Brafton may have recently reported that mobile marketers shouldn't underestimate the value of simple texts, but nor should they fail to acknowledge the potential of mobile-optimized search campaigns. According to a recent report from comScore, consumers are increasingly searching the web via their phones.
ComScore's recently released August 2010 Mobile Subscriber Market Share indicates that surfing the internet is the top gaining on-the-go activity among mobile subscribers. In August, 34.5 percent of cell phone owners used a mobile browser. This demonstrates a 2.6 percent increase over May of 2010, when just 31.9 percent of mobile users searched the web via their devices.
Using a browser was the second-most popular mobile activity, following sending text messages. It exceeded accessing social networks, which was an activity for 22.5 percent of users in August.
Brands looking to establish mobile-ready search campaigns should consult the Internet Advertising Bureau's mobile marketing best practice guide, which Brafton reported on earlier this year. While the guide offers tips on in-app mobile advertising, marketers should think of taking their mobile campaigns straight to mobile search – comScore says less than one-third of mobile subscribers (32.3 percent) downloaded apps in August.
Still, the IAB offers guidance about mobile-optimized landing pages that should translate across mobile ad channels. These tips may come in handy for a number of marketers as Brafton reported earlier this year that mobile ad spend is poised to exceed $1.2 billion over the next five years.
