Real numbers and our plan going forward:

There is a lot spoken on the growth of mobile but not much actual data shared. SEOmoz recently posted trends for mobile in 2011 and I thought I would contribute to the discussion with a baseline for expected mobile growth based on real sales data.

I have included data from two very different but high traffic sites. One is a pure play commercial sales site, and the other is a site that is purely informational. Neither have a mobile version of the site although both websites display fine on smartphones.

Hopefully this information helps people make better projections for their own clients. I encourage you to share real data so we can build a better picture of where the next few years’ growth is going come from.

UK sales site’s revenue from mobile devices

Conversion rate for mobile devices:

Click to enlarge

You can see I found an error in how Blackberries interact with our site, 0.08% conversion rate is far too low. I initially thought that the original heading here was lacking. Now to fix the blackberry and show a real monetary benefit. Analytics ftw!

However on digging into the problem I found it was merely that Blackberrys seem to be terrible for buying date and price intensive things online. I sat with a colleague and I bought a ticket on my iPhone 4 in about 2 minutes and he just gave up after 5. So, not all smart phones are equal!

The iPad conversion rate looks way ahead of handheld mobiles. Is this going to be an emerging theme – larger devices converting better than smaller? It makes sense to me but we will know when more players like the Galaxy Tab filter into the market.

Growth in mobile sales with projection:

This growth looks amazing and I think that when we look back at the end of the year, the growth that I’ve plotted is likely to be conservative.

However, let’s not get carried away just yet:

As a % of overall revenue, mobile sales are still small.

UK information site

This site has no sales, just public information. Warning: These projections are rough and ready due to the volatility of their traffic.

Visit data for mobile devices:

When you look at the visits by device data, you see more pages per visits and lowest bounce rate on the iPad. Other devices have a high average time on site but a low pages per visit and a high bounce rate.

I would suggest this is because people have more difficulty using the site on mobile devices and less on the iPad. Mobile is growing, but it still has form factor challenges to overcome.

Growth in mobile visits with projections:

However, let’s not get carried away just yet…

As a % of overall visits, mobile traffic is still small.

Mobile health tips

Whatever the level of buy-in to mobile in your organisation, there are a few universal tips that will serve you well

• Share your knowledge with your clients
• Have an opinion on mobile and a plan (even if it’s not likely to be actioned immediately)
• Push for mobile best practice, at least a simple mobile version of your sites
• Stay on top of the data, make sure you can clearly measure mobile sales and interactions on your sites

About Stephen: I’m a SEO interested in getting companies to re-engineer their products and processes to market themselves. I have some test sites that need some love www.buyanipad.com where I look at spam and www.purehairstyle.com where I look at the peculiarities of image search and generating impressions per visit. In my spare time I dream up marketing ideas like www.startupbeanbags.com.

You can follow me at your own peril at seomoz or @firstconversion

If you liked this post, you should also check out this post on mobile landing pages.

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The biggest weakness of the average website today is its copywriting. Getting an awesome design is the easy part of having an online presence; saying your piece – intelligently – is much more challenging. Yet that’s what makes sales

This post looks at three internet marketing websites with exceptionally engaging copy. They lay out what they do in a conversational and clear manner, striking a chord with visitors that solves their problem and compels them to buy.

Traffic Geyser – The Power of Social Proof

In their video sales letter, Traffic Geyser does a great job of speaking to listeners as if he or she is a friend just hanging out right there with Mike Koenigs, Co-Founder of Traffic Geyser. While this video sales letter provides a little more hype than Infusionsoft’s does, it still offers friendly, informative, smart copy that includes success stories in an uncomplicated format that leaves readers wanting to learn more.

Take Aways:

• Write conversational copy that sounds like it’s from a friend who really wants to help the reader achieve their goals instead of strictly providing information.

• When the goal is lead generation, always leave readers wanting more and provide an easy sign up form so they can get more.

Infusionsoft – Genuine Personalization

If there’s one website that gives serious internet entrepreneurs hope for turning their business around to really start making a profit, it’s Infusionsoft. Through their engaging, yet informative content, Infusionsoft shows how they relate to businesses that may not be doing well by giving their problem a name, ‘follow up failure.’

Going the extra step by having Infusionsoft CEO and Co-Founder Clate Mask speak the sales copy via video on the homepage, really takes the copy a step further in personally addressing the needs of entrepreneurs.

The true desire to help an entrepreneur that comes through in the video copy is enhanced by the professional and genuine nature of Clate Mask.

He’s believable, personable, and inspires trust while the straightforward, down to earth copywriting does an excellent job of compelling visitors to learn more.

Take Aways:

• Solve the reader’s problem in your copywriting by giving the problem a name and showing how your product or service can help.

• Choosing the right speaker for a video sales letter is crucial to its success, regardless of how compelling the copy is.

Butterfly Marketing – Selling Through Telling

Mike Filsaime’s website, Butterfly Marketing, opens with headlines that grab your attention before the sales copy takes you straight into the many incredible success stories of internet entrepreneurs using the Butterfly Marketing product. In fact, you don’t get to the actual sales letter until after reading a whopping 22 success stories, many featuring proof and audio testimonials.

The strength of this lengthy sales letter comes in knowing how to tell a story using testimonials, which builds trust. The length of this sales letter doesn’t detract from its success because it flows very naturally and is engaging, friendly, conversational, clear, and compelling. As you read the sales copy, it draws you in and makes you want to read more as it provides a ‘you can do it too’ attitude.

Take Aways:

• Create a collection of success stories from your clients. If you don’t have any on hand, create a campaign to build an arsenal of success stories that you can use to prove success, rather than just promise it.

• Short and to the point is not necessarily better when it comes to copywriting. Lengthy sales letters tend to outperform short letters that just get straight to the point.

Take Action:

To recap, here are six strategies you can apply to increase the muscle of your sales copy:

• Solve the reader’s problem and give the problem a name.

• Choose the speaker for a video sales letter carefully to ensure putting forth the right image for your product or service.

• Write friendly, motivational copy instead of stiff, strictly informative sales letters.

• When your copywriting is to generate leads, leave readers wanting more and you’ll get the lead.

• Build an arsenal of success stories instead of just promising success.

• Write long sales letters with headlines that interrupt [in the sense of grabbing people] and copy that engages and educates before making an offer.

Christine O’Kelly wrote this for Red Fly Marketing, an Ireland internet marketing company.Red Fly’s fine lads, in addition to sipping Guinness, also run a search engine optimisation company (though not simultaneously…usually); they also handle the techie/graphics side via a web design company.

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