As detailed in our last blog article, How to Use Mobile Marketing for Lead Generation, an increased number of users are accessing sites via mobile devices. Is your staffing firm’s website formatted to adapt to mobile users, or are you dragging your feet because of the extra work involved? Responsive design is an approach to web page creation that makes use of flexible layouts, flexible images and cascading style sheet media queries. The goal of responsive design is to build web pages that detect the visitor’s screen size and orientation and change the layout accordingly. Responsive design is not only important from a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) perspective; it must be an important component of your overall marketing strategy in order to guarantee a consistent online brand presence. Candidates today are searching for positions via mobile devices and they are now able to access their resumes through mobile devices via a variety of storage devices. Clients are now looking at your site through mobile devices for a variety of reasons. All this leads to the important conclusion that you need to have a responsive site in order to drive engagement.
Self-Evaluation
The best way to judge how your staffing firm’s website responds to mobile devices is to take a look at your website from a mobile user’s perspective. Access your site from a tablet, various smartphones, and even larger screens such as smart TV’s. Are you able to navigate through the site with ease or do small headlines, unresponsive buttons, unclear fonts, and excessive fields make your site difficult to access on mobile devices? Has your staffing firm made use of flexible images and layouts to guarantee a responsive experience on your website?
Load Speed
Are your page load times in excess of four seconds? Studies have shown that mobile users get easily frustrated waiting for pages to load, and your site’s bounce rate is bound to reflect this trend. Mobile users are looking for instant gratification and if your site is not optimized, they will most definitely search out a competitor’s website. Pay careful attention to load speeds, because even responsive mobile sites have demonstrated unacceptable load times when pages feature excessive numbers of images. Responsive sites are not only favored by mobile users, they are also favored by search engines such as Google. Increased SEO ranking and a mobile-responsive site means providers like Google are more inclined to direct users to your site over a non-optimized alternative.
Mobile-Friendly Media
Keep in mind that videos that are unplayable on a mobile device serve no purpose other than to frustrate users and decrease the value of your brand. Avoid using plugins such as Quicktime or Flash that may not be downloaded on a mobile device. Feature mobile apps on your site and make sure they do not require excessive time or storage space to download. Promote your mobile apps through your staffing firm’s social media profiles to encourage additional mobile traffic on your site. Ensure that your app is consistent with your brand message and provides value to the user.
Going Nowhere Fast
An essential part of evaluating whether your staffing firm’s website is responsive to mobile devices, is uncovering any potential error messages or bad redirects. Recent figures show that almost 50% of people in the U.S. rely on mobile devices to conduct their online research, so make sure that your site is optimized and that all sections are accessible. Websites that send mobile users to a 404 page rather than the correct URL address or sites that consistently redirect users to a home page serve to increase frustration levels and decrease SEO rankings.
Be Approachable
A large percentage of smartphone users are simply searching for a quick way to contact your staffing firm. Make sure that your phone number is a clickable link so that mobile users do not need to memorize your contact information. Provide an accessible contact page that allows mobile users to quickly send an email message and job postings that feature an easy way to respond if candidates are seeking more about the positions. Ensure that your staffing firm’s website is responsive to mobile devices by making informative FAQ pages and blog articles accessible from any device. Place convenient buttons near important information as a way of encouraging mobile users to share the content through social media.
Key Takeaways for Responsive Websites:
- Evaluate your current site through various mobile devices and determine where improvements are needed
- Assess mobile page load times and optimize to increase your SEO ranking
- Make use of mobile-friendly media and promote mobile apps through social media
- Ensure your website is not causing frustration by redirecting mobile users to home pages and delivering “Not Found” error messages
- Provide mobile users with easy-to-access contact information for your staffing firm
About S.J.Hemley Marketing
S.J.Hemley Marketing is a marketing and sales consulting firm focused on driving tangible results for professional services firms. Brand matters, but not without ROI. With over 20 years of sales and marketing experience within staffing and recruiting, we have helped to drive successful branding, sales training, lead generation activities as well as defining marketing strategy for top organizations.