'Net Features : admob

It's Time to Redefine "Mobile"

Mike Phillips — Fri, 27 May 2011 18:30:00 GMT

These days you can't read a story about business, e-commerce or the economy without coming across something about "mobile." And if you take every report, statistic or survey as fact you might just be convinced that desktop computing has gone the way of the Dodo.

One of those recent surveys, JiWire's Mobile Audience Insights Report, found that 79 percent of mobile users are comfortable making purchases on their mobile devices and 50 percent "...are confident spending more than $100 on a purchase from their device – nearly 20 percent are even comfortable with purchases over $500."

Turn to the person to your left and ask if he or she is comfortable spending $100 using their mobile device. Then ask the person to your right the same question. According to this survey, one of them should say "yes." Ask five people if they would spend $500 using their mobile device, and one should say "yes."

Of course, the chosen mobile device is not necessarily a phone.

According to yet more research (this time from the E-tailing Group), tablet owners do more "mobile" shopping than smartphone users. Nearly 25 percent of tablet users made at least six purchases in the past six months, compared to 15 percent of smartphone users who had done the same.

Here's some more interesting research, this time from Google's AdMob, the world's leading mobile advertising network: In April, they found that 77 percent of 1,400 tablet users surveyed said that their desktop/laptop usage decreased after they started using a tablet. But, 82 percent of respondents said they primarily use their tablet at home.

So, technically, if one were to purchase a $500 item on their tablet, on their couch, this is a "mobile" purchase (and probably a 'comfortable' one, too). Consider this: If you were to go to a car dealership and they used an iPad to help you purchase a $30,000 car – is that a $30,000 "mobile" purchase? Is my laptop on my desk not "mobile" until I take it to Starbucks?

Now the advertising side is raising even more questions. AdMob claims that the network received 2.7 billion daily ad requests in April, up from 2 billion in January. Also according to AdMob, there are more than 80,000 mobile websites and apps in their network, up from 50,000 in January.

If an ad is served on a website on a tablet or mobile phone, is that one of the 2.7 billion ad requests? With today's mobile browsers becoming more sophisticated, mobile screens growing larger and the introduction of HTML 5, is there such thing as a "mobile website" anymore? If my "normal" website loads the same, fully-functional page on a tablet, is that my "mobile" website, too?

What is mobile? It's an important question that impacts everything from analytics to ad rates, which are currently quite different from the handset to the desktop.

But maybe a better question is; what isn't mobile?

Where Are All the Mobile Ads?

Mike Phillips — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:15:00 GMT

Google's AdMob recently released data about global mobile ad impressions, and where they are being seen. It turns out, the majority of mobile ads are viewed in North America (43%) followed by Asia (33%).

What is surprising is that Western Europe accounts for just 15% of all AdMob ad impressions. Of course, this is just one mobile ad network -- although AdMob does have one of the widest reaches out there.

Some other interesting findings include:

The UK (33%), France (17%) and Germany (12%) drove more than 60% of all ad impressions from Western Europe, where all countries experienced more than 400% growth. In comparison, North America saw 266% growth.
India (26%), South Korea (13%) and Japan (12%) accounted for more than half of all ad requests from Asia.
Five countries in Asia - South Korea, Japan, China, Singapore and Thailand - had growth rates of more than 1,000% in 2010.
Brazil’s growth in 2010 far outpaced that of any other country in the region at 1,251%.
South Africa (21%), Nigeria (21%) and Egypt (12%) led Africa's 81% overall growth.

iPhone vs Android in AdMob's April 2010 Metrics Report

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:00:00 GMT

Mobile advertising network Admob has unveiled its April 2010 Mobile Metrics report (http://metrics.admob.com/) and has compared unique devices running the android and iPhone Operating Systems in its network.

According to the report, the Android OS had its greatest concentration of unique devices in North America (75 percent) in April 2010, followed by Asia (12 percent) and Western Europe (11 percent). iPhone OS devices are more broadly distributed worldwide, but also had its greatest concentration in North America (49 percent), followed by Western Europe (28 percent) and Asia (14 percent).

In the US there was a 2 to 1 ratio of iPhone OS devices to Android OS devices; worldwide, that ratio expanded to 3.5 to 1. In AdMob’s network there were 8.7 million unique Android OS devices and 10.7 million unique iPhones in the United States in April 2010. But when non-phone devices running the iPhone OS – the iPod touch and iPad – are included, the number of unique devices jumps to 18.3 million in the US. Worldwide, there were 11.6 million unique Android OS devices, 27.4 million unique iPhones and 40.8 million unique iPhone OS devices.

FTC Approves Google AdMob Acquisition

Mike Phillips — Mon, 24 May 2010 14:40:00 GMT

The FTC on Friday approved Google's $750 million acquisition of mobile advertising network AdMob, clearing the path for Google's latest mobile strategy and fueling the rivalry with Apple, which acquired Quattro -- another major mobile advertising network -- in January, 2010. That deal seems to have helped Google avoid "monopoly" status in the mobile advertising space. "Apple did Google a huge favor," said David Balto, a former FTC official now a fellow at the Center for American Progress.

Look for mobile advertising to have a big year -- both through mobile search and, perhaps more important, via mobile apps working within Google' Android system and Apple's App Store and recently announced iAd advertising system. eMarketer predicts that mobile advertising will be a multi-billion dollar market as early as 2013.

Website Magazine's July, 2010 issue (available only to professional-level subscribers) focuses on mobile apps, mobile advertising and more. Register for a professional-level subscription today so you don't miss it.

2010 AdMob Mobile Metrics Report

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:40:00 GMT

Mobile advertising network (and recent Google acquisition) AdMob took a look at Android Operating System traffic in its 2010 AdMob Mobile Metrics Report and found that the “diversity of devices” was increasing.

In March 2010, there were 34 Android devices from 12 manufacturers available to consumers. In AdMob’s network in March 2010, 11 devices accounted for 96 percent of Android traffic, up from two devices in September 2009. The three primary versions of the Android OS all drove significant traffic in March 2010 – Android 1.5 (38 percent), Android 2.0/2.1 (35 percent) and Android 1.6 (26 percent). Motorola and HTC were the leading Android device manufacturers with 44 percent and 43 percent of respective traffic.

Other highlights from the report include:

• Motorola Droid was the leading Android handset in March 2010 generating 32 percent of Android traffic, while the Google Nexus One drove only two percent of Android traffic.
• At least 54 percent of Android traffic came from devices with a QWERTY keyboard.
• Three devices – the iPhone 3GS (39 percent), second generation iPod touch (25 percent) and iPhone 3G (20 percent) – generated 84 percent of total iPhone OS traffic.
• iPhone 3GS traffic share has increased from 30 percent in September 2009 to 39 percent in March 2010. The 1st Generation iPhone only generated 2 percent of iPhone OS requests in March 2010.
• Total worldwide traffic in AdMob’s network increased 18 percent month-over-month.

Fun Facts, Few Surprises in AdMob Mobile Metrics Report

Linc Wonham — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:35:00 GMT

The release of AdMob’s January 2010 Mobile Metrics Report reveals some intriguing data from the mobile advertising network’s latest consumer survey, but the trends taking shape across iPhone, Android and Palm webOS application platforms are for the most part predictable.

The just-released report was compiled as a six-month follow-up to AdMob’s July 2009 survey intended to track consumer usage and attitudes throughout the mobile Internet category. There were 960 respondents among users of iPhone, iPod Touch, Android and webOS devices on the more than 15,000 mobile Websites and applications presently in AdMob’s network. Left out of the survey was the RIM platform because AdMob does not currently serve ads into Blackberry applications.

Some interesting, if not surprising statistics coming out of the report include a 5 percent rise in requests coming from mobile Internet devices throughout AdMob’s network since the first survey was conducted six months earlier—17 percent in January 2010 as compared to 12 percent in July 2009; a 10-percent disparity between iPhone users (16 percent) and Android users (6 percent) that said they intended to purchase the new iPad when it becomes available next month (webOS users split the difference at 11 percent), and the following breakdown of monthly application downloads among the four groups of respondents: 12.1 downloads per month for iPod Touch users (10.5 free downloads and 1.6 paid); 8.8 monthly downloads for iPhone users (7.0 free, 1.8 paid); 8.7 for Android users (7.6/1.1), and 5.7 for webOS users (5.1/0.6).

This last trend in particular is easily explained by the fact that 78 percent of iPod Touch users are under the age of 25—a group made up largely of students and kids downloading free games. Less easily explained, though, is perhaps the most curious of all the data: 73 percent of Android users responding to the survey were males, compared to 58 percent of webOS users, 57 percent of iPhone users, and 54 percent of iPod Touch users.

Perhaps the folks behind the Android’s male-friendly marketing campaign will take note and we’ll see a more delicate touch in the future—or not.

Android on the Rise [Mobile Apps & Advertising]

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:35:00 GMT

On what platform should you build a mobile application - iPhone, Android, RIM? Mobile advertising network Admob (soon to officially be a part of Google) has made available its October 2009 Mobile Metrics Report which might provide some answers.

New devices running the RIM and Android Operating Sytems are generating an increasing share of requests. Requests from Android devices in particular increased (5.8 times since April 2009) in the AdMob network. Additional highlights from the report include:

- In October 2009, 70 percent of iPhone OS requests came from the iPhone while the remaining 30 percent came from the iPod touch.

- In the US, the RIM 8300 Curve and 8100 Pearl series devices have consistently remained in the Top 20 devices over the last two years. In the UK, the 9000 Bold and 8900 Curve have seen strong growth and are now the number 10 and 11 devices, respectively.

- In the US, Android had 20 percent share of smartphone traffic, up from seven percent six months before, and the HTC Magic (myTouch 3G) and HTC Dream were both Top 10 devices. In the UK, the HTC Dream, HTC Magic, and HTC Hero are all Top 10 devices in the AdMob network.

- The Motorola CLIQ has also seen fast pickup since its launch at T-Mobile in the US and generated six percent of Android traffic on November 18.

- The top Symbian and Windows Mobile devices have not changed in 2009 and both platforms have lost smartphone share. One of Nokia's first touchscreen models, the 5800 XpressMusic, is the one of the few newcomers to the list of Top 20 Symbian devices in 2009.

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SmartPhone Usage Report (Metrics from AdMob)

Pete Prestipino — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:56:00 GMT

Mobile advertising platform AdMob released its August 2009 Mobile Metrics Report. Examing the marketshare of smartphone devices per geographic region, AdMob is reporting that thanks to improved mobile browsing capabilities and engaging applications, smartphone penetration continues to climb worldwide.

The report indicates that while Symbian devices such as the Nokia N70 and N95 continue to be popular handsets, the report finds that the iPhone OS, Android and webOS have gained marketshare over competing platforms in the last six months. Android in particular has shown strong momentum, with increasing usage of the HTC Dream (G1) and HTC Magic (myTouch) devices in the US and Europe.

Additional highlights of the report (available here) include:

- Worldwide iPhone OS marketshare has increased from 33 to 40 percent in the last 6 months, with substantial share in all regions except for Asia and Africa.
- Android growing rapidly in North America and Western Europe. The HTC Magic (my Touch) is a Top 10 smartphone in both North America and Western Europe.
- Although its marketshare has been declining, Nokia continues to hold 12 of the top 20 smartphones devices in AdMob’s network.
- iPhone represented 50 percent of US smartphone usage in AdMob’s network in August 2009, followed by RIM and Android devices at 14 and 13 percent, respectively.

The data is based on usage of handsets and smartphone devices during the month of August in AdMob’s network of more than 9,000 mobile sites and 3,000 applications. AdMob market share is calculated by the percentage of requests received from a particular handset; it is a measure of relative mobile Web and application usage and does not represent handset sales.

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AdMob Lowers Mobile Ad Bid Pricing

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:47:00 GMT

Advertising to those on mobile devices just got a little cheaper - if you're an AdMob client.

The mobile advertising vendor lowered its minimum bid prices for geographically targeted ads and advertisements appearing on carriers outside of AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon.

For iPhone ads targeting all United States traffic (i.e., all US with no further targeting options selected), the minimum bid will decrease from $0.10 to $0.05. For non-iPhone ads targeting all countries and carriers (i.e., no further targeting options selected), the minimum bid will decrease from $0.03 to $0.01.

The revised pricing structures started yesterday (March 3, 2009). New ads created will now reflect the pricing structure outlined above, but existing ads will continue to reflect current bid pricing until edited, at which time new pricing will take effect.

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AdMob Mobile Expansion Signals Industry Growth

Mike Phillips — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 18:46:00 GMT

AdMob may be a relatively new kid on the block, founded in January 2006, but they are already making a big splash in the mobile marketplace and their expansion signals a big shift in marketers' focus on the mobile ad market.

AdMob sells and serves mobile ads for more than 3,000 publishers, including big clients Accuweather, ESPN and CBS, as well as smaller, niche publishers in the mobile space. They have now announced the opening of a new East Coast headquarters in New York City.

"Marketers are increasingly extending their campaigns to mobile and we want to be available to guide them through best practices," said Tony Nethercutt, AdMob Vice President of Sales. "We are deepening our presence in New York to better support agencies and brands as they ramp their mobile marketing efforts."

Clearly mobile is on the minds of marketers and all indications are that it's just getting started. Especially this statistic: Since their founding, AdMob has served over 15 billion ads - more than 2 billion, or roughly 13%, in December 2007 alone.