1) The first and most important thing to know about mobile and why it?s become so significant is?MOBILE BILLING- Mobile billing is one of the most efficient and effective ways to monetize mobile traffic
- The basic definition of mobile billing is when a consumer uses the mobile billing option during checkout at an e-commerce site?such as an online porn or gaming site?to make a payment. After certain authentication methods are completed (these may vary by country) the consumer's mobile account is charged for the purchase. It is a true alternative payment method that does not require the use of credit/debit cards or pre-registration at an online payment solution such as PayPal, thus bypassing banks and credit card companies altogether.
- Mobile billing is a form of billing which in most cases can allow uses to pay for adult content within 1 to 3 clicks?this means users no longer need to fill out those annoying credit card forms from their mobile devices, which can be pretty annoying sometimes. It?s one of the main reasons it works so well?the ability to cater to the impulsive behavior of mobile users
2) Mobile billing is governed completely by the mobile carriers?also know as the mobile operators.- Companies that provide mobile billing services have a very strict set of rules and guidelines which must be followed meticulously in order to keep providing these services
- These rules may fall under a number of categories:
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Content level requirements- Some countries will allow full hardcore content to be viewed on a mobile device and some other countries will only allow softcore content to be viewed.
- These levels of content vary dramatically in each country, so it requires a team of people to make sure that these regulations totally comply to the specifications given
- Offer transparency
- This means that in some cases we need to make sure that pricing and subscription details are made abundantly clear to the user, so that they aren?t being misled into paying for something they aren?t really paying for
- This also means that we need to make sure the users also have a clear understanding of what they are buying, regardless of price points.
- This also means that in some cases where the user may be able to purchase their content in a matter or 1 click?others may have to go through 2 or 3 clicks
o
Age Verification- This is quite tricky and can be hard to manage without the proper expertise
- The required process for Age Verification on mobile varies dramatically with each country and sometimes each mobile carriers
- Sometimes it?s a simple ?yes or no? question?other times it can be a bit more involved
- This could be a whole other topic on it?s own
3) Contrary to popular belief, the US is not an easy market to break into at all in the adult mobile space - A few years ago all the mobile carriers in the US decided that they would no longer allow mobile billing for adult services
- This means americans must depend on all the other alternative methods of payment in order to access their adult entertainment from a mobile device
- This doesn?t necessarily mean that there isn?t good money to be made in the USA?but it can be much harder at times.
4) Understanding the difference between mobile data traffic and WIFI traffic o This type of mobile traffic is traffic that actually from a user connected through their carriers data services?call it 3G or 4G or whatever you like
o This is the internet as it is provided to you by your mobile carrier, which is typically included as part of a data plan of sorts
o So for our purposes this is good for us to know because it is how the mobile carriers are able to effectively bill a user
o The mobile carriers can detect the user?s mobile number just by simply accessing the content and billing pages via their data connection?which makes it quite easy for the mobile carriers to charge users accordingly on their mobile bill
o This type of traffic is so much more tricky when it comes to mobile, because it is essentially treated the same as desktop traffic
o When a user is accessing the internet via a WIFI connection there is virtually no way for a mobile biller to know if the user is a mobile user or a desktop user
- There is also no way to detect a mobile number or mobile carrier, so in these cases we need to ask the user for this info
- As you may assume, many users don?t like to do that and that leaves us open to a higher rate of exiting users who won?t pay
o Currently there are still WAY more than half the mobile users in most parts if the world who access much of their adult content and other types of mobile services through a WIFI connection
- This is not really such a bad thing because the lesser half of the mobile data users still generate extremely high revenues?and the WIFI users generate revenues as well, but not nearly as high
- So it?s important to understand your traffic seek out solutions that can help you monetize both
5) What are the advantages of providing a mobile experience to your users? (this point is more for site owners and/or webmasters) - Monetization ? Credit cards are not used for mobile transactions in most of the world, mobile billing (where available) will multiply your conversion rate and ARPU many times over.
- Branding ? A mobile user who goes to your site and has a bad experience, may not come back.
- Content Delivery ? Give your users what they want. No matter what content you are delivering, your users need to be able to view it in a way that fits their screen.
- Privacy ? More than ever, a mobile phone is a private device, separate from the very publicly accessible home PC, or work provided laptop.
- Convenience ? Let users access your site on their terms!
6) Understanding the different MOBILE content delivery methods?which is increasingly similar to WEB content delivery. o Video quality can be matched to available bandwidth
o Doesn?t require storage space
o Simplest user experience
o It can be stored and played back without a data connection
o It is an option for feature phones that are not capable of supporting a streaming video
o Can be delivered via Premium SMS
7) Understanding How to get your mobile traffic to the best monetization source of your choice?affiliate program, billing provider, etc.- Redirects ? install a simple script on your site that will redirect users to a partner
- Banners ? a line of code and a banner will publish promotions from the affiliate or ad network of your choice
- Text Links ? a simple line of text, promoting a third party service
- Popunders ? after a user takes an action on your site, a page will pop up behind their browser, this is a less intrusive version of the pop up ad that is gaining in popularity.
- Skimmed Traffic ? when the user clicks a link on your site, they will be occasionally be blindly redirected to a third party service. While this is not always a great user experience, it does force users to help you monetize your site.
8) There are three primary types of mobile devices which are: smart phones, tablets, and feature phones- Smart Phones (iPhones, Androids, newer Windows phones and Blackberries)
o Fully featured browsers capable of rendering most web design features
o Bigger screens
o More popular in Europe and North America
- Tablets (Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Pad, Microsoft Surface)
o Fully feature browsers
o Huge screen real estate
- Feature Phones (Flip phones, older Nokias, other entry level phones)
o Less capable browsers limit the user experience
About The Author:
Joey Gabra is the Managing Director of award-winning mobile affiliate program Affil4You.com. His previous employment as Marketing Manager of Twistbox Entertainment and American Mobile Ventures paved the way for Joey to successfully achieve milestones with Affil4You. Affil4You continues to present exponential growth for adult and mainstream markets in Europe, Asia and South America and with Gabra's assistance has established a strong presence in North America making the overall global reach a leader in mobile redirect solutions.