Why search will not be as powerful when accessing Internet through the mobile

The new digital era has made the vast range of content available and just a few clicks away. This has resulted in that the end user has so much to chose from that it becomes hard to find what you really look for and that it’s very difficult for a publisher to become visible. This issue is addressed by search engines, such as Google, but as we all experience it is still a challenge to find what you look for and for those publishing it’s not really obvious why competing sites are ranked high by the search algorithms. There’s today a growing business in advising companies in how to optimise the sites to get a better score.

For many of us we start a session at the PC with search, and most of us use search every day and for sites that we visit regularly we don’t even save bookmarks as it is so easy to just type in a few search words or many times the URL directly. Many have predicted a similar behaviour on the mobile but this has not been the case and will most probably not be the case. The mobile is different; it is used in another context and has obvious limitations when it comes to screen size and keyboard.

When using the computer you usually click through for instance a news site from the start main page, then to for instance sports and from there to the specific results you’re interested in. Many take this path to what they are interested in even though they could have saved a bookmark for the specific pages of interest to gain direct access. On the mobile it is much more probable that you save bookmarks to the relevant information, as clicking through less relevant pages is painful.
The mobile is neither well suited to run an ordinary search as it is not easy to type in words and as the long lists of results are hard to digest and select from. In addition, the mobile is used in situations where you need specific information fast and you are not expected to have long sessions surfing around. There’s a need to get more or less direct access to the specific content of your choice based on your needs on the move. There will still be a need for search when using the mobile, but it will most probably be less important compared to other means to explore new content.

So now when companies eventually have learned about the importance of search engine optimisation etc. there is unfortunately some bad news, this will not be sufficient for gaining visibility and presence in the mobile. Should then those publishing on the web bother about this? They should, as been discussed in a previous contribution to this blog, all trends show that the mobile will become an increasingly important media over time. In addition, there are also extreme differences between developed and developing countries when it comes to the ratio between PC and mobile penetration. So how to combine the very personal need for specific individual “long tail” choice of information and that search is not the primary tool to explore new content?

Key to visibility in the mobile is to get a link on pages visited by the user. As the user can’t be expected to use search to a large extent, other means such as recommendations etc. will be used to find new links to save into the individual collection of bookmarks. The following ways to get new links can be expected to grow in importance:

• Recommendation of sites by trusted parties such as friends
• Links promoted on specific and trusted niche sites and portals
• Preinstalled links on new browsers/portals/UMIs
• Links down loaded directly from web pages used on the PC
• To some extent non intrusive opt-in high quality recommendations and sponsored links

Ads may also be important and can target quite well defined segments utilising the user profiling available by different mobile platforms. The number of ads will be limited due to the small mobile screen and as general surfing will be less frequent compared to the PC. The possibility to target specific segments and as the number of ads are limited, will make the advertising space quite valuable and expensive, but most probably a good investment when used correctly.

I recommend publishers the following to gain visibility in the mobile:

• Use existing digital channels to promote and download links to the mobile
• Don’t waste money on search engine optimisation etc. for mobile search
• If possible, be visible on link start packages when new browsers/portals/UMIs are downloaded
• Use advertising and sponsored link investments wisely and very well targeted
• Make it easy for the mobile users to share your links
• Incentivise users to share links and support viral distribution of your services
• Be directly visible in services, such as maps, travel information etc.
• Be visible on trusted niche sites/portals to reach the correct segment directly

On average a user can be expected to have about 20 bookmarks where maybe half are very personal (micro communities etc.) and all are saved to get direct fast access when on the move. The individual link collection thereby represents a significant value to the user, giving her direct access to really valuable content. And not to lose her own collection of bookmarks when changing phone or operator becomes very important. All these features are key strengths of the UMI concept. The significance of the link collection to the individual results in a collective quality control of all links saved. This will further strengthen the peer to peer exploration of new content but may also create a barrier for new content to find an initial audience.

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The Reversed Long Tail – Key to the success of mobile Internet

Let’s give a though to what’s really valuable to you when it comes to content accessed trough your mobile phone. And your explicit and immediate needs in different every day situations.

Analysing what content people really value and want immediate access to, independently of were they are, can be divided into two main categories: broadcasted live streams such as sports, news etc. and on the other hand micro community or very personal stuff, such as your own contacts, photos, messages etc. Radio, television as well as to some extent the web, all with their merits and drawbacks, are utilised to broadcast content to a wide audience. Television is the dominating media for broadcasted live sports, while all three media are more equally important for the distribution of the latest or live news. The mobile can act as a complement for the distribution of both sports and news, but so far the additional value having access to these services through the mobile has been perceived as limited. For the majority the incentive has not been large enough to overcome the initial obstacles to get started and become a regular user of Internet services through the mobile phone.

What has shown to get people started to use Internet services through their mobile phone is rather the very personal need for unique information, information that is extremely valuable for the individual or a very small community and in a very specific situation when other media are not available. What type of information are we then talking about?
This is information such as: your own travel schedule; when and where your kids have their next football training; the phone number to your kids’ friends’ parents etc. Information needed when on the move and that facilitates a normal everyday life. These types of services are many but each one is used by quite few and they thereby belong to the Long Tail of mobile services, borrowing the term first introduction by Chris Anderson in 2004.

In a trial with a number of day care centres in Stockholm, done in cooperation between Squace, SICS ,Vinnova, the possibility to get schedules, contact information etc. has been very well received by the parents and resulted in that many now use the mobile Internet for the first time and regularly. The same effect has been seen as a result of mobile extensions of web sites for kids’ sport teams, school sites, local communities etc. The value of the content to the individual is not a function how many that value that specific piece of content but rather how unique and difficult the content is to substitute and access. The entry point to the mobile Internet services thereby seems to be the end of the long tail and not as was seen in the early days of the web where we started with the most popular services and then found niche content. It’s now time to turn the picture around; the success of the mobile Internet comes from starting with small services. This phenomenon is called the Reversed Long Tail. The users will gradually explore more services and probably the usage pattern will eventually be similar to the PC.

To improve the value of mobile access to the Internet, and to get people starting to use the services, niche content thereby has to be available. And as we all are interested and value different things in life the whole Internet and the long tail of content thereby needs to be accessible and in a user friendly way. Key to this development is that all micro communities and sites with a very limited number of users can distribute their content to the mobile in a very convenient and cost efficient way without bothering about all the messy technical complexity that we unfortunately presently have. They also need to rely on technologies that can deliver the content independently of what device the user has. The best example of a UMI that presently deliver this is Squace, that now also are just about to release their new version of the UMI Squace service.

Why companies should do mobile versions of their web sites

Many times I find myself taking for granted that all organisations and companies understand the importance of having their web content and services accessible through the mobile phone. All don’t, and many seem not even to have reflected over the need. Others have, but show a reluctance to create a mobile version of there web site. Indeed, there are a number of very good reasons why they should be sceptical, such as: cost, limited penetration, immature technology etc.

 

 

But what can they then gain by doing a specific mobile version of their site/service? This depends on the explicit requirements and environment. The needs the PC and the mobile phone meet can be categorised in two dimensions: timing – is the need immediate or can it wait; and complexity – does the service demand a large screen and keyboard to be used in a proper way. The first dimension, timing, is very hard to circumvent while the other, complexity, may be reduced by making the site much simpler and by using a concept such as UMI.

 

A very simple answer to those that wonder if they should do a mobile site is to respond with the following questions: Is it important for those you address to always be able to have immediate access to the site? If yes, is it possible for you to simplify the site so that it is possible to use over the mobile and more or less any mobile? I would argue that the answer to the second question is always yes, but it may demand some additional work to realise. But are then the users as logical as predicted above in terms of when they use one device as an alternative to the other? Do they really use the optimal tool? No, experience has shown that there are many reasons to act less rational.

 

Comparing the PC to the mobile, there are clear differences in how they are used, when they are used, why they are used, why they are not used, differences in screen size etc. The table highlight the limitations of a PC compared to a mobile phone and vice versa. Special attention is given to why the devices are used despite not being an obvious choice.

 

Reasons not to use the mobile when it still would be the best choice are mainly due to lack of experience and knowledge about the mobile. There are still limited possibilities for cost control, the settings may not be correct and the user may not even know how to use additional features and clients on the phone. These barriers are all expected to gradually decrease in importance as the maturity improves over time. Reasons to use the mobile when the PC would be a better choice are different in nature and can be expected to remain. The most significant one is of course that there is a quite limited penetration of PCs in many regions. But there are also less logical reasons such as laziness, similar to why many of us have made more expensive calls from a mobile as we don’t have the energy to look up the phone number and then make a cheap call from a fixed line phone when in reach.

In conclusion, you do not need to do a mobile version of your web content if: there’s no need for your users to access your site when only having a mobile phone available; and if the web site is so simple and with so limited functionality that it can be used directly on any mobile. I guess however that most will conclude that they need good, ubiquitous and user-friendly mobile presence and that the present web site is unable to deliver a good enough user experience. In addition, please keep in mind that the mobile will also be used in situations where you would expect the user to prefer the PC.

 

The importance of the mobile phone to developing countries

The reach of the mobile phone by far outnumbers any other communication device. There is today about 4 billion mobile subscribers and half of the worlds population is estimated to have the possibility to access the Internet through the mobile by 2010. This should be compared to about 1 billion PCs accessing the Internet. In addition the PC penetration is very low in developing countries. In Africa the mobile penetration was about 30% by the end of 2007 and is estimated by Africa & Middle East Telecom Week to pass 50% already 2010. This should be compared with the overall Internet usage penetration in Africa which according to Internet World Stats was only 5.6% by the end of 2008. The primary access point to the Internet will for the majority be the mobile and not a PC. Already today all phones have the capability to receive and send sms giving messaging services a superior reach but there are clear limitations with sms compared to Internet services.  

 

There are a number of issues to address in developing countries. These are different from one country or region to the other and the possibilities to find solutions are not the same. There are some general needs, such as political stability and democracy, education, working financial system, health care, distribution of wealth, human rights, transparency etc. The capability of the mobile phone to act as a tool to educate and gain knowledge as well as spreading viewpoints and communicate with the rest of the world, support but do of course not directly solve all the issues. This importance of the mobile phone has been recognised by organisations and agencies such as the UN and USAID, which support and reward new mobile services suitable to meet the needs of developing countries. The community MobileActive.org work actively in trying to increase the effectiveness of NGOs through mobile technology.

 

In industrialised areas such as the US and Europe, we presently debate the LTE (4G), iPhone, app stores and advanced smart phone (high end device) applications as the solution to increase usage of advanced and a new generation of mobile services. These new services will not for the foreseeable future be a solution for developing countries. They are many times too costly and are most often not possible to use independently of device and operator. What’s needed are services that give access to the Internet, the whole Internet and not just the very limited mobile Internet sites, through all mobile phones including the lowest level of Internet capable phones. There should also be possibilities to easily publish content directly through the mobile. These services also have to be quite cost effective so that they can be offered for free to the end user. The services also have to be able to work on more or less any phone and phone operating system solving the issue with different mobile technologies. Even though it is important that all Internet sites are made available they still have to be transformed into a format that: substantially decreases the data capacity need; makes them readable and possible to brows on the small mobile screen; takes into account that there are no real keyboards on simple phones. Services that from many aspects may be brilliant, but can only be used on smart phones or a limited number of phones, will not penetrate these regions. What’s needed is a general Internet service platform that can migrate the vast user base from just using sms to taking advantage of the full Internet, but done in a way so that it’s easy to use and gives a decent user experience when using quite simple low end phones. I believe the Universal Mobile Interface concept is what can make all this happen.

 

Let’s invite the rest of the world to the Internet by making it possible to access the web over simple mobile phones. I’m convinced that we then put a very powerful tool in the hands of the people to support them in their ambition to improve their situation. In addition, this will also unleash massive innovation based on specific needs, as well as local limitations. Utilising a general platform that works independent of device and operator will also create an environment where viral and very fast distribution of information and services is possible. I really look forward to see how this can spur development and awareness.

Key considerations when choosing mobile marketing platform

Most retail chains and brand owners today investigate mobile marketing as a new way to improve customer interaction. A number of players offer different platforms for different elements of mobile marketing. It is not easy to understand pros and cons of the different options and what’s best for one company may be quite wrong for the other. There are some key questions to be answered before it’s possible to know what may be the best solution in a specific case. These questions are:

• What do we want to achieve on the market?
• Where are we now and what’s missing to be able to reach the marketing targets?
• How mature is my company and the targeted customer segment regarding digital marketing and mobile devices?
• How glossy and rich does the mobile experience need to be?
• How much can I allow this to cost per impression/interaction etc?
• How flexible should the chosen solution be, would I like to add new features and services?

The table compares different solutions for Internet based mobile market communication. The solutions compared are: web – just let customers brows the existing web site over the mobile; WAP – mobile format site based on WAP; own client – separate java client to be downloaded as any java client; app – application for an app store; UMI – integration of existing web services to a UMI platform. The properties listed are: user experience; no need for a client to be down loaded; look and feel; own development needed; initial cost; operational cost; flexible and can easily be upgraded with new functionality; time to market; addressable market; distribution efficiency – how easy is it to get customer to get started using the service.

As can be seen in the table there are some key considerations to make depending on the ambition level and the expected value of mobile marketing. My key point is of course to illustrate the strength of UMI compared to other alternatives. Whether UMI is the best option does however depend on what you would like to achieve. I feel that many companies rush into exploring the possibilities with mobile marketing without first really analysing what it is there to accomplish and how it supports the overall marketing strategy. I strongly recommend all to view mobile marketing as one out of many components in the marketing communication mix and also that all options are carefully considered to avoid unnecessary costs and getting stuck in a solution that is impossible develop further to meet future needs.