Mobile marketing is no longer just an option you have when it comes to selecting marketing channels. In fact, mobile marketing hasn’t really been just one option among many for several years now. It’s absolutely essential that you have a sold mobile marketing strategy going forward. But as is always the case when you branch out into new marketing channels, there’s a learning curve. If you want to get the best return on your investment into mobile marketing, consider the following advice.

There’s no such thing as too much keyword research

Keyword research is important for all digital marketing channels. Google’s search algorithms rely heavily on keywords so it’s important that you’re using the right ones if you want to show up on the first page of search results. But keyword research is even more important with mobile. Studies have shown that the search strings people type into Google are much more specific on mobile devices than they are on desktops or laptops. That means you have to put more thought into user intent–what things are your potential customers likely to type in to Google’s search bar if they’re searching for a product or service that you offer? Then you have to think about how to incorporate that research into your website copy.

Mobile friendly web design is a must

In 2016, mobile web traffic surpassed non-mobile web traffic for the first time and that gap is growing. Mobile now accounts for just over 50% of all web traffic but in the coming years we may see that number rise to 60%, 70%, or perhaps even higher. Even assuming a constant at 50%, that means if your website isn’t optimized for display on mobile devices, half of the visitors on your site will have a negative experience–slower load times, too-small text, difficulty navigating the site to find what they’re looking for, etc… Mobile web design needs to be simpler and the text needs to be larger. Many website building platforms use responsive design to automatically adjust how the website displays according to the device being used to access it but you may want to invest more in a completely separate mobile version of your site since that’s even better.

Text message marketing is a no-brainer

There are so many different mobile marketing channels that you don’t have to (and probably shouldn’t) try to use all of them. One that you absolutely must use if ROI is important to you (and ROI should always be important to you) is text message marketing. Text messages cost pennies to send and they boast of an open rate around 98%. Not only are texts five times more likely to be opened than emails, offers you send via text are about four times as likely to be redeemed as offers you send via email, and that’s after you account for the 80% of people who delete the email unread in the first place.

Your mobile marketing strategy is never complete

As with all marketing channels, your mobile strategy is never complete. Even if you’re at a point where you are getting great ROI and seeing great results from your efforts, you need to keep tracking metrics and keep fine-tuning. There’s always room for improvement. Remember that once you stop moving forwards, you begin moving backwards.