SEO and Content Marketing in Mobile Commerce: Key Strategies for Success in Monrovia (Liberia)

Abstract

Mobile commerce (m-commerce) is an increasingly consequential driver of economic participation in sub-Saharan Africa, yet the specific role of demand-side digital marketing strategies—particularly Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and content marketing—in shaping consumer behavior and platform adoption within resource-constrained urban contexts remains inadequately theorized and empirically underexplored. This study investigates how SEO and content marketing practices influence m-commerce growth in Monrovia, Liberia's capital and primary commercial center, a setting characterized by rapid mobile penetration growth alongside persistent constraints in digital infrastructure, consumer trust, and digital marketing literacy. Drawing on a mixed-methods design incorporating structured survey data from 154 respondents—comprising business owners, university and high school students, government employees, and informal sector workers—supplemented by semi-structured interviews with digital marketing specialists and policymakers, the study examines five analytical dimensions: SEO adoption practices, the trust-building effects of content marketing, consumer mobile device usage and payment comfort, social media's influence on brand visibility, and the salience of mobile optimization in current SEO strategies. Findings indicate that while SEO use is widespread, its application is predominantly inconsistent (47.2% occasional use; 43.4% regular use), limiting its cumulative effectiveness. Content marketing is recognized as a trust-building instrument by approximately 88.7% of respondents, though effectiveness varies significantly with implementation quality. Daily mobile internet use stands at 94%, primarily through Android smartphones (54.7%), establishing mobile-first infrastructure as the defining channel of m-commerce engagement. A substantial majority (67.9%) report high comfort with mobile payment systems, and social media exerts very positive brand visibility effects for 52.8% of businesses surveyed. The findings are interpreted through the Technology Acceptance Model and a Trust-Based Model of e-commerce adoption, and the study argues that realizing Monrovia's m-commerce potential requires not merely increased technology adoption but a parallel institutional investment in digital marketing competency, infrastructure quality, and consumer-facing trust architecture.