A report from Google suggests that mobile is quickly becoming a major player in web marketing campaigns.

On the company’s Mobile Ads blog, Jason Spero, Google head of global mobile, released a series of predictions surrounding mobility. Among the most important elements was that more than 1 billion people will use mobile as a primary internet access point by the end of 2012.

As both smartphones and tablets become more popular and widely used, consumers use these devices for more tasks. Mobile search is among these, as those looking for quick information about areas’ businesses or potential business investments turn to their handsets to get it.

With this in mind, Google also said that mobile will become a critical factor in purchases. Consumers will spend more money upon conducting mobile searches, whether it comes directly on their device or at a store.

Aside from mobile display ads or custom apps, businesses can improve mobile search visibility by altering their keyword strategy to include location-based terms. Mobile SEO differs in that it focuses more on the location of the device.

In general, search’s role in purchase decisions has grown substantially. Whether mobile or desktop, Brafton recently reported 55 percent of consumers access search engines more than once every day.

Joe Meloni is Brafton's former Executive News and Content Writer. He studied journalism at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has written for a number of print and web-based publications.