by Laurie Sullivan@lauriesullivan, October 28, 2016

Brands are doing a scary job of preparing their Web sites for increased mobile traffic, and according to findings from a recent study, the difficulties seem consistent across most industries from retail to entertainment.

The study — The Why Before The Buy, which found mobile optimization remains crucial — from YP Marketing Solutions, along with Thrive Analytics and The Local Search Association analyzes the consumer purchase decision processes and the reasons consumers choose to purchase from one business over another. The survey was conducted between July and August in eight business categories and more than 90 subcategories.

When it comes to health-care services, a whopping 72% did not mention they could see a listing for a business close to their home, although the No. 2 reason for selecting a business in this category remains location. The other four among the top five reasons include products offered, recommendations from friends and family, pricing, and ratings and reviews.

Moving and storage services also do a poor job when it comes to location. In this category, 65% did not mention they could not see businesses close to their location from a mobile device. Unlike health-care services, those looking for moving and storage are less interested in location and more concerned with recommendations from friends and family, along with pricing.

Some 9% of consumers looking for legal, financial and insurance information said that accurate and complete answers remain one of the top reasons they chose the business they did.

Overall, prices at 42% remain the top factor among the reasons that consumers buy from one business over another. Location comes it at No. 2 with 30% of the vote. Products and services followed with 37%, recommendations at 28%, and easy to find content at 25% round out the top five. That contact may be made through a phone call, Web site or other means.

Interestingly, it’s vastly different from the reasons why consumers choose a business. While prices remain top at 18%, products and services rises to No. 2 with 17%, and location slips to No. 3 with 13%.  

MediaPost.com: Search Marketing Daily

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