Plugged In: Upwardly Mobile

The results are in: Mobile-friendly websites attract a lot more business. Here’s how to make sure your spa is keeping up.

Image: Getty Images

Image: Getty Images

“Having a website with a mobile-ready format isn’t simply a trend; it’s a customer service necessity,” asserts Connie Holen, owner of Connie Holen Design, whose company provides brand identity and website services for small businesses. “According to Google’s Mobile Playbook, mobile search activity has grown by five times in the past two years alone. More and more customers expect to accomplish things on the internet,” she adds.

In fact, this tsunami of tablet and smartphone searches recently prompted the search engine giant to change its equation to heavily favor mobile-friendly sites. This means that, in any online Google search, mobile-friendly sites show up at the top of the results. And this matters because, according to AdWeek’s Social Times, “83% of searches end with the user clicking on one of the top four results.”

People are increasingly turning to their mobile devices for everything from information seeking to appointment making, and for obvious reasons. It’s quick, efficient and available 24/7. (Online scheduling software makers MindBody reports that 46% of consumers book their service appointments after hours and 83% of them use a mobile device to do so.) “But,” you might say, “spas are touchy-feely businesses. Are clients really expecting us to be mobile-friendly too?”

Continue reading this story in our January digital edition!