09-27-2019, 08:11 PM
Firstly, desktop and mobile are not two different traffic sources.
They merely categorise the type of device a user is on, so can be thought of as ‘types of traffic’.
Many traffic sources will provide both desktop and mobile traffic because either device user can access that traffic sources inventory - e.g. with banners, nothing may be stopping a user from, visiting a website on a mobile device. Same with direct nav.
However, some traffic sources only do one or the other. PPV sources that rely on toolbars are unlikely to work with mobile devices since the browsers are different - as are the operating systems.
Many sources only do mobile - e.g. mobile RTB platforms and display exchanges.
Some sources like Facebook do both but use different ad formats.
Google does both just fine - as people search for things no matter their device.
However, you should be aware of the critical differences between these types of traffic.
With mobile:
Here are some examples of Android vs iOS fragmentations... as you can see, iOS is much more well-controlled since Apple has very specific devices only and most users move to the latest OS:
And sweet mother of god... look at the Android device fragmentation!
You can read more about this here - http://opensignal.com/reports/2014/a...fragmentation/
There are a lot of variables to consider when testing desktop traffic as well but there will always be more with mobile.
Lastly, the types of offers differ. The stand out being app installs from the Google Play and iTunes store. These can only be installed on mobile devices.
Many advertisers will also have products/services and corresponding webpages that are specifically designed for mobile devices.
All that aside, mobile is only going to grow as a type of traffic and already has huge potential for scale globally.
They merely categorise the type of device a user is on, so can be thought of as ‘types of traffic’.
Many traffic sources will provide both desktop and mobile traffic because either device user can access that traffic sources inventory - e.g. with banners, nothing may be stopping a user from, visiting a website on a mobile device. Same with direct nav.
However, some traffic sources only do one or the other. PPV sources that rely on toolbars are unlikely to work with mobile devices since the browsers are different - as are the operating systems.
Many sources only do mobile - e.g. mobile RTB platforms and display exchanges.
Some sources like Facebook do both but use different ad formats.
Google does both just fine - as people search for things no matter their device.
However, you should be aware of the critical differences between these types of traffic.
With mobile:
- There are far more variables at play
- Device model and make (Android is very fragmented!)
- Device OS and version
- Sites/apps being used
- Connectivity (WiFi vs 2G, 3G, 4G carriers)
- Screen size and resolution
- Whether they are on a train, boat, at home or sitting at a coffee shop (most desktops are in one location)
- Device model and make (Android is very fragmented!)
Here are some examples of Android vs iOS fragmentations... as you can see, iOS is much more well-controlled since Apple has very specific devices only and most users move to the latest OS:
And sweet mother of god... look at the Android device fragmentation!
You can read more about this here - http://opensignal.com/reports/2014/a...fragmentation/
- Hopefully it’s clear just intuitively that mobile usage is more heterogeneous than desktop usage.
- Mobile devices are often slower to display anything/everything cf. desktops
- Landing pages and site designs need to be responsive to mobile devices or be designed for them outright.
- Users have different mind-sets and behaviour patterns
- Not so keen to enter long form details
- Less likely to whip out a credit card
- More sensitive to page load speed
- Mis-click often and suffer from fat finger syndrome
- Et cetera!
- Not so keen to enter long form details
- Payment methods differ. On desktop you may pay for things with CC and PayPal for example. On mobile, you can get carrier billing options and these tie into different “flows” like PIN submits, 1-click flows, SMS opt-ins, etc.
There are a lot of variables to consider when testing desktop traffic as well but there will always be more with mobile.
Lastly, the types of offers differ. The stand out being app installs from the Google Play and iTunes store. These can only be installed on mobile devices.
Many advertisers will also have products/services and corresponding webpages that are specifically designed for mobile devices.
All that aside, mobile is only going to grow as a type of traffic and already has huge potential for scale globally.