Are you wondering if your real estate agent website needs to be mobile responsive or not? The decision is up to you – but the statistics don’t lie. As of July 2015, 80 percent of Internet users own a smartphone. And yes, you can bet that many of them have used their smartphones to conduct an Internet search at some point in time. According to one study, in Q4 2014, U.S. mobile queries (tablets and smartphones) were roughly 29 percent of total search volumes. Look around you; almost everywhere you go you’ll see people tapping away on their mobile phones and tablets, and we know that individuals looking for an Agent, search using their mobile devices.
Here are some additional reasons why we believe the answer to the above question is yes – you do need a mobile responsive website.
A desktop website on a mobile device can be frustrating.
When you don’t have a mobile responsive website, you risk giving your audience a poor user experience. We’ve all been there, trying to look at a website that isn’t mobile friendly. Text is smaller and harder to read, scrolling is more difficult, and overall it’s a more time-consuming, frustrating process for consumers to find what they’re looking for. Often users will abandon the website altogether if it isn’t optimized for viewing on their phone or tablet. When a website is mobile responsive, however, the content will automatically adjust to be the appropriate size on all popular browsers and devices including PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, and other devices. This makes things easier for the consumer and keeps them from getting frustrated and leaving your site too soon.
People spend more time on mobile compared to other devices.
Historically, people have always spent the most time watching TV compared to using any other devices. That’s still the case today, but mobile is slowly gaining on that share of attention. The time spent watching television has declined over the past couple of years, whereas the time spent on mobile has risen, and is expected to continue to rise in the future. If people are spending more and more time on mobile, don’t you want to reach them where they are?
Mobile sites make it easy for consumers to contact you.
One study found that 94 percent of consumers have found a need to call a business directly when searching for information on their smartphones. If a consumer finds you via your mobile responsive website, they’ll be able to quickly contact you and become a lead with the simple tap of a finger. If you don’t have a mobile responsive website, that ease won’t be there and you may risk people bouncing from your site before they decide to contact you. Click to call functionality and mobile optimized lead capture forms mean you’re making it easy for prospects to reach out to you and become clients.
Mobile sites look more professional.
It’s crucial for your website to look great on mobile phones and tablets. Your website, after all, is an extension of your personal brand. By having a website that looks great on all browsers and devices, you look like an impressive real estate professional to potential hot leads, boosting the chances that they will call you and not another Agent. Give website visitors the right impression by showing them that you’re a modern, savvy real estate agent with a mobile friendly website.
Now that we’ve answered the question, do you need a mobile responsive website, the choice is yours to make. Based on the information above, it’s time to decide if having a mobile responsive website is a necessary move to make, or if you can risk not reaching (or dissatisfying) potential consumers through a desktop website on a mobile device.
Learn more about the mobile-friendly real estate agent websites offered by IXACT Contact today.