Why Not Slicing Your Analytics by Mobile Traffic Could Be Sabotaging Your B2B Campaigns

Let’s face it: B2B marketing has long been dominated by desktop-first thinking. And while that made sense for a while, it’s time to reconsider how mobile fits into your strategy. The days of dismissing mobile as just an add-on are over. If you’re not paying attention to how mobile influences your customer journey, you’re missing out on a significant piece of the puzzle.

The Desktop Trap: Why Your Attribution Data Might Be Misleading You

When it comes to calculating Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) and figuring out where to allocate your budget, multi-touch attribution (MTA) is often the go-to approach. But MTA is far from foolproof. The accuracy of these models relies heavily on identity resolution, which is tricky enough on a single device and nearly impossible across multiple devices.

If your users aren’t sticking to one device, or if they’re using privacy tools like VPNs or cookie blockers, your attribution data could be full of gaps. This is especially true in B2B, where most conversions happen on desktop. So while it’s easy to assume that desktop-focused channels like LinkedIn and Google Search are driving your conversions (since they have 43% and 34% desktop traffic, respectively), the reality is that mobile might be playing a bigger role than you think.

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The Mobile Myth: It’s Not Just for Low-Budget Markets Anymore

For years, B2B SaaS companies have treated mobile as a secondary concern, based on the idea that business users don’t work on mobile and that most mobile traffic comes from low-budget markets. But this thinking is outdated. In the U.S., the biggest SaaS market, mobile traffic has caught up to desktop traffic, with a 50/50 split that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago.

Does this mean you should rush to build a full mobile version of your product? Not necessarily. Unless your product needs to be used on the go (think live chat tools), the ROI on a full mobile build might not be worth it. Instead, focus on optimizing the top-of-funnel experience for mobile users so that when they do switch to desktop, they’re more likely to convert.

Mobile: The Underestimated Player in B2B Conversions

Yes, desktop is still where most B2B conversions happen, but mobile is far from irrelevant. In fact, desktop conversion rates might be twice as high as mobile, but that doesn’t mean mobile isn’t contributing. The truth is, mobile is where a lot of initial engagement happens. Users might discover your product on their phone and then convert later on their desktop.

To truly harness the power of mobile, B2B marketers need to focus on aligning their CTAs and experiences to be mobile-specific. This means optimizing your mobile landing pages, simplifying forms, and ensuring that every interaction on mobile is as smooth and intuitive as possible. The goal should be to increase the mobile conversion rate (CVR) to its highest potential using UTM and touch-based tracking.

However, there’s a reality you need to face: there will be a ceiling on how high your last-click mobile conversion rate can go. Even with the best optimizations, mobile users may still prefer to complete their conversions on desktop. That’s where understanding mobile’s broader impact comes into play.

Strategies for Assessing Mobile’s Impact on Desktop Conversions

Once you’ve optimized your mobile experience, it’s time to gauge how mobile interactions are influencing desktop conversions. When direct multi-device tracking isn’t possible, controlled experiments become one of the most effective ways to assess how mobile interactions influence desktop conversions. Here are a few different types of experiments you can run:

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1. Mobile Ad Spend Adjustment

• Experiment: Temporarily reduce or increase your mobile ad spend while keeping desktop ad spend constant.
• Objective: Monitor the impact on overall conversions, particularly on desktop.
• Expected Outcome: If decreasing mobile ad spend leads to a noticeable drop in desktop conversions, it suggests that mobile interactions are playing a significant role in driving those conversions.

2. Mobile Traffic Pause

• Experiment: Completely pause mobile campaigns for a short period and observe the impact on desktop conversions.
• Objective: Identify any significant drop in desktop conversions during the pause period.
• Expected Outcome: A noticeable decrease in desktop conversions during the pause would indicate that mobile traffic is a key driver of conversions, even if they ultimately happen on desktop.

3. Sequential Ad Testing

• Experiment: Run a sequence of ads where the first touch is on mobile (e.g., an awareness campaign) and the follow-up ads are shown on desktop (e.g., a retargeting campaign).
• Objective: Assess how mobile awareness campaigns followed by desktop retargeting affect conversion rates compared to desktop-only campaigns.
• Expected Outcome: Higher conversion rates in the sequential ad group suggest that initial mobile engagement followed by desktop reinforcement is a powerful combination.

By incorporating these strategies, you can get a clearer picture of mobile’s role in your B2B marketing efforts and you can factor it into your incremental ROAS.

How to Make Mobile Work for Your B2B Strategy

So how do you make the most of mobile in a B2B context? Here are a few strategies:

1. Optimize Your Mobile Website: Mobile-first indexing by Google means that a well-optimized mobile site is crucial. Don’t just rearrange your desktop layout—make sure your site is truly optimized for small screens. This includes things like vertical image cropping, fast load times, and making sure your signup CTA is easy to find and interact with.
2. Streamline Your Signup Flow: Mobile screens are small, but that can work to your advantage. Use features like passwordless signup or Google One Tap to make the process seamless. And if you have a survey as part of your signup flow, make sure it’s designed with mobile users in mind.‍
3. Create a Compelling First-Time Experience: If your product isn’t designed for mobile, be upfront about it. Use video to showcase your product or encourage users to schedule a demo for later. If possible, build a mobile MVP of your key feature to give users a taste of what your product can do.‍
4. Encourage Desktop Engagement: Once you’ve hooked a user on mobile, guide them to your desktop version where they’re more likely to convert. Use tools like magic links or follow-up emails to make the transition easy. And consider offering incentives for mobile signups who complete onboarding on desktop.

The Bottom Line: Don’t Underestimate Mobile

It’s easy to get stuck in a desktop-first mindset, but mobile is becoming more important in the B2B landscape. By understanding how mobile fits into the customer journey and optimizing your strategy accordingly, you can unlock new opportunities for growth and reach a broader audience.

So, while desktop might still be where most of your conversions happen, don’t overlook the role mobile plays in getting those conversions. With the right approach, mobile can be a powerful tool in your B2B marketing arsenal.