What Will The Rise of Mobile Internet Mean for Monetization?

With more people accessing the internet from mobile devices than desktop devices, it’s now official: the internet is mobile and that trend shows no sign of changing or slowing down. It’s easy to imagine a future where desktop is irrelevant. In fact, this is mostly the case for the newest generation of internet users.

For businesses, this means a radical shift in both attitude and approach, especially when it comes to monetization. Making money on a mobile internet is not the same as making money on a desktop internet. Those who believe that it is will likely fall behind.

Think Mobile First

The problem with the internet as it exists today is that people who access the web via desktop make websites which they test via desktop and which they imagine only desktop users use. What’s needed here is a psychological shift, as well as a practical one.

Picture in your head someone accessing your site

Now, be honest. Did you imagine someone on a laptop, or did you imagine someone on a smartphone? Chances are that, even though you know mobile is the more popular medium, it was still the former. That mental image needs to change fast. When it does, everything else will fall into place.

Only Use the Best Direct Ad Networks

Working with the best direct ad networks is a great way of generating income on a website instantly. You connect with a direct ad network, they give you a code and your can start earning cash right away.

The issue is that too many direct ad networks are desktop optimised, with mobile as an afterthought. As a result, the banner ads on your mobile site end up becoming ugly blotches on a user’s screen, which don’t play nice with their mobile browser.

You have to imagine it from the user’s perspective. When you have a 14-inch or a 10-inch laptop screen, a one-inch banner ad won’t interfere too much with your experience. However, if you’re a smartphone user, that same one-inch banner ad could cover up a big chunk of your entire screen. If it’s a bad ad, your immediate reaction will be to click away from the page.

It costs around $800 to jump from the five-inch screen of the Moto G5 to the 5.8-inch screen of the new iPhone. If your users are paying such a huge chunk of money for more screen space, they definitely don’t want it clogged up with bad ads.

The best direct ad networks will guarantee ads that look good on mobile and on desktop. What’s more, they’ll be able to show you previous examples of their work. Be sure to check your website and its ads on mobile on a regular basis. This alternate window to your website might shock you, but it shouldn’t. If your website’s been designed mobile-first, the mobile website should run just as well, if not better, than the desktop website.

Build an App — Before Someone Else Does!

Your website makes money because you’ve cornered some market. Maybe you’re one of the only vegan travel bloggers in Wales, maybe you provide IT related news aimed specifically at Texan startups, or maybe you have some kind of eCommerce website. Whatever you do, you need to ask yourself two questions:

1. Is there an app for what I do?
2. Can I build an app for what I do?

The answer to both of those questions is “probably”, so you may as well cut out the middleman and build the app yourself. Apps are a huge part of the mobile internet because they take away so many of the other steps a web user would otherwise need to take. You don’t need to search for taxi drivers on the internet if you have an app like Uber, for example.

Once you’ve built the app for your website, monetizing it can be done the same way. Quality direct ad networks, for example, will be able to run good-looking ads on an app. Beyond that, you could always white label your app’s code and sell it to your rivals. They were bound to develop a similar app eventually; all you’re doing is speeding up the process and making money at the same time.