'Net Features : mobile search

Search 2012: The Mobile Effect

Michael Garrity — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:30:00 GMT

The mobile Web is changing the way people search the Internet.

If the past year has taught anything to Web workers, it is that mobile will be a driving force for users to access our websites. Users will continue to access the Web on mobile devices well past 2012, and the upcoming year will provide more insight into how they attempt their searches -- whether they be on smartphones, tablets or any number of other devices.

While it is hard to predict exactly what will happen with mobile search over the next 12 months, especially in this ever-changing technological environment, some 2011 trends seem to paint a helpful picture.

Here are three big advances in mobile search from 2011 -- and a look at how they may affect mobile search in 2012.

1. Localization
Very few Web technologies have had as severe an impact as the local movement, headed up by companies like Foursquare, Groupon and Yelp, which encompasses areas as vast and varied as ecommerce, social media and, of course, search.

Because one of 2011’s most prominent Web trends has been localized daily deals per sites like Groupon and LivingSocial, mobile searches seem to be looking for these deals with more and more frequency. Should this industry remain stable through the next year, the natural move seems to be to focus these deals more on individual consumer relevance, and mobile will be a leading factor in that change.

Foursquare is hands down the leading mobile check-in service, and it's already got the ball rolling when it comes to cashing-in on local deals with their “Foursquare Specials” feature. As technologies continue to advance and deals start to become the norm, expect them to center more on personalization and be highly targeted. Should this happen, users will be able to find local deals based on their past shopping choices, as well as relevant deals near them when they are traveling and shopping somewhere new.

In order for local deals to take it to the next level, they’re going to have to utilize mobile and integrate with check-in services, so expect to see mobile search reconfigured to adapt to this change. The key for marketers will be trying to find a way to get local deals to the most relevant mobile users possible when they’re searching from their smartphones or tablets.

2. Ads
Search engine advertisement spending has, for some time now, been one of the largest areas of ad spend on the Web, and has proven to be a highly effective investment for many marketers who have taken advantage of it.

Early estimates show search advertising increasing by almost 20 percent in 2011, reaching approximately $14.4 billion. This will likely grow more next near, and that goes for mobile as well.

Current predictions say that mobile ad revenues in the United States in 2012 will grow as much as 50 percent over 2011 (reaching around $1.6 billion). This is due in part because of the growth of mobile local search, which now accounts for 40 percent of Google mobile searches, the willingness of advertisers to evolve and adapt to that change and, perhaps most importantly, higher performing location-based targeted ads driving up premium rates.

Suffice it to say, the money to be made in mobile advertising is going to be largely in mobile search, particularly at the local level. Not only is investing in mobile local search a good way to appeal to new, relevant consumers, but it could also be a great way to see a comparatively high return on advertising spent.

3. Voice Search
Apple’s iPhone 4S announcement was a disappointment to some, but it did come with one big game-changer that will have major ramifications for both mobile development and the future of mobile search: Siri.

The voice-activated “personal assistant” provides users with answers to all of their most important (and not-so-important) queries. Users can ask about personal information, like daily appointments or schedules, but also about topics like the weather or movie showtimes, for which Siri (and, presumably, Siri-like features that will come to non-Apple smartphones in the near future) scours the Web to find answers.

As these voice-search services become more popular, mobile search query volumes will see a significant rise. Once it becomes more mainstream on mobile phones, voice search will start appearing in other connected devices, such as the Xbox 360.

Expect voice search to outgrow Apple in 2012 (especially if the rumors are true about Google developing its own solution, known as “Majel,” for Android phones) and become a much more prominent part of mobile search.

Mobile Accounts for 12 Percent of Paid Search

Linc Wonham — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:09:00 GMT

Performance marketing firm Performics has released its second-quarter mobile paid search data and found that mobile paid search traffic is now 12 percent of all paid search impressions (mobile + desktop), while mobile clicks are about to cross the 12-percent threshold.

This latest iteration of data is particularly noteworthy since Google Adwords is now breaking out “tablets with full browsers” as a distinct device within reporting, as of June 1. In the Q2 data, Performics found that tablets now account for 1.7 percent of all paid search impressions, which is 14 percent of all mobile impressions.

Performics has been tracking these mobile metrics among their clients for more than 18 months now. Some of the most interesting data points include the following:

• Mobile click share continued to rise in June to more than 11 percent of all search clicks. Tablets contributed more than 13 percent of all mobile clicks.

• For the past two months, mobile and tablet devices have been virtually tied with computers for click thru rates (CTRs). This follows 11 months during which mobile devices largely lagged behind computers.

• Early tablet impressions are heavily weighted towards display, with virtually no impressions coming from search partners. Tablet clicks, similar to both computers and mobile devices, are largely coming through Google search.

Mobile Search Queries Spike on Weekends

Mike Phillips — Wed, 18 May 2011 13:56:00 GMT

This week Google and Digitas announced a collaborative effort to better measure mobile marketing by combining "original Google and Digitas search and marketing data to forecast trends, inform investment strategies, and drive the creation of mobile optimized Web sites," according to the release.

As part of that announcement, some interesting data was released about mobile search, centered on the period surrounding Mother's Day. According to the data, 33% of Google queries for the term "flowers" came from mobile devices. In the week leading up to Mother's Day, desktop searches for "flowers" increased Monday to Friday then declined on the weekend. But mobile searches steadily increased all week and throughout the weekend. Also, "flowers" was searhced on mobile devices over 100% more than last year, suggesting mobile search is on the rise across the board, and that consumers are increasingly using mobile devices to shop.

This is yet another reminder that mobile search is on the rise, is taking place anywhere and everywhere, and is not limited to any particular day of the week. In fact, this data suggests that mobile search is highest on weekends. Knowing this, Web professionals might benefit from testing dayparting mobile advertising strategies to target weekends, and timing promotions and discounts to take advantage of weekend usage patterns.

Mobile SEO with Evan Bailyn

Mike Phillips — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 18:35:00 GMT

The mobile market is ever-expanding and in every area. But while mobile apps get most of the attention, mobile Web browsing is still a major factor -- and browsing means mobile search. So, how do you make sure your website and business can be found easily by a mobile searcher? For some more insight into mobile SEO, we spoke with Evan Bailyn, SEO expert and owner of FirstPageSage.com.

So what are mobile searchers looking for? "Normally social, entertainment-related products -- restaurants, movies, books and maybe some light research," says Bailyn. "If you have a very local business, you will want to be on Google Local. Write the name of your business, and type of business." For example, a jeweler will want to include some extra information in the business name, such as 'Smith and Company - Engagement Rings.' "That instantly taps into the relevance algorithms." And while these changes can take up to four weeks, according to Bailyn, "Usually that name change alone will end up on first page."

There are other ways to target mobile users.

"There's a whole niche industry around misspelled keywords," says Bailyn. "Just a little SEO can optimize for misspellings. Even though there's so much auto-correct [on mobile devices], it wouldn't apply with company names." So, make sure your keywords include any variations of your company name, commonly-misspelled industry words or other words relevant to your business such as street and city names.

Keyword opportunities can also be found in subtle differences between mobile and desktop queries. "What I have found is that people will still type in the same queries as a PC, except when there's an abbreviation available," says Bailyn. For example, New York Cleaning Service on a PC search might be 'Cleaning Service NYC' on a mobile search.

Another area making an impact on mobile (and in search results) is social media. Bailyn believes that mobile social SEO will be an important factor moving forward.

"One thing I think is pretty fascinating is that both Facebook and Twitter have been making strides on a hyper-local level. Twitter has announced geo-location feature. You're also going to be able to drill down -- if you're at a Chili's on 72nd street, you can find tweeted reviews of that restaurant on the fly, or what people are tweeting about while at this place.

"Facebook's open social graph is one of the most exciting things to happen on the Internet in a really long time. They're going to make it possible to get recommendations for certain things you like. In the future, you might see something like 'While in this area ... did you know your friend John likes ABC restaurant?' Of course, they will also be serving an ad based on where you are."

In other words, tapping into the social graph is an important part of mobile SEO. The more 'social' people get, the more they will be turning to these networks to find what they need on-the-go. This can include presences on Facebook, Twitter and Yelp, and more mobile-specific applications like Foursquare and Loopt.

Finally, make sure your website is mobile-friendly. For instance, Flash is not supported by the iPhone or indexed by the major search engines at all. So, a Flash-intensive website is going to be be problematic. Make sure your website appears properly on those mobile devices where users are most likely to browse -- an iPhone, BlackBerry and Android-supported device. And remember that users are dealing with a small screen. So, keep your objective in mind and the number of steps low, such as the number of required fields in a mobile-friendly contact form. Or, as Bailyn puts it, "Get to the point."