A survey from AdMob indicates that tablet users are increasingly searching the mobile web, and internet marketers should take note.

According to a recent AdMob report, tablet owners are using their portable devices more than traditional devices, which means tablets are an increasingly important marketing channel. Search marketing may particularly engage this mobile audience, as searching for information is a top tablet activity.

The report, relayed by eMarketer, indicates that nearly half of tablet owners (43 percent) spend more time with their tablets than with desktop or laptop computers. Similarly, 41 percent spend more time with tablets than with smartphones, and more than one-third (34 percent) spend more time using tablets than watching TV.

Businesses looking to connect with this high-tech mobile audience should consider SEO. The study found that searching for information is the second-leading tablet activity, performed by 78 percent of users. (It closely followed playing games – an activity among 84 percent of tablet users.)

Marketers trying to decide which optimized content to publish might consider custom news; reading news is a top activity for 61 percent of tablet users. Notably, custom news content was a hot topic of discussion at the recent ad:tech San Francisco conference, with Arianna Huffington advising marketers that journalistic content engages online audiences.

Investing in search marketing and SEO content for tablets could pay off. The AdMob study found that shopping online is an activity among nearly half of tablet users (41 percent). This finding supports forecasts that overall mobile commerce will rise, with mobile shoppers expected to spend $119 billion by 2015.

Katherine Griwert is Brafton's Marketing Director. She's practiced content marketing, SEO and social marketing for over five years, and her enthusiasm for new media has even deeper roots. Katherine holds a degree in American Studies from Boston College, and her writing is featured in a number of web publications.