Google Mobile Search and Ads Growing Rapidly in 2010
Not only has the volume of Google mobile search more than quintupled over the last two years, but the clickthrough rate for its click to call mobile ads are 6-8% better than ads on search without a number or URL associated with it according to Mike Steib, director of the new platforms at Google.
Steib, who participated in a panel of mobile PaidContent2010 Conference today in New York, said that 2010 could be the year of mobile. ‘We are seeing lots and lots of search activity on smartphones’. As Rachel Pasqua, Director of the mobile phone group iCrossing, Steib joked about how to turn the panel or a business meeting and encourages them to buy more advertising for their clients. Pasqua responded by saying that many of his clients have been very happy with the advertisements and they were a huge success.
Year of Mobile?
We have heard the expression "Year of Service" in recent years, however, the predictions have repeatedly failed to meet the hype – at least until 2010. During the first three months of this year, for example, smart phone users search with 62% more than in the past three months. Search on Android devices has increased 300% in the first half of 2010 with approximately 160,000 new Android devices being activated every day.
Although Steib did not specify the exact figures, he said that tens of millions of people to do some searches on Google on mobile devices every week, generating hundreds of millions of searches. And users of iPhone, which dominate the smartphone market, 50 times more searches than users of the standard for mobile systems.
Mobile Ads On the Rise
Mobile ads are more effective, Steib said, especially click to call ads, which allows advertisers to add phone numbers in their ads. Advertisers can track the number of calls they receive for each keyword, ad group or campaign. Click to Call campaigns with location details or URL extensions generate an increase of 8% average CTR and campaigns with the numbers make more than 6% of mobile ads with no extension.
And its reasonable for the companies to receive a direct call from a potential customer, or click on their website with is the most distinguishing feature between desktop and mobile ads.
Google expanded its campaign clicks-to-call, and provides advertisers with local, in addition to national systems, which all started only four months ago, seeing an increase in CTR. When asked about the upcoming Apple product iAD, Steib said it was a good solution as long as it is part of the menu options. He said that publishers may be interested in iAD, but they still want different options for advertising can reach their audience.
