Total search-related mobile advertising expenditure will grow from $813 million in 2008 to $5 billion in 2013, according to a new report from ABI Research.
The growth of consumer options to search on-deck and off-deck, SMS, and via branded or white-label search providers in the mobile domain has created opportunities for advertisers to reach consumers through sponsored search opportunities, said ABI.
Michael Wolf, ABI Research director, said: “We are seeing strong growth of mobile search services within an on-portal and off-portal context.
“However, given the constraints of mobile platforms and the specific needs of mobile users, mobile search services – and the integration of advertising – need to be thought out carefully by branded providers, white-label search vendors, and carriers.”
The growth of mobile-search-related advertising will be strong across many regions, added ABI, with Asia-Pacific showing the greatest overall gains.
On-portal, off-portal, and SMS-based search will be important drivers of search-related advertising, with total SMS searches growing from 13 billion in 2008 to over 76 billion by 2013.
“Branded providers such as Yahoo and Google see the importance of the mobile platform, as the overall population of Internet users on mobile devices exceeds that of PC-based Internet users,” said Wolf.
“While mobile search incorporates more contextually relevant information such as location, consumers will increasingly look to search as a way to discover content and pertinent information that could drive purchasing behaviour. Providers that can supply the most applicable solutions tailored toward mobile users will ultimately win in the marketplace.”
Juniper Research recently forecast that total annual adspend on mobile will exceed $1 billion for the first time in 2008, reaching $1.3 billion by the end of the year and rising to nearly $7.6 billion by 2013 (see Annual Mobile Adspend To Pass $1 Billion In 2008).
While SMS campaigns currently account for the largest proportion of mobile advertising budget, the increasing popularity of mobile TV services mean that adspend in this area will rise from just $335 million in 2008 to more than $2.5 billion in 2013, said Juniper.
In other research, M:Metrics said that mobile advertising is an ideal method for reaching young men, as among mobile phone users, 36% of 18 to 34-year-old men accessed mobile media in February.
Men in this age group are also highly receptive to SMS advertising, said M:Metrics, with 9% responding to an SMS advert they received, versus a 4% market average (see Mobile Advertising Ideal Way To Reach Young Men).
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