Instant Mobilizer Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is Instant Mobilizer?

Instant Mobilizer helps small-to-medium sized businesses and individuals to establish a presence on the mobile Web.

You can choose a .mobi domain name and automatically create a Web site optimized for mobile Web browsing from your existing Web site. Instant Mobilizer creates this mobile Web site with no effort, and automatically adds features that help your customers use your site from their phones. The site loads quickly on almost any phone, and puts company information — including your phone number and a map showing your location — at users’ fingertips. You’ll never need to update your mobile Web site either, as it changes when your existing site changes. This is the most effortless way to reach your customers when they are on the move.

Q. Do I need a domain name?

Yes. Instant Mobilizer will only work with a .mobi domain name. .mobi provides the critical link between the mobile operator, Web sites and users to make their mobile phones their communication tool of choice.

Q. Do I need to have a Web site?

Yes. In order for Instant Mobilizer to create your .mobi Web site, it has to get the content from an existing Web site.

Q. I have a small local company, so I don’t need to be on the mobile Web. Right?

Wrong. Trends show that users want local information from the mobile Web. They’re often looking for nearby services that satisfy their immediate needs and that create efficiencies in their busy lives. For example, mobile users are using the mobile Web to:

• Order take-out or make dining reservations;
• Find a dry-cleaner, grocery store, pharmacy or other retailer;
• Get information about a property for sale;
• Make appointments;
• Check transportation schedules;
• Find class schedules at their local gym.

Q. I already have a Web site. What are some of the advantages I’d gain by having my Web site easily accessible on a mobile phone?

• Advantage over competitors and extended reach to new customers;
• The ability to engage customers 24x7, wherever they are;
• Add user-friendly functions, information and services that specifically cater to mobile customers;
• Position your business as a market leader with your early adoption of innovative technology that shows you care about customer service.

Q. How big is the mobile Web anyway?

Mobile phone sales outnumber PC sales 4 to 1. Today 1. 3 billion people can access the Web from their mobile phones.

According to recent research, more than half the mobile phones in use are less than a year old, with most able to access the Web. In emerging markets where fixed line communications are scarce, analysts predict mobile will be the preferred, or only, means of access to the Web.

In addition, many customers are already paying for mobile Web access as part of their standard service provider contract. With the increasing popularity of more capable devices like the Apple iPhone and Android G1, more are connecting each day. The market is growing… and savvy businesses can gain a substantial lead over their competitors by being first-to-market on the mobile Web.

Q. How are mobile Web sites different to PC sites?

Mobile sites are designed for on-the-go users who don’t have a keyboard or a mouse and have a limited amount of space on the display. Mobile users need their information more quickly and succinctly, so they require a streamlined design, smaller page sizes, faster downloading, as well as different functions, like “click-to-call” (placing a phone call directly from the site with one click), and maps & directions.

Q. Can I convert my existing site into a mobile Web site?

Yes. With no effort on your part, Instant Mobilizer converts your existing Web site into a streamlined, optimized mobile Web site.

Q. Can Instant Mobilizer be used with third level domains?

Instant Mobilizer supports the mobilization of third level domains to a normal .mobi domain e.g. dotmobi.typepad.com can be mobilized to a second level .mobi domain e.g. blog.mobi. The following points apply:

• any subdomains of the source domain are considered to be part of the same Web site e.g. checkout.bobsbook.yahoostores.com is considered to be part of the Web site as bobsbooks.yahoostores.com and will be mobilized as part of the same .mobi domain. To give an example, if bobsbooks.mobi is a mobilized version of bobsbook.yahoostores.com, if the user clicks on a link to checkout.bobsboooks.mobi, they will remain on the mobilized site;
• differerent third-level domains are not considered to be part of the same site and will result in the user "leaving" the mobilized site. As an example, if a user browsing bobsbooks.mobi clicks on a link that points to lisaslingerie.yahoostores.com the user will be presented with a message saying that they are leaving the current domain, and the target page will not be mobilized.

Q. Is it expensive to launch and maintain a mobile Web site?

No. Using Instant Mobilizer™ to create your mobile Web site is typically much cheaper than creating a separate site.

Q. What are the benefits of using Instant Mobilizer?

• Instant mobile Web presence with no development effort;
• No separate hosting account or code to manage;
• Maintenance-free;
• Increased search engine rankings;
• Easy and inexpensive to implement.

Q. What are the benefits to my customers?

• Customers can locate information about your business anywhere, at any time;
• Click to call: Users of many phones can initiate a call to you simply by clicking the phone number; Instant Mobilizer™ automatically converts phone numbers to “click-to-call” links for you;
• No matter what mobile device visitors are using, the site is user friendly as Instant Mobilizer automatically optimizes the page size for the mobile device capabilities;
• Google map auto-generation: if an address is on the mobile webpage, a link to a Google map will be added, to allow the user to easily locate the business, at anytime, from anywhere.

Q. What about advertising on my existing Web site?

If your Web site contains Google ads, Instant Mobilizer will replace them with Google mobile ads credited to your account (you need to enable your Google account for mobile ads for this to work).

Other ads are treated as ordinary images, and are sized to fit the phone. Users will be able to “click through” but any text in the ad may not be readable.

Q. How do I update my mobile Web site?

Any changes you make to your existing Web site are automatically reflected on your mobile site, so you don't have to worry about maintenance.

Q. How will people find my mobile Web site and how is the search ranking of my site improved?

The most important way to get traffic is to promote the site to your customers and prospects. Having your mobile Web site at a .mobi domain increases your chances of being indexed by a mobile search engine. Mobile search engines typically crawl all .mobi sites, and look for key mobile friendly attributes that Instant Mobilizer™ provides automatically.

Q. How soon will my mobile site be activated?

This usually takes much less than 24 hours.

Q. How quickly are changes made on my source site reflected on the .mobi site?

This depends on cache settings in the server where the site is hosted, and other ISP cache settings. but typically changes are reflected within the hour, maximum delay 24 hours.

Q. If I change the source site used to a different site, how quickly is this reflected on the .mobi site?

If the source site is changed to another, this will typically take 24 hours to be reflected on the .mobi site.

Q. Why do I get an error when I try to “click-to-call” while viewing my site on a PC?

”Click-to-call” functionality may not work on PCs. This doesn’t affect it working on mobile phones.

Q. Why doesn’t my phone number (or address) appear at the top of my mobile Web page?

If they are not detected on the site, they will not be displayed in the preview. See the recommendations below on address and phone number formats.

Q. Why do some pages appear empty on my mobile Web site?

Some Web content cannot be displayed successfully by mobile phones, so Instant Mobilizer cannot put it onto your mobile Web site. See the recommendations below on Web content formats for more information.

Help Instant Mobilizer™ Work Well

In general, Instant Mobilizer™ works best with sites that contain correct HTML and sites that conform to modern Web design rules. Such sites also often provide a better experience for disabled users.

• Instant Mobilizer™ will detect your logo more easily if its file name contains the word “logo” in it somewhere e. g. logo. gif, site-logo. jpg, newlogo_small. Png;
• Background images don’t usually display well on mobile phones, so avoid using them.
• Use the following formats for phone numbers:
  • Full international format e. g. +1 (212) 123 4567
  • US formats e. g. (212) 123 4567 or 212-123-4567
• Use the following formats for addresses:
  • 1234 Main St. Suite #2
    City Name
    ZIP State
    or
    1234 Main St. Suite #2, City Name, ZIP State
• Don’t include extra information as this will not work properly, e. g. 1234 Main St. Suite #2 (beside the gas station). European and other address formats are not currently supported;
• The following features do not work well on mobile phones, and Instant Mobilizer may not be able to make such features appear correctly:
  • Image maps;
  • Flash objects;
  • Frames;
  • Certain forms, particularly where there is a dependency on JavaScript;
  • JavaScript pop-ups and mouseover behaviors;
  • Tables used for layout purposes;

Limitations

• eCommerce: for security reasons we do not intercept sensitive connections (“https” links are not mobilized);
• Site traffic meters may not reflect the mobile activity correctly;
• The domain can be used for Web sites only; it’s not currently possible to use email with a domain that is using Instant Mobilizer
• The whole domain (e. g., example. com) is mobilized; you can’t currently mobilize just a sub-domain (e. g., subdomain.example.com).