Create A Mobile Version of Your Site Checklist
As smartphones continue to transform the way people use the Internet, there remains incentive on webmasters to create a mobile version of their site. Here is a step-by-step checklist of what gaming affiliates need to do to make sure their site is fit to go mobile.
1. Decide what you need. The mobile world can be overwhelming as there are many providers happy to take your hard-earned dollar to help deliver your mobile site project. But don’t go on a needless spending spree. Chances are high that your needs are fairly basic. A downloadable app is unnecessary if a simple mobile version of your site will suffice.
2. Use the right create mobile website tools. Creating mobile websites is basically a giant pain. Thankfully, there are plenty of start-up companies who have done the hard work for you. Creating a mobile version of your site can now be done in literally minutes by utilizing the right software tools. Mobify is one such very popular tool but can be costly ($250 a month or higher) to receive premium considerations such as their logo not appearing at the top of your mobile page.
3. Bear in mind SEO. Webmasters should understandably be concerned about how a mobile version of their site can impact SEO efforts. Google’s disdain for duplicate content renders it important that the mobile URL of a page is not indexed. This can be fairly easily achieved by using robots.txt to preclude Google from indexing the mobile versions of your site.
Alternatively, your site can be re-engineered to deliver the correct version of the page to mobile users while keeping URL pages the same. However, this method requires considerable more effort. In the absence of strong programming skills, a developer would need to be hired to redesign the site via CSS.
Going mobile? Learn the basics of mobile gaming for casino affiliates.
4. Enable your forum to go mobile. Tapatalk is a very convenient tool for enabling your forum users to create posts through an efficient mobile application. Installation is as easy as registering with Tapatalk, providing them with your forum info, and installing a plugin on your forum software. They recently teamed up with VigLink to provide webmasters with a means for monetizing their forum links.
5. Use the right plugins. If your site is WordPress based, WPTouchPro is a great and necessary tool for creating mobile and tablet versions of your site. It’s as easy to use as any WordPress plugin and will deliver your content to mobile visitors in an attractive format. The plugin can be integrated with AdSense or your own custom affiliate deals in order to monetize your mobile marketing efforts.
6. Use an emulator to test the site. Finally, you want to check to be certain that your site is going to look right on a phone screen. Mobile web emulators allow you to test what your site looks like on different smartphones without having to go buy them all yourself. The user agent switcher Firefox plugin is great for viewing mobile versions of your site.
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The “user agent switcher Firefox plugin” works great. It is so much easier navigating with a desktop mouse and a large size screen. But, the mobile age is upon us.
I’m still surprised how many mobile users access my site that was not built for mobile. So I redesigned it with them in mind to make it cleaner looking..
I saw a stat the other day that suggested more than half of Google searches will be completed on a mobile device (tablets included) within two years. It’s kind of insanity. Mobile devices are great for certain conveniences but I still feel vastly more productive with a laptop in front of me (call me old school).
I could see that about 25% of my traffic in Google Analytics was mobile. I am not very technical so I spoke to my account manager Dov at Fortune Affiliates (dov@fortuneaffiliates) and he built me some mobi optimized landing pages that were customized to look like my site and he even gave me some redirect scripts and it works amazing, and it didnt cost me anything.
Wow that’s really a fantastic service from an affiliate manager. Kudos to Dov at Fortune Affiliates. I think when affiliate programs go above and beyond like that it’s a reminder to all affiliates that sometimes if you just strike up a conversation with someone about an issue you’re facing (in your case, talking to Dov about mobile traffic) that a solution can fall into your lap without any headache incurred on your end.