About six months ago I wrote a few general words about traffic from mobile devices. I experimented and can now write more.
Terminology
As I wrote in the previous post, Western blogs, forums, and affiliate networks most often call traffic from mobile devices “WAP traffic.” Offers optimized for mobile devices are called “WAP offers.” Do not let WAP confuse you: it means any mobile device, including communicators and tablets. I will use “mobile traffic” or “traffic from mobile devices.”
Mobile Device Users
When working with mobile traffic, remember that users are in a very different state from people at a computer. Without going too deep, mobile users:
- are limited by network speed and availability;
- are limited by device capabilities such as the screen, speed, input, and battery;
- are more inclined to sharing and social activity thanks to device capabilities such as GPS, camera, and constantly changing context: Instagram, Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook, and so on;
- are in a completely different context: on the move, in public, in less comfortable conditions, and often using the device not as a goal but to kill time.
Three main user states can be identified:
- repeated routine actions: exchange rates, flight schedules, booking cinemas and restaurants, reading about a product in a store;
- boredom: social, games, short browsing sessions, reading;
- being in a hurry or lost: geolocation.
What do you do with all this information? Keep it in mind when working with mobile traffic.
Choosing a Mobile Offer
Offer niche.
In most cases, our user state is boredom. You can work with the first and third states, but those users usually have little time and focus on something specific. Advertising works only if you offer exactly what they want to see. The second state, boredom, is much more interesting. The user is not focused on one thing; they are simply killing time in a queue or on the bus or subway home. Offer something engaging and they will follow you.
So loans and insurance can theoretically work, but a bored user probably does not want to become even more bored. Games, dating, fortunes, tests, horoscopes: anything that can entertain without making the user work too hard. And yes, the offer must be mass-market or you will not get much traffic.
Offer type.
It is no longer hard to find many offers optimized for mobile devices, or WAP offers. But you do not always need an optimized offer. Sometimes the right offer will be built for standard browsers.
The main thing is that the user is unwilling to put much effort into an offer and completely unwilling to type. If a form has more than one or two fields, they will probably leave. If it has large, attractive buttons, they are more likely to stay.
In summary:
When working with mobile traffic, remember:
- user context, capabilities, and state differ greatly;
- offers should be mass-market;
- offers should entertain;
- offers should work on mobile devices;
- offers should be simple and should not require complex forms.
Next in the program: where to buy traffic and where to pour it.