Mobile Search Spend on the Rise

Allison Howen
by Allison Howen 15 Jul, 2014

More marketers are putting their money into mobile, as recent data from Covario's Paid Search Spend Analysis for the second quarter of 2014 shows that mobile search spend has risen 98 percent over last year and 6 percent since the first quarter of this year. Moreover, mobile platforms now represent 25 percent of all paid search spending.

 

The Global Paid Search Spend Analysis takes a look at data on the search spending patterns of Covario's global technology, consumer electronics and retail search marketing clients. The data reveals that first half spending on pay-per-click advertising (PPC) has been strong, with a 21 percent rise above the second quarter of 2013 and a 2 percent lift above 2014's first quarter. Additionally, global click-through rates (CTRs) for all desktop and mobile devices increased by 39 percent over the second quarter in 2013, while cost-per-click (CPC) prices rose 12 percent since last year and 2.4 percent since the first quarter. 

It is important to note that the data shows the Americas region, which is led by paid search investments in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Chile and Brazil, saw a 31 percent year-over-year increase in search spending. Conversely, in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), search spending increased 3 percent over the second quarter of 2013 and 5 percent over the first quarter. According to Covario's director of global paid media strategy and the study's author, Alex Funk, the EMEA region's growth was driven by an increase in click activity and by higher CTRs on ad creative.

 

In addition, the data reveals that search ad spending in the Asia/Pacific region (APAC) saw just 1 percent year-over-year growth and 6 percent quarter-over-quarter growth. The data found that Baidu, which dominates the Chinese search market, captured 25 percent of the overall APAC search market share, with 69 percent of the market share going to Google and 4 percent going to Naver, which is South Korea's leading search engine.

 

For additional insights into the report, check out Covario's infographic below: