Why Mobile Traffic is a Home Builder's Bread and Butter

Mobile traffic is any home builder's bread and butter. Why? Well, we're about to tell you. Suffice it to say that if your home building company has a website, it needs to be mobile responsive. The general reason is because almost everyone is searching on their mobile devices these days, but there are a ton of benefits to having a mobile responsive website, especially for homebuilders. Here are a few more reasons why you should care about mobile traffic, and why it's in your best interest to ensure you're optimizing your site for those mobile viewers:

Everyone is on Mobile

The most obvious reason that mobile traffic is important to home builders is the fact that mobile searches now account for more than 60% of all web traffic out there. That number is only going to grow. Studies have shown that the average web user heads to their mobile device the minute they think of something they might need. They conduct an initial search, do a bit of research on the product, and then finally switch to their desktop to make the final purchasing decision. While desktop traffic will never go out completely, most users are more likely to pick up their smartphone to gather initial information about whatever they're searching.

What's more, today 77% of all adults now own a smartphone, which means that more and more of those mobile searches are going to happen. Smartphones are convenient, they're right in your pocket, and they can get you answers in under a second. Your home building company should be interested in mobile traffic simply because it is the largest portion of all traffic on the web today.

Sets You Apart From the Competition

If we keep in mind the regular web searcher's methodology: starting a search with their phone and transferring to a computer once they've made a decision, it's obvious that having a mobile responsive site can do a lot to set you apart from the competition. Sure, no one is going to buy a house on their phone. However, most people are going to start the search for a new home on their phone. And if you have a mobile responsive site and your competitor doesn't, then you're going to be the one that gets the first chance at those clients. A mobile responsive site gives you the leg up, ensuring your site is the first one your potential clients see.

Google, Always Google

It's very rare that we post a blog that doesn't have something to do with Google, and this blog is no different. Because Google is the all-powerful gatekeeper to internet search results, it makes sense that they've weighed in on the mobile vs. desktop situation, and have come down on the side of mobile traffic. In December of 2016, Google introduced their mobile-first indexing update, which essentially told web owners that they were going to start indexing mobile sites before desktop sites.

This basically means that Google analyzes and ranks mobile sites before anything else, which gives more ranking power to mobile sites over desktop sites. So, if you only have a desktop site, or you have a desktop site and a pared-down version of that for a mobile site, you're likely to get a bump down in rankings. If you're looking to rank well as a home builder in your area, it's important to have a mobile responsive site that caters to all those mobile users, as well as Google's indexing algorithm.

Mobile Users Share

Finally, mobile traffic is any home builder's bread and butter for the express reason that mobile users share. If you think about your own web use, are you more often looking at social media on your phone, or your computer? If you're like most people, you look at sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter primarily on your phone. Those sites are the places people most often share content, from photos they like to articles they found interesting and useful.

So, another reason to optimize your home building site for mobile is to take advantage of those high sharing numbers that mobile traffic brings. Homebuilders are especially great for mobile traffic because you do have such shareable content. If you post before and after pictures of projects or showcase the insides of some of your model homes or recently designed projects, you're setting yourself up for a lot of sharing. That sort of content is exactly what the average web browser loves to look at, and is likely to share with their friends. If you make that content available to them on their mobile devices, you'll be able to capitalize on the sharing nature of mobile users, ensuring your content reaches more and more people and grows your home building company's reach.

Getting Started

There's no questioning the fact that mobile traffic can do a lot to boost a home builder's digital presence, but where do you start? If you know you need a site that's mobile responsive, but don't have one or aren't sure how to optimize the one you've got, don't worry. It's actually a lot easier than you might think to get a mobile version of your site up and running. Most web templates, especially if you're using WordPress or SquareSpace, are already set up for mobile responsiveness. Just make sure yours supports multiple screen sizes, and you're probably good to go.

While just making sure your site supports multiple browser sizes is the biggest concern, you'll also want to check that your mobile pages load quickly and that you're providing a quality user experience by eliminating large pop-ups and streamlining your site's menu. 

Optimizing your home building website for mobile traffic doesn't have to be difficult, and once you do it, you're sure to see a marked improvement in your site's overall performance. If you still have questions about boosting your digital presence or qualified lead generation, be sure to get in touch. Evenbound has cracked the code to digital marketing for home builders, and we'd be happy to help you optimize your website for mobile traffic and qualified leads. To see how our unique digital marketing strategy delivers impressive results for local home builders and construction professionals, be sure to check out the case study below.