Knowledge is the Foundation To Success  

A battle of epic proportions is brewing as Apple is anticipated to announce their mobile advertising platform (rumored to be named “iAd”) tomorrow at their April 8 iPhone OS 4.0 Event.  The smartphone pioneer Apple acquired Quattro Wireless in January, 2010 for $275 million and it appears that they are ready to join Google in the mobile advertising arena, an arena that has been receiving quite a bit of federal scrutiny since Google’s purchase of AdMob for a whopping $750 million in late 2009.

After Apple bought Quattro, Google posted a Public Policy Blog welcoming Apple into the mobile ad space.  Google stated that Apple’s acquisition of “Quattro Wireless is further proof that the mobile advertising space continues to be competitive. And with more investments and acquisitions in the space, including from established players like Apple and Google, that’s a sign that vigorous growth and competition will continue. That’s ultimately great for users, advertisers and publishers alike.”

Although the gesture is nice and professional, it leaves me wondering whether or not Google will be singing the same welcoming tune once Apple starts implementing their competitive mobile advertising systems.  Sure, Apple buying Quattro looks good to the Feds for now, but we all REALLY know that there is only one true online advertising behemoth.  Google has online advertising on lockdown – it will be interesting to see how this all plays out and to see if Apple manages to squeeze their way into the mobile advertising market and become a true player.

So, the Clash of the Titans continues between Google’s search advertising dominance and Apple’s consumer gadget/application expertise.  Bottom line is this:  Google becomes better and better the more we use the internet (whether leaving Yelp reviews, commenting on blog posts, tweeting, etc…) while Apple is merely helping us to use the internet more with their fancy devices.  So, really it doesn’t matter who wins the Clash of the Titans – no matter what, Google wins. Even though I can already assume the outcome, I am still excited to see who will cash in most on the mobile advertising gold rush that is sure to come in the next few years.

Just as the prices have plunged on smart phones and data plans, mobile searches have skyrocketed.  This obvious inverse relationship can also be credited to “smarter” smart phones with faster browsers capable of accessing data with the swift flick of a button. “Soon we’ll have mobile phones with 2Ghz processors, which is more than in a lot of laptops,” predicts Google’s vice president of engineering, Andy Rubin.

Lower prices mean higher accessibility to the masses.  Smart phones are no longer exclusive to business professionals but include users ranging from teenagers in New York City to farmers in Iowa.  What does this mean to you and your business?  No matter your industry, your product or service is going to be searched for using a smart phone.  Jump into the still-shallow pool of mobile-friendly advertisers now to capture the most market share.

You don’t have to have a specialized mobile website in order to take advantage of this lucrative new search market.  If you’re using a desktop PC, use this handy tool from Google to determine if your website is mobile-friendly and navigable through the eyes of a smart phone:  Google Mobile Browser.  Try, for example, to search for “JumpFly”.  Once your page of search results appears, click into the JumpFly site and see the way our site would appear on a mobile browser.  Not quite as flashy and full of color as our HTML-rich site, but still mobile-friendly, organized and inclusive of our main content. 

Not able to see your website?  Keep in mind that mobile browsers are not yet capable of flash display.  Also, mobile phones use internet browsing technology called WAP (Wireless Application Protocol). Due to the limitations of WAP browsers in terms of screen size and allowable download, you may need to simplify your current website design.  Here are a few important principles about mobile website design that you should consider when making the most user-friendly mobile website:

• Know your customers in order to deliver them the most appropriate content:  mobile users interact with your site differently compared to traditional customers sitting at a desk facing a large monitor. Mobile customers might be waiting in line, commuting to work, or lost in an unfamiliar town and trying to get somewhere.

• The most important information that you want users to see should be located at the top of the page.  It can be time-consuming for mobile phones to browse through an entire site; placing the most desirable information at the top will provide the most convenient site experience.

• There is no mouse on a mobile phone – only an up-down feature – so you can’t demand that users jump around the page.

• Always provide a ‘back’ button or link, since many phones don’t include a back button.

Once your website is mobile-ready, you are ready to drive your most targeted traffic to the site using pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.  Stay tuned for my next blog with tips and best practices to build your most effective mobile PPC advertising campaign!

Google continues to ramp up their Mobile Advertising initiatives with improved Mobile Ads Reporting. The improved AdWords Mobile Ads Reporting enables advertisers to better determine how their ads are performing in the mobile marketplace. If advertisers see that they are generating a decent amount of mobile device generated traffic, it then makes sense to take the time to cater to these potential customers with new targeted Google AdWords Campaigns, Ad Groups & Ads that cater to these mobile users. Also keep in mind that mobile phones do not currently support flash, and landing pages catering to mobile users should be as simple as possible. For more information, contact a qualified PPC Management Company for a complimentary consultation.

This functionality certainly has value, but may still be a bit ahead of its time as currently only a small percentage of overall ads are displayed on mobile devices compared to the PC. However, this trend is changing, and fast. The graph provided in this article is provided by Google and indicates US Mobile Search growth over the past 1 1/2 years. The growth is fairly staggering and likely just getting started.

It may be this growth pattern that encouraged Google to officially launch their own Google Nexus One Phone. Google is aware that the future of their PC generated pay-per-click (PPC) advertising revenue may be jeopardized by the rapidly emerging mobile market and therefore appear to be staking a claim to the mobile industry, and in a major way.

Google already developed what is emerging as the dominant mobile operating system with Android, and recently acquired AdMob, the largest provider of mobile ads. Mobile is the future, no doubt, and Google is doing everything it can to position itself to be the dominant mobile player in every area possible. While Google AdWords still represents 95% of Google’s revenues, that figure is certain to change as mobile ads, devices and software begin to generate more serious revenue streams.