The rise of Mobile Search and what it means for paid search
Surely numbers speak for themselves, the increase in the number of smartphones has been phenomenal last year, making network providers struggle to cope with the additional traffic. If 2011 is not the year of mobile then I really don’t see when it will be.
So far, so good, this is common knowledge, what we don’t know yet is how the rise of the mobile platforms will affect paid search as a channel, but we can make some educated guesses.
First of all we need to understand that mobile search is not a substitute traditional search, it will be one additional channel that online marketers need to manage, in the same way that online did not completely substitute offline but complemented it.
What we would expect from Mobile searches is to be more about the “here and now” rather than extended product research. For example, it is very unlikely for users to research led TVs or next year’s vacation on their iPhone. We can expect them to search for restaurants, cinemas, shops or other localised information that is going to be used on the short term.
This is due to a few reasons, first is the limited amount of information that a user can store on browser windows for comparison, not to mention the fact that many sites are still not mobile optimised. Also, the very nature of mobile search suggests that it is an action performed outside the convenience of the user’s living room and most probably during some other form of activity (i.e. going out, shopping, etc.) and is most likely closely linked to it as well.
Another interesting implication of mobile is that we are expecting more mobile searches being conducted in afternoons and weekends. So although search volume day part distribution will continue to peak at the same times during the week (i.e. lunch time, afternoon), we expect a higher contribution of mobile searches in the afternoon.
Furthermore, paid search results are not as many as on desktop searches. Anything other than position 1 on the results page will probably not be noticed, as positions 2 and 3 fall below the fold, and require the user to scroll down.
Also, linking these paid ads to your regular site is probably not the best option, mobile phones, no matter how smart, will never be able to have enough display real estate to make your site mobile-user friendly, neither will any flash content help iPhone users.
Creating a mobile site is not always on top of the priorities list, to make a case for its creation a paid search managers need to create specifically targeted campaigns to assess the volume and potential.
Copying a current campaign and changing the targeting will not be enough though. Mobile users are more likely to stick to short keyphrases as it is still not easy to type on a mobile and there is limited time for refining the search terms. So a mix of adgroups containing short generic phrases, and localised ones, if relevant, is probably the best option.
Mobile search volumes are set to continue to rise in the future, and although we are certain that not all market segments will be affected, we still don’t know which ones. So it is best that you prepare your Adwords account to be able to assess the impact and opportunity that mobile represents.
Very good educated guesses and I’d be inclined to agree on the whole.
It’s interesting that you state that mobile activity occurs outside the living room and whilst doing another activity. I’d like throw in a slightly contrary thought - think about the role a mobile site will play in conjunction with your TV advertising (if you’re fortunate enough to have the budget).
Mobile could be the first digital experience an individual has with your brand. They may reach for their phone to check you out having just seen your ad. You’d better make sure your paid ad is up there for your brand terms, straplines and descriptive searches (“dog on skateboard ad”) and then ensure they can actually use your site by ensuring you display a mobile friendly version of your site.
Good article, more mobile please!
Hi Gary,
Thanks for your comments, I probably needed to clarify this, but I am referring more to mobile traffic through 3G, hence the mobility aspect.
What you are referring to is users in their living rooms, connected to their broadband wirelessly, and instead of firing up their laptop to do a search, they reach for their mobile instead.
I am aware that research has shown that Britons like to surf the web while watching TV, I am not sure what percentage of users have switched from surfing on a laptop to a smartphone.
Google reporting currently gives us information on the type of device our ads appear on, however, it does not show the type of network these devices are on, which would be interesting.
Overall, I think that “experience may vary” applies here, not all advertisers will be affected, as I have mentioned, and it is still early days to know exactly how this will play out.