22% of Inc 500 Company Websites Don’t Pass Mobile Test

(Newswire.net — April 14, 2016) Clearwater, FL — Clearwater, FL.  Although it’s been a full year since Google implemented their mobile algorithm update that had a significant impact on search rankings,  a study done this week by Studio98 revealed that 22 percent of the Inc 500 websites still don’t pass the Google mobile-friendly test.  In certain industries that percentage is even higher-in manufacturing companies on the list it is close to 40 percent.

 

 

 “There seems to be a perception that business-to-business companies don’t need to pay as much attention to their websites,” said Rafferty Pendery, CEO of Studio98. “It may have been the case ten years ago, but today’s most business buyers do their research online.”

Google has confirmed that another update to the mobile algorithm will take place in May.  74 percent of business buyers polled by Forrester Research said they conduct more than half of their research online before making an offline purchase, so a mobile-friendly website is no longer an option – it’s a necessity.

Every business must have a website that is easy to find and easy to use. And most important, it must be available on the mobile devices customers or prospects use.

Here are some statistics from Think with Google’s recent BtoB Marketing Report:

1. Almost half of all BtoB researchers are Millennials – and they are on mobile devices.
2. 71% of all BtoB researchers start their search with a generic phrase, not a brand name.
3. 42% of all BtoB buyers use a mobile device to do their search.
4. Mobile search for BtoB buyers is up by 91% in the past two years across the entire purchase path.

These business buyers are comparing prices, reading about products, comparing feature sets, and contacting vendors. They’re purchasing, too; purchase rates on mobile are up 22% in the past two years, says Google’s report.

The number of smartphone users in the US is expected to increase from 190 million in 2015 to 207 million in 2016.  “Considering the amount of time people spend doing purchase research on mobile devices, it’s important to provide them with a rich mobile experience,” said Pendery.