Recently we shared a statistic about the ever-increasing amount of web traffic coming purely from mobile devices.

52% is an incredibly high percentage of your visitors. In addition to that general statistic, it’s also important to keep in mind that the majority of those visitors on a mobile device begin with a search engine query. That means before they visit your site they are on a search engine results page looking for something in particular. They see a link to your site that appears to answer their question and they follow the link. What happens next is crucial.

Step 1: Landing Pages

If you are designing your website to be mobile-friendly then you have conquered step one. Congratulations your website is mobile ready and perhaps you’re using responsive web design to accomplish this goal. You’ve realized the importance of having a mobile presence and you’ve focused some time preparing for this traffic. But this is only step one. If you truly want to see the most success then you need to do more than just re-format your existing website content to fit within a smaller screen. You need to create mobile-specific landing pages.

As every good marketer knows, the landing page is the key to a quick conversion. Having a compelling landing page gives the user just the right amount of information mixed with a quick and easy call-to-action to encourage that next step in the sales process. Landing pages have their own set of guidelines and best practices, we’ve actually discussed this previously on the Mautic blog, and you can read this article, Landing Page Love, if you want to review some features of a good landing page. But mobile landing pages need a slightly different approach. Mobile first landing pages need to take into account several things:

1. Mobile Landing Pages Load Insanely Fast

The first thing you should consider when designing landing pages for mobile devices is the speed at which the page initially loads. Keep in mind that with mobile devices there is a very strong possibility the traffic is coming over a cellular network. These data connections can be much slower than you might find with a traditional computer-based internet connection. Not always of course, but for the most part these devices will load content slower. This means anything that does not specifically relate to this exact page should be discarded or removed.

If you want your visitors to be able to quickly scroll through your mobile landing page then you need to provide them with the content they are seeking quickly and efficiently. Cut down on the javascript files, the extra css, and the many other desktop-centric features of your page that will not even be used by a mobile visitor. Make your page load insanely fast.

2. Mobile Landing Pages Need Unique Propositions

When a visitor lands on your website from their mobile device the odds are much higher they are not simply browsing but they are specifically looking for something. Whether this be an answer to a question, a potential new product, or a service, these visitors are coming with a purpose. Your mobile landing page should be highly focused on returning information to your visitors. This information should not be general details about your great service offerings, or your amazing product, instead your information should be highly configured as a response to the content of their search queries.

Your mobile landing pages should be dynamic and offer exact answers to the query string from the referrer. By providing your visitors with the answer they are seeking they will be far more inclined to read more. These unique propositions may be similar to what you would offer on a desktop landing page but the focus should be highly tuned for the mobile browser.

3. Mobile Landing Pages Need Minimal Feedback

Your mobile landing page should not be a page-long form with input boxes and tons of requirements. We all know that feeling of trying to fill out a form on a mobile device as the page is expanded and shrunk and you try to scroll around to the various input fields. That frustration should never happen when browsing on a good mobile landing page. Remember, if you collect just the basic details on a mobile landing page you can always collect more information later via other forms. Plus, the visitor will be more likely to return to the site from a desktop browser later if they have previously submitted some information.

A strong mobile landing page should request the absolute minimum amount of information from your visitors. They should be organized and structured to fit within a mobile browser and they should change the input type (keyboard layout) automatically based on the context of the field (e.g. an email address).

4. Mobile Landing Pages Are Just The Beginning

Creating a mobile landing page should be looked at as the beginning of a longer relationship. This first point of contact should be quick to engage and quick to encourage a return visit. When you think of a mobile landing page as just the first step you’ll design it to be interesting, eye-catching, and sticky. You don’t want to overwhelm you simply want to inform. A strong mobile landing page like this will capture just a little bit of information from your visitors, not enough to give a headache when filling out a form, but enough to encourage them to return at a later time.

Don’t think you have to give every bit of information to your visitors on a mobile landing page. You’ll do much better if you remember that a mobile landing page is just the beginning of a potentially long and happy relationship with your new visitor.

Mobile landing pages are an incredibly important part of any marketing strategy and should not be neglected. As we see more and more traffic coming from mobile devices we need to be more aware than ever how we target these mobile devices. Specific landing pages created for these browsers will play an ever-increasing role in your marketing success and the eventual success of your business.