Smart phone and tablet usage has grown considerably, and websites need to take this trend into consideration. Most of my sites receive between 25% and 45% of their traffic from mobile devices. It varies by the type of website and even varies by page within websites, depending on the kind of information on the page. Tech articles on my news sites get a higher percentage of mobile traffic than political articles. No matter the subject area, it is certain that the percentage of mobile traffic will continue to increase, so it is an important topic for both website buyers and website owners.
Website buyers need to know if the site is “mobile responsive.” Mobile responsive sites adjust their layout when viewed on a device with a smaller screen. If the site is not mobile responsive, what will it cost to make it so? What percentage of visitors is coming from mobile devices and is the percentage of revenue from those visitors consistent with the percentage of traffic they represent? If not, is that reasonable or not reasonable? Are responsive ad units being used so that the best performing ad sizes are displayed on different screen sizes? If not, that could be a revenue improvement opportunity.
Website owners should also be concerned with optimizing their sites for mobile users. In addition to making the site mobile responsive or creating an entirely different site for mobile users, the website owner needs to consider whether the mobile user has different needs than the desktop user. Should there be fewer or smaller images? Should there be less text? Should there be a different set of products? Are the tools on the website appropriate? Should the website be complimented with an app that takes advantage of knowing the user’s location?
A guide on app investing could fill another book. At this writing, apps are changing hands, but not nearly as many are being bought and sold as websites. Although there are millions of apps in the Google and Apple app stores, their numbers do not approach the nearly 1 billion active websites. When compared to websites, apps are significantly overpriced relative to their current earnings. Most apps are sold based on their “potential earnings,” which are suspect. Free apps far outnumber purchased apps. There are successful monetization methods for free apps, but free apps need to have a large install base to pay off.
I expect to see a merger of the kind of tools and functions offered by current apps and the easy accessibility of websites in the future. An “App as a Service” model similar to the “Software as a Service” model will emerge. Apps have to be independently downloaded. Websites can all be accessed from a single browser. The new model will provide app functionality delivered through a generic, browser-like service. You read it here first.
As an example of how unpredictable the ROI with apps is, consider my friend Joel Comm. He created the iFart app that sold over 800,000 copies at $0.99 each. After that success, his organization created and heavily promoted a dozen other apps that earned virtually nothing.
Apps are not going away and cannot be ignored. But making a predictable income from apps that aren’t connected to a broader business is difficult and uncertain.