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Answers.com brings interactive features to mobile site

Online destination Answers.com has launched a mobile site that lets users swipe their finger across smartphones and tablets to reveal answers to search queries.

Answers.com claims that 50 percent of the company?s page views come from mobile devices. Consumers can visit the new mobile site directly at http://www.answers.com/.

"Much of the excitement and energy in the media and ad business right now is the edge of the network on smartphones, tablets and other devices," said Peter Horan, president of Answers, St. Louis.

"Consumers want to ask questions whereever they are, whenever they are curious," he said. "And they love to swipe. Asking questions and swiping seem to be two of the most natural human actions. We've brought them together in a great, app-like experience on the mobile Web."

Answers Corp. owns and operates Answers.com. The company claims to have answers for more than 18 billion questions and a community of 180 million users.

Mobile answers
The homepage of the site is set-up with a large search bar that stretches across the screen.

As consumers begin to type in a question, the site pulls in commonly searched keywords that piece together to form questions.

Once a question has been submitted, users must swipe across the screen to reveal the answer.

As consumers continue to swipe across the screen, other associated questions flash across the screen. This helps the publisher rack up page views and time spent on the site.

Early engagement statistics point to the site redesign as being effective for Answers.com.

In a few months of beta testing, consumers are viewing five times more pages per visit and are spending twice as much time via the mobile site.

Answers.com credits the mobile Web overhaul to users that are six times more likely to engage with the publisher?s content.

One-third of Answers.com's users are on mobile devices in addition to the 50 percent of its page views that are mobile.

Mobile trends
According to Answers.com, one of its biggest learnings about mobile users is that they are particularly responsive to live events and trending topics.

Consumers are increasingly turning to their mobile device as the first place to research and find quick bits of information.

Going forward, the company plans to roll out a mobile app that builds on its mobile Web efforts.

"We are committed to being a digital-first company," Mr. Horan said.

"We believe that mobile will continue to grow in importance and that we are uniquely suited to serve the mobile user," he said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York