from lunch spots to doctor’s offices and hours.

What does this mean for your current media marketing strategy?

This answer to this is two-fold—it teaches us the importance of keeping up with industry trends to stay current and not be surpassed by competitors. Furthermore, in order to reach our target audience, we need to integrate mobile into our media strategy. It’s important to note that different generations consume media in different ways, but mobile is where most people are gravitating.

At the very least, your organization’s site should be responsive for a convenient mobile experience—and to ensure you aren’t losing organic search results. The last thing you want is a potential new patient to click away from your site because it isn’t easily navigable on their smartphone. Learn more about Google’s responsive announcement here.