Looking for The Most Valuable Consumer Search?

Is a consumer’s mobile search more valuable to an advertiser than an online query? The stats say yes, particularly in view of the growth in local mobile search. According to the BIA/Kelsey Group, one in three mobile searches is local in nature and also interactive. After searchers on their smartphones find a local business, 61 percent call the establishment and 59 percent visit the location. Little wonder that the market is more bullish about search advertising on mobile. Mediapost recounts a recent webinar with The Search Agency by sharing some stats and forecasts http://bit.ly/egqJhO.  For a start, Google estimates that between 15 and 30 percent of site traffic will come from mobile devices within the next 18 months. Google says mobile-only campaigns generate significantly higher click-through rates (CTR). Specifically, advertisers who break out mobile campaigns see CTR rise — on the average — 11.5 percent, according to Google. The biggest surprise here is the number of interactions that occur after the search is completed on a mobile device. After all, to influence some 60 percent of consumers to do anything (in this case call or visit a business) is a marketer’s dream. As more smartphones hit the market (a development I discuss in the item below), mobile search will also rise in importance — and cracking the code on how to rank highly in search results (this time on mobile) will (once again) be top of marketers’ minds. More in my MSearchGroove column - http://www.msearchgroove.com/added-value-for-marketers-in-mobile-search-apple-itunes-purchase-data/