How to Capitalize on Tablet Traffic
Last week we discovered our own clients’ sites tablet traffic mirrored national patterns of tablet use. Tablet users stay on sites for longer, and view more pages than desktop and mobile users. Keeping in mind tablet use is going to increase in the future, is your site optimized for tablet browsing?
Here are three steps to ensure your website can drive more business from tablet traffic.
1. Make Your Site Accessible
If your site is user friendly, you will give your readers a positive browsing experience. Regular sites have to be pinched and zoomed on a tablet, and content is always out of sight: in the sidebars, below the fold, or simply too small to read. With a responsive site, a specific layout is created for a tablet that is different than the desktop layout. All the menus and information will be compacted into the dimensions of the tablet screen, making all your content visible.
Also crucial to the user experience is loading time. If your site loads slowly on a tablet, your readers are going to become impatient and leave for a faster site.
BONUS: Make sure you do not have Flash on your site. Apple products (like the iPad) do not support Flash, which includes video players using Flash. You can still get the same effects from HTML5, which can improve the chances that all your content is being displayed on your site and readable from tablets.
2. Include Valuable Content
When was the content on your site written? Is it informative and up to date? As we said before, 67% of tablet users browse the internet for their main activity and we have seen our clients’ sites shown the most attention from tablet users. The best way to capture the attention of your readers is to keep the content interesting. If your site has very minimal or dry content, potential patients interested in researching your practice and procedures are going to leave unsatisfied.
Making sure your content is visually stimulating to the eye will help as well. Graphically highlight important points with numbered lists or bullet points. Your audience will be able to follow your message easier than if content is just block paragraphs because they will be able to skim through the article first and decide if they want to read further.
Here’s a couple tips to help increase the value of your content:
- Use headings and subheadings to break up content into digestible pieces
- Add relevant photographs or charts to support your content
- Include links to other relevant pages on your site for further exploration
3. Drive Conversions
When you have users on your website reading multiple pages over the course of four or five minutes, you want to nurture this experience, keep them engaged, and ask for another five minutes of their time.
Do this by including calls to action (CTA) on your pages. Whether you want your users to fill out an appointment form, view an event invitation, or develop a relationship with your practice and become more invested in the site, play tour guide for your visitors and take them on a journey through your content. Informative content must come first and foremost, but you also need to inspire action.
Have You Experienced Your Site on a Tablet?
Tablet users are often the most loyal visitors to our clients’ sites, and statistics indicate there is only going to be more tablet users in years to come. Pull up your website on a tablet, and ask the following questions to assess your need for a responsive site designed for tablets.
- How long it takes for your site to load?
- Do you have to zoom and swipe around to read the site?
- Does the page look aesthetically-pleasing and easily readable from the first glance?
- Is your content interesting, insightful, engaging?
- Do users clearly know what you want them to do once they’ve read the content?
Convert Curiosity into Patients
By designing your site and content with tablet users in mind, you will be able to increase the chance of turning your most curious browsers into patients.
For more information on responsive web design and how to further engage your patients, regardless of the device they use to access your site, read more at the Rosemont Review, or give one of our search marketing consultants a call today.