Proliferation of Mobile Device Usage in the United States

As the calendar will soon turn to 2015, the habits of web users (both business and consumer) continue to evolve. One overriding theme that is affecting all facets of the web is the increasing usage of mobile devices and tablets for internet access. In fact, mobile and tablet use is now representing such a large portion of internet traffic that is not unreasonable to project that computers may soon be responsible for less than half of all internet traffic. In this new “mobile” world and economy, it is absolutely critical that businesses employ responsive web design when creating their websites. Caledon Virtual, a web development firm based in Columbia, Missouri, defines responsive web design as ensuring that a, “website will automatically re-adjust to fit the device, ensuring your message is getting through.”

To underscore how this proliferation of mobile device usage is affecting industries of all types, below are some projections from Google’s Keyword Planner tool that detail the percentage of projected clicks that would come from Google’s search results for ads running for the following keywords. These projections were run for the United States only:

KEYWORD: WEB DEVELOPER

So when searching for a potential web developer, how often do web users make those searches on mobile and/or tablet devices? According to the research from Google, these searches take place on portable devices 41.8% of the time. This means that a web developer using a non-responsive website is probably giving a less than optimal presentation of their business to roughly 4 out of every 10 visitors to their website.

KEYWORD: ACCOUNTANT

This time of year, many businesses are trying to get their year-end bookkeeping in order. Or come Springtime, there is the annual crush of individuals and businesses contacting accountants needing assistance with tax preparation leading up to April 15th. While not quite as dramatic as the “web developer” example, a surprising 38.6% of the searches for the word “accountant” come from mobile and/or tablet devices. And unlike web developers, the average CPA is probably less likely to have a recently built website and thus more likely to have a non-responsive design.

KEYWORD: PIZZA DELIVERY

Looking at a more every day, consumer-oriented example, the dominance of mobile devices really becomes evident as we look at the trends for the term “pizza delivery.” With nearly 80%(!) of all searches for pizza delivery projected to come from mobile and/or tablet devices, any pizza restaurant offering delivery that doesn’t use responsive web design is putting their business in serious jeopardy, plain and simple.

These examples above are just 3 randomly selected industry illustrations of the proliferation of mobile device usage in the United States. As this trend is expected only to continue with the on-going advances in smartphone technology, ensuring that the company website is fully responsive and providing a positive user experience on mobile and tablet devices needs to be a priority for American businesses in 2015.