谷歌未来寄望于移动网络

    今天，谷歌公司（Google）推出了一项全新服务，可以让企业将自己的网站转换为更适合智能手机浏览的“手机版”。谷歌这家搜索巨头希望通过提高网站访问的便利性在快速增长的移动领域中巩固自己的领先地位。

    这项新服务是谷歌“走向移动”（Go Mobile）计划的一部分，这个计划主要是为了让各类企业能更好地运用包括智能手机和平板电脑在内的移动平台。企业每月只需花上9美元，就能享受到谷歌提供的移动版网站托管服务。这类网站带有可触控界面，看起来跟iPhone的应用几乎如出一辙。企业可以免费试用这种服务一年，还能让谷歌根据它们现有的网站定制一个手机版网站。丹尼斯•明克是新创公司DudaMobile的首席营销官，他说：“只要是在智能手机上浏览过普通网站的人，都明白那种体验有多糟糕。”谷歌目前正在运用DudaMobile的技术创建移动网站。

    总部位于纽约市的食品配送和餐饮连锁店Mexicue目前正在使用这项服务。现在这家公司网站每周的访问量约为5,000次，但在优化为移动版之前，移动客户访问非常不便。公司的联合创始人兼首席执行官大卫•施莱斯表示，这曾是公司的一个大问题。他说：“方便好用的手机版网站对我们的食品配送来说非常重要，因为配送地点是不断变化的。网站上最醒目的两个按键就能让人们拨打电话、找到我们，而这正是我们所有的客户最需要了解的情况。”

    谷歌在手机市场的领先地位可谓一家独大。据尼尔森公司（Nielsen）称，美国手机用户近半在使用智能手机。其中又有近半的人在使用搭载谷歌安卓（Android）操作系统的手机。近期，谷歌又试图进一步扩大版图。据数码营销机构eMarketer公司称，在总额达14.5亿美元的美国手机广告市场上，谷歌早已遥遥领先，2011年占据了美国手机广告市场超过一半的收入。

    而现在，帮助企业将网站优化为手机版让谷歌看到了新的机会。谷歌移动销售及战略部主管杰森•斯皮罗表示，就算现在的智能手机已经装上了功能全面的浏览器，很多企业还是没有开始涉足手机领域。据他称，谷歌的广告大户中有62%还没有手机版网站。他说：“很多企业还没来得及响应这股用户应用的潮流，而这很大程度上是因为他们不知道到底该怎么做。”

    而那些早就迅速紧跟这股移动潮流的企业，它们的努力似乎已经收到了回报。6年前，职业棒球大联盟（Major League Baseball）就组建了一支3个人的团队专门从事手机和无线技术业务。现在，这支队伍已经扩大到近50人，而大联盟每月的无线访问量——包括广受欢迎的“At Bat”应用和手机网站的访问量——已让其官网访问量相形见绌。去年，仅“At Bat”每周平均访问量就达到了820万人次。

    Google launched a new service today allowing companies to transform their websites for viewing on smartphones. The search engine giant hopes that by making sites more accessible, it can improve its lead in the rapidly growing mobile arena.

    Google's (GOOG) new service is part of its "Go Mobile" initiative, a campaign to move companies in the direction of making better use of mobile platforms including phones and tablets. For $9 a month, Google will host a mobile-friendly version of a company's website with a touch-enabled interface that almost looks like an iPhone app. Firms can test the service free for a year and customize a new mobile site Google generates from their existing site. "Anybody who has browsed a regular website on their phone knows how bad the experience is," says Dennis Mink, CMO of DudaMobile, a startup. Google is using DudaMobile's technology to generate the sites.

    Mexicue, a New York City based food truck and restaurant chain, is using the service. The company's current site gets about 5,000 page views a week, but prior to optimizing the site for mobile, it lacked any sort of easy navigation. That was a problem, says co-founder and CEO David Schillace. "A working mobile site is extremely important for our food truck because it's constantly changing locations," he says. "The first two buttons allow people to call us and find us, which is basically what all our customers need to know," Schillace says.

    Google has a strong lead in mobile. Nearly half of U.S. mobile users now own a smartphone, according to Nielsen (NLSN). About half are using phones running Google's Android operating system. The search leader's latest move is an attempt to extend its reach further. The company is already the dominant player in the mobile $1.45 billion ad market, accounting for more than of U.S. mobile ad revenues in 2011, according to digital marketing firm eMarketer.

    Google sees an opportunity in helping companies optimize their sites for the mobile web. Even with the advent of fully capable browsers on current smartphones, many companies are still failing to take even the first step into the mobile space, says Jason Spero, head of mobile sales and strategy at Google. According to Spero, 62% of Google's top advertisers don't have a mobile site. "Businesses are kind of late to arrive to this consumer trend, and a large part of that is because they don't know exactly what to do," Spero says.

    For companies who were quick to jump on the mobile bandwagon, the effort seems to have paid off. Major League Baseball began six years ago with a staff of three focusing on mobile and wireless technology. Today, that team has grown to nearly 50 people and the brand's monthly wireless traffic -- including the popular "At Bat" app and mobile site -- has eclipsed MLB.com traffic. By itself, "At Bat" averaged 8.2 million visits per week last year.