Two years ago, Google announced that more worldwide searches were conducted on mobile devices – smartphones and tablets – than on desktop computers. It was an important moment in the history of search engines and provided a crucial warning to digital marketing agencies: mobile is here to stay.

Since the announcement, the gap between mobile and desktop searches has widened. Today, about 57 per cent of all global searches and 54 per cent of web traffic occurs on mobile devices, meaning if you want to reach users in 2017, you’d better be prepared to reach them on their smartphones.

Google has been teasing a “mobile first” search ranking index for ages, and many digital marketing agencies expect that transition to occur at some point this year. That means SEOs and webmasters should be hard at work ensuring their clients’ websites are fully compatible with every variety of mobile device. Creating an easily navigable mobile site will help your search rankings today and help you avoid any negative impacts when the mobile first index is launched.

Social media marketing can also help your mobile visibility, but competition in this environment is fierce. The vast majority of digital media time is now spent within a few dominant mobile apps, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, and each of these platforms provides a range of advertising options that you could benefit from exploring.

The shift from desktop to mobile has produced unprecedented opportunities for digital marketers, in addition to the challenges. Thanks to smartphones and various “Internet of Things” devices, more user data is available today than ever before, allowing marketers to deliver better and more relevant messaging.

“[Location data] can be used for not only better marketing, but also better construction of creative, better omnichannel marketing, and better sequential messaging,” Duncan McCall, CEO of location data and technology company PlaceIQ told eMarketer recently.

Mobile’s growing prominence is a stark reality for digital marketing agencies in 2017, one that presents both tests and options. As a Premier Partner All-Star Agency with access to valuable insights on Google’s preferred practices, GrowthEngine Media is positioned to adapt to and leverage the latest technological trends for our clients’ benefit.

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