Worldwide spending on mobile search advertising is to climb from $83 million (£42.3 million) in 2007 to $3.8 billion (£1.94 billion) by 2012, according to a recent forecast from eMarketer.
The report suggests that the US will continue to lead the market, with mobile search adspend reaching $1.48 billion (£754.6 million) by 2012.
The Asia-Pacific region will follow with $1.16 billion (£591.4 million) whilst Western Europe will lag behind with spend of less than a billion, $968.2 million (£493.6 million).
However, compared to online search adspend, the figures are slight. It is expected to rise from $14.7 billion (£7.49 billion) in 2007 to $39.7 billion (£20.2 billion) by 2012.
The research showed that mobile is the only other interactive platform that enables search marketing to penetrate new areas, according to eMarketer senior analyst, John Gauntt.
He said that mobile search is becoming more mainstream, and the search providers are “finding that mobile search habits are starting to mirror online search habits to an extent,” attributing better mobile content, better offers and better search abilities as a driving force behind this shift.
Earlier this month, a report from Understanding & Solutions suggested that by 2010, annual mobile handset shipments will have increased by almost 25%, reaching a figure in excess of 1.4 billion units worldwide.
Last year, over 1.1 billion units were shipped globally, with the majority of growth coming from emerging markets, particularly India and Africa, where the upsurge was pegged at more than 20% (see Mobile Handset Shipments To Increase Almost 25%).
Meanwhile, Jupiter Research recently forecast that European mobile search and display revenues will together reach €1.3 billion by 2012 (see European Mobile Search And Display Revenues To Reach €1.3bn).
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