Do Mobile Sites Convert Better?
 

In preperation for this Google mobile update I launched 8 mobile versions of my best 8 paysites. Interestingly, about half my traffic is mobile! Yet when I check the stats I see:

Less time on site
Less form hits
Less sales (so far)

So do mobile versions convert better than desktop versions of Tours? Because if these numbers hold steady then fuck Google and I am going back to the desktop versions. LOL

What is your experience when you put out a Mobile Tour? Did your sales go up, remain steady or decline? I am also thinking of putting a link on the Mobile Tours to the desktop version since that has more photos, videos, etc. Most Mobile Tours I have seen are a shortened version of the desktop so maybe this has something to do with the lower stats?

(This is my first experience with Mobile-only Tours so apologies for all the newb-type questions.)

In preparation? It already happened :2 cents::2 cents:

I don't know from direct sales experience, but as far as traffic prices go, (which is an indicator of traffic quality) in some cases desktop traffic is MORE expensive than mobile. Go figure.

Heh, it took me awhile to get my Mobile shit together. LOL

Interesting! This tells me Mobile traffic is not as valueable....hmmm....

Not as a general rule, but I have seen some instances of this. Two years ago, mobile was ALWAYS worth more than desktop.

For example, some live cam sites aren't interesting in buy mobile traffic anymore, as the conversion ratio is 20 times WORSE than desktop.

Listen, and listen good.

I am not professing to be the end all, be all of traffic God's. However, I do pretty fucking well in the areas that I happen to work in. Most of those NOT being adult oriented.

Traffic is traffic. When I say that? I mean literally, traffic is traffic. Without it? You might as well shut off the lights and go home. And I mean it.

Every hit counts, and every bit of it means something. Look at your stats... are you getting 5-10% mobile traffic? That is wasted traffic.

Its what you do with that mobile traffic that makes the difference. That's up to you as the site owner. One thing I will tell you? Don't ignore it. Do something with it, think outside of the box. Are they bouncing quick? Figure out a way to keep them on your page.

This is what I would do: Redirect mobile users to a teaser video of whatever it is you are selling... Give them 30 seconds or so of a teaser video. Make sure the video is edited to tease the living fuck out of them. Show them enough of everything, but not enough of nothing.

Hit them up for a micro-transaction of a couple of dollars or whatever. Nothing huge. They are on their phone, most likely in bed or on the toilet. Make it quick and painless.

$30? Hard to stomach..... $2.99? Much easier. Get it?

I'd much rather have 1,000 people at $2.99/day than 10 people at $29.99/day rebilling. Why? Because they will leave, never rebill and that's that.

Create good content and nickle and dime them to death. They won't even realize that they are spending the money, yet they will keep coming back.

It's the wave of the future, my brethren. :2 cents:

You're talking direct carrier (operator billing) billing here right?

First, thank you for the detailed post. :) I agree with your views on traffic 100% This is why I am focusing on Mobile now more than ever.

The key (to me) is what you say about it being up to the site owner to sell them once they are on the site. I threw these Mobile designs up rather quickly but am editing preview vids this weekend to add to them. I think especially for Mobile video is key. So we are in agreement there, too.

The only aspect of your post I disagree with (and this is for ME only, does not apply to others) I tried Mobile billing a year ago and it was a DISASTER. How so? While I agree with your thoughts on wanting 1000 people rebilling at $2.99, in practice what I found was I was losing the people who would join at $30 and not making up the difference in volume (getting to those thousands of people rebilling at $2.99).

Also, what I found was, once inside, a Member would cancel right away and if he only paid $2.00 or whatever then that's ALL I ever got from him. Whereas if he joined for $30 and canceled I got, you know, $30. LOL So I never made up in volume what I lost by slashing prices via Mobile billing.

Cam sales billed through mobile carriers are low cash volume.
This is not to say that credit card sales are not substantial.
Are wireless devices like tablets also mobile in your definition?

Pure mobile like WAP or Smartphones are for portability branding and discovery. Mobile search is a big deal. For mainstream Facebook mobile ads and for ''Adult'' Twitter tweets will become more important in mobile branding, but not a direct revenue stream, with regard to our current format cam site sales.

Check out the models or keep in touch on mobile then buy at home on wireless or PC is the most common scenario from what I see ...

This would apply toward affiliate sites also -- the branding aspects.

Thank you! With cams and mobile it's more understandable. How much porn interaction do you want while in the bathroom where others can hear or while you're walking around? But with paysites you can watch a video with the sound off, etc. Still, you make great points.

The more I explore this the more I am in agreement with you. Interestingly, the traffic is split almost 50/50 between desktop and mobile (which surprises me) but sales have tanked. LOL This is after a couple days only. So let's see if what you say is true, that they will buy when home later.

Because the traffic is so evenly split this whole process is acting like a glorified A-B test of sorts.

Maybe it converts different but think about how many more people you will reach. Every mofo has a cell phone but not a computer.

Just because the government handed out phones, does not make them able to pay for a site :2 cents:

Did you make mobile versions, or make your regular tours fully responsive?

I made separate mobile Tours. But my standard designs actually resize naturally to most devices (kind of a poor man's responsive design) and guess what? I actually like how the desktop version displays on mobile better than how the mobile version looks! Maybe others feel this way too which is why sales tanked. Or maybe I just need better mobile designs. LOL

NOT loving this mobile shit people. Just sayin'.

C'mon weekend sales!!

First mobile sale!
Things be looking up yay? LOL

http://i.imgur.com/VIQZfaD.gif

Mobile Shit :) You're Welcome :thumbsup

Thank you!! My colon feels vicariously better already. :D

One thing I often don't see mentioned is the high cross over of devices from a user. It is a jarring user experience to have your site look and act one way on one device and have that experience be different on another. Redirecting "mobile" traffic just because is "mobile" is quite antiquated.

Some mobile versions of sites are awful and sometimes I want to leave it or switch to desktop version on mobile device.

Hey guys...let me offer up a bit of my input since I happen to run a fairly large mobile affiliate program and mobile solutions provider.

The answer to your initial question about how mobile converts is pretty much already in this thread...just spread across a few different posts :)

Mobile billing can absolutely convert better...but there are a a lot of variables to consider.
One of the most important variables is carrier billing versus credit card billing.
The obvious reasons that carrier billing converts significantly better than credit card in most cases is because of the smaller price points and the simple billing process (typically one or two click billing).
So when carrier billing is available, most users choose to go that route simply because it caters to the impulse buy...the quicker and easier it is to pay, the better.

I would argue that mobile redirection is still very valuable and with all the new tools and tech that companies like mine and my competitors have come up with...there are still really solid ways to redirect mobile traffic despite all the Google Mobilegeddon crap. It's still the bread and butter for my mobile affiliate program...outside of the mobile billing solutions that we offer.

Now there are definitely exceptions to this...cams sites would be a good example.
Typically many cam sites have larger price points and a billing structure that most mobile carriers wont approve. However, we provide carrier billing for 3 large cams companies and they do fairly well by playing the numbers game...very low margins, but very high volume of users paying by mobile.

Some other major variables to consider (out of many variables) is the actual site design, the country, and the traffic sources.
Some countries have very strict rules and regulations about what level of content you are allowed to show...or they have rules about how the user should be billed and how transparent you must be with all of that.
This can dramatically affect the user experience and cause many mobile sites to have undesirable results.
Responsive design is not always the way to go (in most cases in my opinion)...I've seen the most success with companies who build a site specifically for each device. It is much more work and can be harder to manage, but it is totally worth it in the end.

Keeping in mind that credit card billing can still work quite well on mobile sites...mainly because you are not regulated by the mobile carriers when you don't use carrier billing.
In these cases where you want to see your mobile site perform better while only using a credit card billing solution, then there needs to be a heavy focus on the product and the quality of traffic.

The truth is, this is a topic that is way too robust to go into in writing, especially here on a message board...it's definitely something that should be discussed more in-depth.
As I mentioned, there are SO many variables that no matter what valid points I make, there will always be exceptions and there will always be other valid points to argue the case :)
There is also the fact that almost every 3 months there are dramatic changes occurring in the mobile space that require us to adapt or evolve at a rapid pace...which can be quite difficult if it's not something you do full time.

Anyways...sorry for the longwinded message. I just wanted to confirm what a few people here had already said as well as add my two cents.

If anyone cares to learn a little more about the basics of mobile, then take a look at the education article I wrote for the GFY Educational Series: https://gfy.com/gfy-educational-serie...-8-mobile.html

Catch you later dudes!