Google Mobile Ads Blog

Mobile is a lot bigger in Latin America than you think

2012-05-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

Today we continue our exploration of regional findings from the new 2012 Our mobile Planet research and examine smartphone behavior in Latin America.

Did you know that Brazil has more smartphone users than Germany or France do?1 In fact, with about 27M and 23M smartphone users respectively, Brazil and Mexico both have more smartphone users than Australia has people (Australia’s population is around 22M).2 These are some of the surprising results from the new 2012 Our Mobile Planet smartphone research, which mark Brazil and Mexico’s arrival as mobile giants on the global scene. The study also revealed exciting insights from Argentina - with 24% smartphone penetration, Argentina has not only the highest penetration of the three Latin American countries included in the study - it also has higher smartphone penetration than Germany did just one year ago.

These numbers defy the common perception that these large Latin American markets are far behind the rest of the world in smartphone adoption. They in fact already possess larger absolute numbers of smartphone users than many other countries, and above-average usage patterns in many areas. For example:

65% of Mexican smartphone users search on their phones every day, compared to 57% in the U.S.
90% of Argentine smartphone users use their phones to access social networks, compared to 63% in Japan
29% of Brazilian smartphone users have changed their minds about a purchase while in a store due to research conducted on their phone, compared to 15% in Canada

It’s clear that mobile has arrived in a big way in these markets. To better understand the importance of smartphones across Latin America and the world, visit thinkwithgoogle.com/mobileplanet to gain free access to powerful data across 40 countries in 22 languages. Other Latin America highlights from the study include:

Mobile Is Changing the Way Latin American Consumers Interact with the World...

57% of Brazilian smartphone users read newspapers or magazines on their phones

73% of Argentine smartphone users check email on their phones every day

81% of Mexican smartphone users watch video on their phones

...Especially When It Comes to Shopping

26% of Mexican smartphone users have made a purchase on their phone itself
45% of Brazilian smartphone users have made a purchase on their computer as a result of conducting research on their phone
82% of Argentine smartphone users have researched a product or service on their phones

Smartphones have arrived in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, and businesses who sell to customers in these markets need to react quickly to follow the consumer and implement cross-channel strategies that incorporate mobile. To learn more about Latin American mobile consumer behavior, check out the data explorer and chart builder on thinkwithgoogle.com/mobileplanet. Get the data you need to understand the new mobile consumer and to help shape your mobile business strategies.

Posted by Peter Fernandez, Head of Mobile Advertising, Latin America

(1) With a population of about 195M (World Bank) and smartphone penetration of 14%, Brazil has about 27M smartphone users. With populations of about 82M and 65M and smartphone penetration of 29% and 38% respectively, Germany and France have about 24M and 25M smartphone users.
(2) With a population of about 113M and smartphone penetration of 20%, Mexico has about 23M smartphone users.

Europe and Middle East leading the smartphone race

2012-05-22T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today we continue our exploration of regional findings from the new 2012 Our Mobile Planet research by examining smartphone behavior in Europe and the Middle East.

UK, Sweden and Norway increased smartphone adoption by 20% in just a year

Click to view UK mobile consumer infographic

Do you see smartphones everywhere these days? As the new Our Mobile Planet smartphone research shows, the Middle East is leading the smartphone race globally with 62% of mobile users being on smartphones in UAE and 60% in Saudi Arabia. In the UAE 71% of users are accessing Internet every day and 75% use their smartphones at airports, proving that the UAE is an international hub. In addition, more than half of consumers in the UK, Norway and Sweden now have a smartphone. Smartphone adoption in these 3 countries increased by more than 20% since our study last year.

All these results are a part of a global study we conducted with Ipsos MediaCT on smartphone users across 26 countries in Q1 2012, including 17 countries in Europe and the Middle East that is available on thinkwithgoogle.co.uk/mobileplanet.

Now let’s have a closer look at the region with the highest mobile adoption.

The Middle East has young active mobile shoppers and social networkers

Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are new countries that we added to the study this year. What stands out in the demography of this smartphone population is that they are predominantly young and male; more than 72% are below 34 years old and more than 62% are male. These consumers are so dedicated to their mobile devices that more than 73% don’t leave home without them.

From the data, we can see that smartphone owners in the Middle East are the most active mobile shoppers. In Egypt, 41% of smartphone owners have a made a purchase on their mobile device, and of these mobile shoppers 80% make purchases once a month or more. This monthly shopping behavior is the highest out of all of the countries that participated and in fact, 46% of Egyptians expect to make more mobile purchases in the future.

Among smartphone shoppers, Egyptians purchase most frequently

Mobile consumers in the Middle East are also using their smartphones to engage with online and offline advertisements. For example, more than ¾ of smartphone users in Egypt have performed a mobile search after seeing an ad such as a TV commercial offline. Although, only half look at the first page of search results on their phones, more than 90% of smartphone users in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and UAE notice mobile advertising when they are surfing the mobile web.

Be ready for the mobile revolution with GetMo, Start Mobile & Mobilisez-vous

GetMo (aka GoMo) site launched in the UK

One of the major takeaways from this study is that Europeans are among the most active smartphone users globally. This means that it is about time for your businesses to follow consumers and give them a mobile optimized experience when they are looking for services on-the-go. To help businesses get ready to create mobile sites, we have recently launched our Go Mobile (GoMo) initiative in many European countries; GetMo (UK), Start Mobile (DE), GetMo (NL), Mobilisez-vous (FR), Haz tu web movile (ES) and Move mobile (IT). If your business is currently creating a mobile strategy, you can get concrete advice and start creating your mobile presence through the GoMo initiative. In addition, find out more about your future mobile customer by visiting thinkwithgoogle.co.uk/mobileplanet.

Posted by Frank Albert Coates, Product Marketing Manager, Mobile & Social ads EMEA

Save the date for mobile education week, June 4th - 8th

2012-05-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

One of the things we hear the most from our agency partners and customers is that it’s hard to keep track of all the features, resources, or tools to help your business succeed on mobile. We understand! We’re inviting you to mark your calendars for the first week of June, “Mobile Education Week”. From June 4th-8th, we’re running a series of free webinars in partnership with the Learn With Google program, which will take you on a deep dive on some hot topics in the world of mobile marketing.

Tues, June 5: GoMo: Mobilize your Site with Quick and Easy New Tools from Google & DudaMobile (Register here)

Watch as we showcase how businesses can go mobile and build a mobile-friendly site live in the webinar. We’ll be partnering with the experts at Dudamobile to show you the new tool to mobilize your site for free.

Wednesday, June 6th: Our Mobile Planet: Understanding U.S. Smartphone Consumers (Register here)

We recently unveiled Google’s latest edition of our mobile usage research here: thinkwithgoogle.com/mobileplanet. Discover how smartphones are transforming core consumer behavior and the way we connect with others, stay informed, keep ourselves entertained, shop and navigate the world around us. Join us as we discuss implications for advertisers and strategies businesses can use to win the moments that matter with mobile.

Thursday, June 7th: Introducing Mobile Apps Inventory in AdWords (Register here)

According to comScore, 4 out of 5 mobile media minutes in the US are spent in apps. Now, AdWords makes it easy for you to extend your campaigns to reach users inside mobile apps. We'll review mobile-specific targeting, ad units, and reporting than enable you to optimize your ROI.

Click on the links next to each event to register. To see more Learn With Google educational events, visit http://www.google.com/ads/experienced/webinars.html.

Posted by Sonja Lee, Google Mobile Ads

Smartphones have large impact on US searching and shopping behavior

2012-05-16T13:59:00.000-07:00

Today we continue our exploration of regional findings from the new 2012 Our Mobile Planet research and examine smartphone behavior in the United States.

Smartphones have taken America by storm. In less than a year, smartphone penetration in the US has jumped more than 10%. 44% of Americans now own a smartphone and the new 2012 Our Mobile Planet smartphone research shows that they’ve become increasingly indispensable to our daily lives. Smartphones continue to transform core consumer behavior, from how we connect with others, keep entertained, search, shop and look for local information. This has implications for marketers who now have more opportunity to reach the constantly connected consumer. You can see many of the key findings on US mobile consumer behavior in the infographic below.

Click to download US Mobile Consumer Behavior infographic

Highlights from the US Our Mobile Planet Smartphone Research

Many of the global mobile consumer behavior findings we shared yesterday are common for US smartphone owners. You can explore these findings using the chart builder tool on thinkwithgoogle.com/mobileplanet or get the topline insights by downloading the country level report. Today we explore findings from the US smartphone research and their implications for businesses via slides from the downloadable US country report.

Smartphones Provide Answers at Your Fingertips - Anytime, Anywhere
Smartphones are little portable computers in our pockets, allowing us to find information on-the-go or at home, whenever and wherever we want. Whether we’re trying to settle a trivia bet with a friend, find the nearest gas station or get the latest news, we’re increasingly using our smartphones to get the information we need.

80% never leave home without their phones in hand
71% use their smartphones at restaurants and 56% at airports, among many other locations
62% have used their smartphone to go online seven out of seven days in the past week
57% of smartphone searchers conduct searches everyday on their phones

What’s the implication for businesses of consumers having answers at their fingertips and information at their whim whenever they want? It means your customers have more opportunities to become engaged with your business. You need to be where your customers are, and today that means they are on mobile.

This is important because 66% of smartphone users search as a result of seeing an offline ad. For example, 58% look for more information after seeing an ad on TV. The new smartphone research also tells us that 52% of smartphone owners use the Internet on their phones while watching TV. In fact, 86% are using their smartphones while consuming some other form of media.

It’s important to get your message found by consumers, as 61% of smartphone users only look at the first page of search results and 89% notice mobile ads. Businesses should integrate mobile into cross-media campaign plans and understand that today’s consumers can easily be activated by the multiple screens and media around them.

Smartphones Transform the Shopping Process

Smartphones have significantly changed the way Americans shop and make purchase decisions. 96% of smartphone owners use their mobile devices to research product and service information. 35% intentionally have their smartphones with them to compare prices and find product info while on the go, and 32 % have actually changed their mind about purchasing a product while in a store as a result of smartphone research. Smartphones are thus making us smarter shoppers and are influential at the point of purchase.

Research on smartphones also leads to purchases across channels. 37% end up purchasing online and 32% prefer to purchase in-store after having conducted research on a product or service on their smartphones.

We also see that mobile is an emerging point of purchase as 35% of smartphone Internet users have made a purchase on their smartphone (not including apps purchases). 68% have done this in the past month. What’s more is that these smartphone shoppers are purchasing often with 62% of smartphone shoppers saying they make some kind of purchase on their phones at least once a month.

It’s clear that smartphones have become a critical part of the shopping process and an indispensable shopping tool that influences not only if consumers will make a purchase but also where. With this instant access to information all the time, smartphones are breaking down the walls between digital and physical worlds. Consumers will go where they can find the most convenience, the best price or the greatest customer experience. Businesses need to understand this radical shift in core consumer behavior and implement cross-channel strategies that incorporate mobile. It’s also critically important that businesses have mobile-optimized websites as consumers research and buy on mobile, and a poor mobile site experience could make the difference between winning or losing a customer.

To learn more about US mobile consumer behavior, get the US Our Mobile Planet country report, download the infographic or use the data explorer and chart builder on thinkwithgoogle.com/mobileplanet. Get the data you need to understand the new mobile consumer and to help shape your mobile business strategies.

Posted by Dai Pham, Group Product Marketing Manager, Google Mobile Ads

GoMo: Build a mobile site in minutes, the recap

2012-05-16T08:31:00.000-07:00

In case you missed it, last Thursday Google hosted a mobile site builder product demonstration and broadcasted it live with Hangouts on Air on Think With Google’s Google+ page. During the Hangout, we featured two businesses building mobile-friendly sites in minutes. Participants included:

Dennis Mink, Chief Marketing Office from DudaMobile
Adrienne Burhoe, Chief Operating Officer from Top Mast Resort in Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Felicia Viening, General Manager from Savas Restaurant in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Key takeaways

Understand your mobile user and the content they need, and bring those elements to your mobile-friendly site
Make it easy for people to contact and find your business
Remember to paste the auto-redirect code to your desktop site
Create a mobile-friendly site today with Google’s simple and easy-to-use site creation tool

Check out the recorded video of our Hangout below and visit howtogomo.com/getstarted to build your own mobile site. It only takes minutes and Google will pick up the cost for the first year.

Posted by: Suzanne Mumford, Product Marketing Manager, Google Mobile Ads

Smartphone adoption and usage soars in Asia in 2012

2012-05-15T17:00:00.001-07:00

Today we continue our exploration of regional findings from the new 2012 Our Mobile Planet research and examine smartphone behavior in the Asia Pacific region.

Have you ever left home without your mobile phone? If so, you probably remember the feeling of anxiety that comes from being disconnected. The new Our Mobile Planet smartphone research shows that you are not alone in this feeling. In Australia 74% of smartphone owners do not leave home without their phone and in Japan that number is even higher at 78%. Just like they have shown rapid growth in the economy and in culture recently, Asian countries are gaining momentum in increasing smartphone usage.

To better understand the importance of smartphones across Asia, and to see how it relates to you and your business, visit thinkwithgoogle.com/mobileplanet to gain free access to powerful data across 40 countries in 22 languages. This is an updated version of previous Our Mobile Planet research, with an improved user interface for easier navigation and newly updated data. We commissioned Ipsos MediaCT to conduct new research on smartphone Internet users across 26 countries in Q1 2012, including four APAC countries - Australia, China, Japan and New Zealand. You can also find last year’s research data from eight other APAC countries including Korea, Singapore and India.

New 2012 Research Findings: Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand

1. APAC consumers increasingly choose smartphones

Smartphone penetration in Asia has increased by leaps and bounds within less than a year. Even though it was broadly known that Japanese people often use their phones to search on the Internet in their daily lives, in our last year’s research, only 6% of respondents answered that they have smartphones. However, the number has more than tripled this year and now 20% of Japanese people are smartphone users. In Australia, more than half of the population(52%) own smartphones and this is 40% growth from last year’s stats(37%)
The importance of smartphones can be seen throughout Asia in a number of ways, for example in China 54% of smartphone owners would rather give up their TV than their smartphone, or in New Zealand 59% of smartphone owners access the Internet on a daily basis. Smartphones are already becoming indispensable to Asian consumers.

2. APAC consumers are active smartphone users

77% of Japanese smartphone users have used their phone every day in the past 7 days, which is the highest among the 26 around the world where we conducted research. 64% of Chinese users, 58% of Australians and 46% of New Zealanders also use their phones everyday.
Search is one of the most common activities on smartphones. 68% of Japanese, 63% of Chinese, and 51% of Australian smartphone owners perform mobile searches everyday.

3. Smartphones are used with other media

Smartphone owners consume multiple other types of media in conjunction with their smartphone. The top three cross media activities are watching TV, listening to music, and using the Internet. In Japan, more than half (53%) of respondents use smartphones when they watch TV and 30% of them use while surfing the Internet. This data shows that mobile marketing is no longer optional – consumers are always on their smartphones, even when they have other entertainment media options.
People search on mobile after seeing an offline ad. Chinese smartphone users are very responsive as a staggering 87% have performed a mobile search after seeing an ad. This figure is high in other markets as well, 63% of Australians, 62% of Japanese, and 57% of New Zealanders also search on their phones after seeing an offline ad.

Consumers take an action after local search: Called business or service after searching on smartphone

4. Smartphones are the new yellow pages for local businesses

Having a mobile presence is critical for local businesses. In Australia and New Zealand, 86% and 80% of smartphone users search locally on their phones. The number is even higher in Japan and China where 91% and 93% of respondents indicated that they search local businesses on their phones.
Consumers do not stop after search. They actually visit the store, call the business, and make purchases. From the graph above, you can see how many people call the businesses after performing a local search. Consumers from Australia and New Zealand showed similarly high results, 54% and 50% respectively. 33% of Chinese users and 17% of Japanese users also answered that they called the businesses after searching locally.

5. Shopping on mobile devices is growing, be ready for your customers

Through our research we discovered that almost all of the smartphone users in APAC countries use their smartphones to research a product or service. In Japan 100% of smartphone owners use their mobile device to research products or services. These numbers are high throughout APAC where we see 94% from Australia, 97% from China, and 66% from New Zealand.
Smartphone shoppers also make mobile purchases quite often. Of the people in China that have made a purchase on their smartphone, 76% of them make mobile purchases at least once a month, which is the highest number globally. 59% of Australians, 52% of New Zealanders and 51% of the Japanese smartphone shoppers also make purchases at least once a month.

It’s clear that consumers have gone mobile and that businesses need to think about how to make reaching the new mobile consumer an important part of their strategy. Visit thinkwithgoogle.com/mobileplanet to get the insights you need to make data driven decisions on how to engage with your customers on their smartphone.

Posted by: Soyeon Kim, APAC Product Marketing Manager, Google Mobile Ads

New research shows 6 countries are the clear leaders in smartphone adoption. Do you know which ones?

2012-05-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

As smartphones grow in number and importance, finding good data to understand mobile consumer behavior is increasingly important for businesses. Today we are launching the new 2012 Our Mobile Planet smartphone research for 26 countries at thinkwithgoogle.com/mobileplanet. Altogether Our Mobile Planet provides free access to unique data for a total of 40 countries in 22 languages from the 2011 and 2012 waves of research. We commissioned Ipsos MediaCT to conduct this research and are making it available in conjunction with the Mobile Marketing Association and the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

So which 6 countries have the highest smartphone adoption? Australia, UK, Sweden, Norway, Saudi Arabia and UAE all have more than 50% of their population on smartphones. An additional seven countries - the US, New Zealand, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland - now have more than 40% smartphone penetration. These numbers show that a global mobile movement is happening as smartphone adoption moves mainstream. Mobile devices have become indispensable to people’s lives and are driving massive changes in consumer behavior.

Visit thinkwithgoogle.com/mobileplanet today to:

thinkwithgoogle.com/mobileplanet provides smartphone usage data for 40 countries

Discover new mobile insights and create custom, presentation-ready charts. You can compare across 40 countries, see year-over-year trends, or segment by demographics to understand specific smartphone usage patterns with our updated chart builder tool.
Get the country level Executive Summary Reports. Download a summary of the key research findings to learn how smartphones have transformed core consumer behaviors, including how we search, shop, keep ourselves entertained and navigate the world. Country reports are available for the 26 countries in the 2012 research.
Dive deeper with full data downloads. Access the raw country level data for the 2012 research.

Global Findings from the 2012 Research
These are key highlights and findings from the 26 countries in the 2012 research:

Mobile moves mainstream as smartphone adoption advances rapidly around the world.

Explore smartphone data patterns on thinkwithgoogle.com/mobileplanet

The UK (51%), Sweden (51%) and Norway (54%) all saw a dramatic increase of more than 20% in smartphone adoption in less than one year.
52% of Australians own a smartphone, 15% more than did last year.
Among the 26 countries, smartphone penetration was highest in the Middle East at 62% in the UAE and 60% in Saudi Arabia.
Argentina is starting to see strong traction in smartphone adoption as nearly a quarter of the population (24%) uses a smartphone.

Consumers in emerging markets have some of the highest levels of mobile engagement.
New in 2012, we’ve added data for China, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

People in these countries are the biggest information seekers with 68% of smartphone users in China, 73% in Saudi Arabia and 72% in Argentina searching on their mobile device daily.
Consumers in Egypt and Brazil are among the heaviest social networkers with 91% and 88% of smartphone users doing this.
59% of smartphone owners in China have made a purchase on their device, the highest among all countries in this study.

Looking for local information is a near universal smartphone behavior.
Consumers everywhere are using their smartphones to find businesses near them, then take action.

91% of Mexican smartphone owners look for local information and 88% take action.

58% of the French visit a business after looking for local information
48% of smartphone users in the UAE call a business after a local smartphone search.

Consumers are multi-tasking their media consumption.
There’s a clear global pattern of increasingly fragmented media attention as consumers shift between screens.

United States: Multi-tasking Mobile with other Media

Country Reports provide an executive summary of key smartphone findings
for the 26 countries in the 2012 research

80% of Japanese use their mobile device while consuming other media. 53% use their phones while watching TV and 30% while using the Internet on their computer.

In the US, 51% use their phones while listening to music
In Spain, 36% engage with mobile while reading a magazine.
75% in Brazil have performed a mobile search after seeing an offline ad.

Smartphones have made us smarter shoppers and influence purchase decisions.
Smartphones have become an important shopping tool that impact if and where we make a purchase.

100% of smartphone owners in Japan use their phone to research a purchase.
36% of Egyptians have changed their mind about a purchase while in a store due to smartphone research.
People are researching items on their smartphones before making a purchase in other channels. 52% in Ireland end up making a purchase on their computer and 37% in Argentina purchase in a store after researching on their smartphones.

We’ll be diving deep into regional data and insights over the next few days, so please stay tuned. In the meantime, visit www.thinkwithgoogle.com/mobileplanet to find answers to more of your questions about the mobile consumer.

Posted by: Dai Pham, Group Product Marketing Manager, Google Mobile Ads

Updates to our AdMob SDK

2012-05-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

Today we are posting an update to the AdMob SDKs for iOS and Android. This SDK update features several minor bug fixes and improvements.
We are also releasing an optional version of our SDK for iOS that includes the UDID parameter, which is used to improve ad performance and relevance. Apps utilizing this version must obtain appropriate user consent for sending device identifier information in compliance with relevant iOS policies. Posted by Chrix Finne, Product Manager

Reminder - GoMo: Mark your calendar to ‘Hangout on Air’ and learn how to build a mobile site in minutes on Thursday, May 10th at 1pm EST/10am PST

2012-05-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

Join us on Thursday, May 10th at 1pm EST/10am PST and watch as Google showcases how two businesses, Top Mast Resort in Massachusetts and Sava’s Restaurant in Michigan, go mobile and build mobile-friendly sites--live on air.

You’ll see how Top Mast is preparing to take advantage of mobile travel purchase intent - which is five times higher than online travel purchase intent, according to InsightExpress. You’ll also see Sava’s move ahead of 95% of restaurants that do not have mobile-friendly sites, according to a study by Restaurant Science.

Finally, you’ll hear from the CMO of Dudamobile, Dennis Mink; he’ll talk about best practices when using the mobile site builder and walk through important questions to ask yourself when building a mobile-friendly site.

Details on how to tune in

Sign into Google+ on Thursday, May 10th at 1pm EST/10am PST
Go to the Think with Google Google+ page
Look for the stream post and click to enter the live stream

Be sure to set a reminder in your calendar! If you have questions before or during the Hangout, post them with the hashtag #GoMoSite as a comment on the Google+ page.

Posted by Suzanne Mumford, Google Mobile Ads Marketing

GoMo: Mark your calendar to ‘Hangout on Air’ and learn how to build a mobile site in minutes

2012-05-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

Did you know that 40% of mobile web users reported that they’ve turned to a competitor’s site after a bad mobile experience1? With about half of all Americans now owning a smartphone2, it’s time for businesses to meet user expectations by delivering a mobile experience as good as the desktop experience. In short, it’s time to step up to the plate and build a site optimized for the mobile web.

Google can help. We recently teamed up with DudaMobile to release a free mobile site builder. In three easy steps you’re able to get started with mobile: (1) enter your site’s URL, (2) customize your site and (3) redirect mobile users automatically to the new mobile-friendly version. It’s free and takes just a few minutes to complete!

Join us on Thursday, May 10th at 1pm EST/10am PST and watch as Google showcases how two businesses, Top Mast Resort in Massachusetts and Sava’s Restaurant in Michigan, go mobile and build mobile-friendly sites--live on air.

You’ll see how Top Mast is preparing to take advantage of mobile travel purchase intent - which is five times higher than online travel purchase intent, according to InsightExpress. You’ll also see Sava’s move ahead of 95% of restaurants that do not have mobile-friendly sites, according to a study by Restaurant Science.

Finally, you’ll hear from the CMO of Dudamobile, Dennis Mink; he’ll talk about best practices when using the mobile site builder and walk through important questions to ask yourself when building a mobile-friendly site.

Details on how to tune in

Sign into Google+ on Thursday, May 10th at 1pm EST/10am PST
Go to the Think with Google Google+ page
Look for the stream post and click to enter the live stream

Carphone Warehouse proves mobile’s powerful multi-channel effect

2012-05-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

As head of online marketing for Carphone Warehouse, Gareth Jones instinctively believes in the “ripple effect” of mobile. “We have this hypothesis that a lot of what you do on mobile may not immediately affect the mobile sale, but that mobile is the glue that ties together multi-channel activity,” he says. “So a pound invested in mobile shouldn’t be assessed only from a mobile ROI.”

An unbeatable opportunity to test this theory landed in Gareth’s lap when Best Buy UK, a joint venture between Best Buy Inc and Carphone Warehouse Group, launched a fully transactional mobile website. Although Best Buy as a brand was subsequently pulled back from the UK, the insights Carphone Warehouse gained about mobile’s contribution to multi-channel brand building has already been built into its strategy.

Starting from a baseline of low brand awareness of Best Buy in the UK, Gareth and his team implemented an integrated Google advertising approach to supplement existing search activity. A series of roadblocks ran on YouTube for mobile to raise awareness, while pre-rolls on YouTube showed the brand’s TV ads. They also ran display ads across the AdMob network. Through these means, they hoped to gain mass reach and high frequency at relatively low cost while interacting with users through an on-the-go rich media experience.

The campaign saw a 45% increase in desktop CTR, a 30% increase in tablet CTR and a 29% lift in mobile CTR. Over the weekend of the YouTube takeovers, Best Buy brand terms saw an organic lift of about 25%. Meanwhile, mobile traffic grew week-on-week by 37% off the back of the YouTube takeover.

But these numbers are only part of the story; Carphone Warehouse also derived rich analytical insights about user behaviour. YouTube results provided much deeper information than what’s available when users consume a TV ad on TV, and the CPM for running it on YouTube was around 20% cheaper than TV boxes too. The YouTube roadblocks ran on specific days, and this enabled Gareth to study the mobile’s multi-channel influence. “We pretty much saw an immediate ripple effect,” he reveals. “Post-roadblock we saw a 29% increase in the subsequent week in brand searches on desktop.”

Earlier this year when Gareth’s team launched m.carphonewarehouse.com – the first fully transactional site in the telco category – they applied the insights from Best Buy and rolled them straight into the mobile plan for Carphone Warehouse. Going forward, the aim is to replicate the successful Best Buy Mobile model outside of North America and Western Europe too, and when that happens they’ll be ready.

Read the full case study on Best Buy UK’s mobile activity here.

Posted by: Matt Brocklehurst, Product Marketing Mobile Advertising

The Mobile Playbook: Guest post from 1-800Flowers.com’s Amit Shah

2012-05-02T14:31:00.000-07:00

We’re delighted to feature a guest post from Amit Shah, Director of Online, Mobile and Social Media, 1-800Flowers.com. Amit tackles Questions 1 & 2 from The Mobile Playbook.

For more than 30 years since Jim and Chris McCann started 1-800-Flowers.com, our mission has been rather simple: to deliver smiles. Whether it is a customer sending one of our truly original floral arrangements to celebrate a family member's birthday or a corporate executive sending one of our delicious gourmet food gift baskets to thank a business client, we deliver smiles across thousands of communities every day. Central to being successful in this mission is to make the experience of sending smiles easy. So we have always been at the forefront of whatever technology our consumers adapt and make it easy for them to interact with us whether it is using a telephone to dial our toll-free number, or using a laptop to reach us online or increasingly firing up their mobile phones and tablets to reach us on the mobile web or through an app.

This third wave of change for our business from mobile has been a real disrupter in how quickly we have seen our users embrace it, especially as the penetration of smartphones has rapidly increased in the last few years. This has really sharpened our focus on providing them an outstanding user experience on mobile. So even though we started with a mobile site, we followed it up with rich apps designed for the top three platforms used by a majority of our users. Along the way we realized that the mobile ecosystem allows for adoption across a spectrum of user types and use cases and our ability to meet these expectations while keeping the experience easy is a critical component of our value proposition. For example, power users can leverage our apps for rich functionality like push notifications and set them up to get reminders for an event like Valentine’s Day making it easy to send smiles to that someone special, whereas the more casual users can use their mobile browser and quickly reach our mobile site to also send that smile easily. Or for example, in the case of last minute shoppers, they can leverage our real time delivery calendar functionality on both the mobile web and apps to get same day delivery on the gift of their choice.

The focus on making it easy for our users also means that we are rarely static with our optimization efforts. In spite of having created an award winning mobile experience, we noticed from analytics data and consumer ethnographic studies that our users could be served better so last year we partnered with Moovweb to revamp our entire mobile experience including mobile site and all of our apps. By looking at best practices from around the web and taking a deep dive into the customer experience and functionalities of our old mobile website, we identified the right elements to guide our redesign efforts. The important lesson here is not to just bring all of the desktop functionalities into the mobile experience, but to bring the right elements to mobile that are both useful and engaging for the users.

Before After

We were especially rigorous in tightening the checkout flow where we eliminated more than half of the steps to checkout from the old experience. Even after we rolled out the new site and apps, we have continued our optimization efforts leveraging analytics data like purchase funnel metrics and qualitative inputs. For example, post-launch, we noticed that our ‘Find a Gift Fast’ functionality was heavily used by our mobile site users and it was buried a click deep on category pages and not on the home page. Through design iterations and testing we were able to move it upstream in the mobile web experience and add it to the homepage itself, thus eliminating even that single click barrier to access. The results from this build, test and iterate model have been exceptional both from business and customer satisfaction metrics alike. As we ramp up our preparations in the next couple of weeks for Mother’s Day, we will continue to make it easier for our customers to leverage our mobile experience. It takes us closer to our mission of delivering smiles– one smartphone at a time. Posted by: Amit Shah, Director of Online, Mobile and Social Media, 1-800Flowers.com

Thanks for your guest post, Amit!
Visit www.themobileplaybook.com to learn more. View it from your tablet if you can!

Behind the scenes with The Mobile Playbook: A cross-platform HTML5 site designed for tablets first

2012-05-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

Last week Google launched The Mobile Playbook, a resource guide for executives on how to implement mobile into their organizations and win with mobile. Today, we’d like to shed some light on the actual work that went behind themobileplaybook.com and what that means for advertisers from a technology and mobile strategy standpoint.

We built The Mobile Playbook in partnership with Hello Monday, a creative agency with strong capabilities in HTML5 design. We saw this site not only as an opportunity to showcase useful content but also as an opportunity to demonstrate the power of HTML5. To put it another way, we wanted to walk the talk. It is one thing to recommend that advertisers optimize across screens and another to actually do it ourselves.

To that end, we required that the content be staged on a mobile website instead of an app because of the cross-platform reach we could get from this approach; themobileplaybook.com can be viewed not only from tablets and smartphones but also from PCs. In optimizing for PC, smartphone and tablet, we created two versions of the site -- one for smartphones and one for tablets. The PC optimized site is actually the tablet version with some minor modifications to the UI.

The Mobile Playbook posed unique design challenges as well. The core playbook content itself is long-form, representing 5 chapters and over 6,000 words. Our goal was to engage users and get them to read as much of the playbook as they could. Most of the creative energy went into thinking about how to make the playbook easy to read, visually stimulating, and fun to interact with -- an opportunity seemingly made for tablets. Based on our own data and other research findings, we know that users engage with tablets primarily as lean-back content consumption devices.

Instead of some of the original format ideas we considered such as an ebook or PDF presentation of the content on the tablet, we worked with Hello Monday to explore the interactive potential of HTML5 and think about how the long form content could be best presented through a tablet browser window. According to Andreas Anderskou from Hello Monday, “Inspired by interactive magazine apps, The Mobile Playbook utilizes a dynamic progress bar, interactive navigation menu, example gallery, and the ability to swipe through content. What's unique about this experience is that we've brought app-like interactivity to the user without requiring them to download an app. To emulate app functionality the content is loaded upfront without the need to ever load a new page.”

“In our time working on the site, we’ve seen that HTML5 has the potential to take browsing experiences on the tablet to the next level. Since modern browsers are rapidly deploying with HTML5 capabilities, the end user no longer needs to download specific apps or plugins to enjoy a consistent experience. We hope that this will inspire others to design around the capabilities of the tablet and HTML5 mobile websites to enhance the browsing experience,” says Anders Jessen, Lead Developer at Hello Monday.

We were fortunate to partner with Hello Monday to illustrate the power of HTML5 websites and tablets. We hope you’ll enjoy www.themobileplaybook.com from your tablet or whichever device suits you.

Posted by: Johanna Werther, Sr. PMM Mobile Ads

Mobile strategy discussion recap: The Mobile Playbook

2012-04-30T16:22:00.000-07:00

In case you missed it, last Wednesday we launched The Mobile Playbook and held a mobile strategy panel via a Hangout on Air on the Think with Google Google+ page. The panel of leading mobile experts across multiple industries shared their perspectives on the 5 questions explored in The Mobile Playbook that every business should ask to win with mobile. On our panel we heard from:

Joao Machado - Director of Mobile, OMD
Michelle Ogle - Digital Marketing and Affiliate Strategy Manager, Starwood Hotels and Resorts
Joshua Palau - VP of Digital Sales and Marketing, Comcast
Amit Shah - Director of Online, Mobile and Social Media, 1-800Flowers.com

Some of the key takeaways from the panel included:

Insights into how Comcast saw tremendous mobile traffic even before they built out a mobile specific experience

Tip’s from 1-800Flowers.com’s award-winning mobile website strategy

Starwood hotels’ insights from their successful hyper local marketing campaigns that explored the unique demands of mobile travelers

OMD’s perspective on the differences between tablets and smartphones

Insights from the group about how they have structured their organizations for success in mobile

Check out the highlights from our panel below and visit www.themobileplaybook.com to explore these questions further and see how this panel and others are approaching and winning with mobile. If you’d like to view the entire panel discussion, you can do so here.

Click here to watch highlights from our Hangout on Air with mobile thought leaders

Posted by: Jason Spero, Head of Global Mobile Sales and Strategy

Making Search Ads work for businesses with mobile apps

2012-04-30T11:03:00.000-07:00

Mobile search is a powerful channel for businesses to engage with customers that are searching for them or for their application. Last year, we introduced improvements to click-to-download ads, and for publishers, launched Custom Search Ads for Mobile Apps. Today we’d like to share several new features that will make it even easier for AdWords advertisers to promote, track and monetize their mobile app. For the first time, businesses can use AdWords mobile search ads as a holistic solution to promote, monetize and track their app downloads.

Promote your app using the new Mobile App extension
All AdWords advertisers will receive the option to use a new Ad Extension - the Mobile App extension; a new way to promote their mobile apps. Not all mobile users searching for a business may know that the business has an app. The Mobile App extension allows advertisers to append a mobile app download link to their search ads. With this extension, advertisers can promote their mobile app to users who may simply be searching for their brand, product or service.

The mobile app extension gives advertisers a new distribution channel for their mobile apps and users a new discovery medium. Beta participants saw a 6% lift in CTR for campaigns using Mobile App extensions, compared to control campaigns.

The new Mobile App Extension found in the “Ad Extensions” tab. Use its new ‘app picker’ function to easily find your company’s app in Google Play Store or iTunes App Store

GrubHub, a web and mobile service that connects diners to restaurants and simplifies online ordering for delivery and pick up, was an early beta tester of the Mobile App extension. In addition to pointing mobile customers searching for food delivery services to their mobile website, they used the mobile app extension to add an additional link to their app download page. Abby Hunt from the GrubHub team explains the importance of reaching customers on mobile: “GrubHub is dedicated to feeding our diners anytime, anywhere - this is why it is important for us to reach our diners on their mobile devices. Hungry people are checking their mobile devices on the way home from work or walking to class, and we need to be where they are.”

GrubHub was an early tester of the Mobile App extension, allowing hungry customers searching for their business the option of accessing information on their mobile site or app via an ad.

Enriching click-to-download ads with more useful app information
Advertisers running campaigns solely focused on promoting and driving downloads of their app will benefit from recent changes that add more useful information to their click-to-download ads. Last year, we added mobile app icons next to the text ad. We’ve now incorporated richer information about your mobile app right in the ad unit itself. When a user searches and your click-to-download ad appears, they’ll be able to see image previews, a description of your app, and when applicable, pricing and rating information.

All this new information in the click-to-download ad is automatically drawn from the Google Play Store and iTunes App Store. We hope that customers will benefit from recent changes that make click-to-download ads more engaging and for users searching on Google.

Quicken Loans Inc., the nation’s largest online home lender and a top five retail lender uses click-to-download ads to promote their Mortgage Calculator App. They’ve seen a rapid increase in the number of customer searching for them on mobile. Greg Broda, Paid Search Partner Manager at Quicken Loans explains: "When it came time to promote the new Quicken Loans Mortgage Calculator app, the decision to utilize Google’s mobile click-to-download ad platform was a no-brainer. The placement has allowed us to share the app with a very targeted and engaged group of users."

Quicken Loans runs click-to-download ads, now complete with app previews and pricing information, that point users to their app download page.

Track Android app downloads through AdWords
Businesses will now be able to track downloads of their Android app from their AdWords campaigns as an AdWords conversion. This means that when a user downloads a mobile app from the Google Play store via a click-to-download ad or a mobile app extension, we will count their download as a conversion. For more information on how to set this up, visit this page.

Monetizing your mobile app with Custom Search Ads for Mobile Apps
We’ve now brought Custom Search Ads to tablet apps via the recent launch of a new AdMob SDK. Tablet and mobile app users will receive ads relevant to what they're searching for inside an app, and businesses running mobile apps will have a new tool to monetize their content and services.

Mobile apps represent a significant opportunity for businesses to reach their customers, and mobile search is an important channel to reach these customers. We’re looking forward to bringing new products in the coming year that will help businesses grow by promoting, tracking, and monetizing their mobile apps with Google.

Posted by Anurag Agrawal, Product Manager, Mobile Search Ads

The Mobile Playbook: Key takeaways

2012-04-26T14:38:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we launched www.themobileplaybook.com, our new resource we hope will help business leaders understand how to strategically approach the mobile space in 2012 and beyond.

Today we thought we’d cut to the chase and summarize the action items we recommend in hopes this will jumpstart conversations you may be having internally about what to do in the mobile space. While we highly encourage you to pick up your tablet (or smartphone or laptop) and review the The Mobile Playbook in full, we wanted to boil down the content to the following straightforward recommendations:

Define your value proposition by determining what your consumer wants to do with your business in mobile. Benchmark against others in your industry for ideas.
Build a mobile website. Once you have a mobile website, check the stats and optimize based on consumer usage.
Build an app for a subset of your audience after your mobile site strategy is in place. Don’t forget to promote your app.
Assign a Mobile Champion in your company and empower them with a cross-functional task force.
Set up a meeting with your agencies about what’s working and what’s not for your brand on mobile and tablets.
Search for your brand in mobile, as a consumer would. Take 5 minutes and do this today. What’s working? What’s not?
Separate mobile-specific search campaigns from desktop search campaigns so you can test, measure and develop messaging specific for mobile.
Run rich media HTML5 ads to extend your branding message to reach the mobile audience.
Assign everyone in your marketing org the action item of reviewing their programs through a mobile lens.
Check out your tablet consumer’s experience with your brand. Take 5 minutes today and search for your brand on a tablet as a consumer would. What’s working? What’s not? Maximize the tablet environment with rich media creative.

Consumers have already embraced mobile but many brands are still playing catch-up. We encourage businesses to have a conversation internally about the current status of each of these items and create an action plan. Start by asking the the 5 key questions posed in The Mobile Playbook at www.themobileplaybook.com. We hope you’ll visit it from your tablet today.

Posted by: Johanna Werther, Sr. PMM Mobile Ads

Tax related searches on mobile jumped by over 200% this year

2012-04-26T11:00:00.000-07:00

Consumers are in love with their smartphones. They used them for entertainment during the Super Bowl. They used them to find a restaurant on Valentine’s Day. But for their taxes?

Millions of consumers used their mobile phone to conduct tax related searches this year. In fact, tax related searches on mobile devices jumped by 206% year over year, outpacing growth in computer queries by nearly 20x. While this certainly reveals substantial mobile opportunity for businesses in the finance industry, it is indicative of the monumental shift in consumer behavior that mobile is driving.

US Search Volume for Tax Related Keywords 2010-2012

As seen in this graph, tax related searches coming from mobile devices extended across a three month period every year, showing that consumers used their mobile device at all stages of their tax preparation and filing process. At the end of January we see a huge spike in searches as consumers received their W-2 forms and used their mobile phones to find local or online tax filing services, download tax documents or even file their tax return early. Towards the end of the tax period another large spike in search volume signals a flurry of activity as people struggle to get their taxes filed by the April 17th deadline.

This year many consumers went a step further and completed their entire tax filing process on their mobile device. As one of the most complex and dreaded of human tasks, tax filing is certainly not an activity that intuitively lends itself to mobile devices. However, TurboTax identified this shift in mobile consumer behavior and created the easy to use SnapTax app, which allowed people to file their taxes on their phone by snapping a picture of their W-2 form. TurboTax then drove awareness and downloads for SnapTax by advertising the easy-to-use app across smartphone devices.

Tax filing is only one example of the huge shift in tasks and behaviors to smartphones. Activities such as finding a new dentist, planning a trip, or buying a new car are increasingly occurring on smartphones and are taking place on those websites and apps that make it easy for them. Businesses that understand consumers have gone mobile and adapt their core strategies around this change are the ones that will win. Three key actions all businesses must take to succeed on mobile are:

1. Make sure your websites are user friendly. Mobile optimized sites and apps are incorrectly perceived by businesses as being overly complex or expensive. The truth is that there are now so many developers out there that a mobile optimized presence is in reach for any sized business. For more information on mobile websites and even a free mobile website builder, check out www.HowToGoMo.com.

2. Develop a company level mobile strategy. It is no longer enough to think about how individual business initiatives can have mobile components. Instead, businesses need to have a concrete company-level strategy about how to win on mobile. This is the the focus of our recently published Mobile Playbook which discusses the 5 questions that business executives should be asking themselves about mobile.

3. Make sure your business can be found on mobile. This means establishing a clear advertising plan, social media strategy, and ensuring relevant and updated content. Learn more about mobile advertising on www.google.com/ads/mobile/ and stay connected with the blog for updates.

This tax season teaches us that mobile is no longer an industry specific outlet or a way to distinguish yourself from competitors. If a business can find a way to easily guide a user through the entire tax filing process on a mobile device, other industries will quickly follow with customized solutions for smartphones. Mobile is quickly becoming a mandatory channel for any business that hopes to stay relevant to their consumer base.

Posted by: Adam Grunewald, Google Mobile Ads Product Marketing

Let Google and DudaMobile make your site mobile-friendly - Enter today for a chance to steal the spotlight!

2012-04-26T10:21:00.000-07:00

Ready to go mobile and don’t know how to start?

Were you aware that your business may be losing 40% of your users to competitors’ mobile-friendly sites? It’s time to step up to the plate: half of all Americans now own a smartphone and your site needs an update to meet their expectations. Google’s here to help. We recently teamed up with DudaMobile to release its free mobile-friendly site creation tool. In four easy steps, you enter your site’s URL, customize and redirect mobile users automatically to the new mobile-friendly version. It’s free and takes just a few minutes to complete.

Join us on Thursday, May 10th at 1pm EST/10am PST and watch as Google showcases how two businesses go mobile and build mobile-friendly sites--live on air. You’ll have an opportunity to hear straight from the CMO of Dudamobile, Dennis Mink, on best practices when using the tool, and learn important questions to ask yourself when building a mobile-friendly site.

Details on how to tune in
Want to see the tool in action? Tune in to the Think with Google Google+ page on Thursday May 10th at 1pm EST/10am PST to watch two live mobile-friendly site creations. Sign into Google+, go to the Think with Google Google+ page, and click to enter the live stream. If you have questions before or during the Hangout, post them with the hashtag #GoMoSite as a comment on the Google+ page.

Get your business showcased
Ready to steal the limelight? Want to walk through your free, live mobile-friendly site creation with Dennis Mink, Chief Marketing Officer of DudaMobile? Answer these 7 quick questions to register your business for a chance to be featured today! Registration ends at 5pm PST on Monday, April 30th.

An example of the GoMo Site creation tool at work for ChainStoreGuide.com.

Posted by: Suzanne Mumford, Product Marketing Manager, Mobile Ads

Announcing The Mobile Playbook

2012-04-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

We’ve had conversations with hundreds of business leaders about mobile over the past year and two clear themes emerged from these discussions. Today, companies understand that they need to invest in mobile to engage with their customers on this platform. The problem is, most don't know where to start. To help address this issue, we’re launching a new resource: The Mobile Playbook. In this interactive guide, we pose 5 crucial questions all executives should be asking to win with mobile:

How does mobile change our value proposition?
How does mobile impact our digital destinations?
Is our organization adapting to mobile?
How should our marketing adapt to mobile?
How can we connect with our tablet audience?

Visit www.themobileplaybook.com from your tablet, PC or smartphone today. If you can, visit it from your tablet. Because The Mobile Playbook site is built with HTML5, we had the flexibility to customize the experience for different types of screens. We designed it for tablets first, then scaled the content up for the PC and streamlined it for smartphones. This way, we were able to ensure that readers will have an enjoyable browsing experience, no matter what context they’re in. We hope this resource will help you have productive conversations with your teams and agencies and ultimately help you adapt to the mobile consumer who is waiting to engage with you.

Visit www.themobileplaybook.com from your tablet today.

To hear from early movers in mobile about how they’ve approached these 5 key questions, please tune into our hangout on air today at 3pm EST. Make sure you’re signed into Google+ in order to watch the hangout.

Mobile represents a sociological shift with how users relate with both the digital and physical world. The companies that understand that all businesses are becoming mobile businesses will be primed to succeed today and in the years to come.

Posted by: Jason Spero, Head of Global Mobile Sales and Strategy

Reminder: Hangout On Air with mobile thought leaders introducing The Mobile Playbook on April 25th 3pm EST

2012-04-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Just a quick reminder to tune in to the Think with Google Google+ page this Wednesday, April 25th, at 3pm EST/ 12pm PST for a special Hangout on Air mobile strategy discussion. We’ll be introducing our new resource, The Mobile Playbook, and talking about how mobile can help businesses win the moments that matter, make better decisions, and go bigger, faster. Our incredible mobile panelists have all been early movers in the mobile space, and we’ll be hearing their perspective on the 5 key questions we feature in The Mobile Playbook that every business executive should be asking today in order to win with mobile. We hope you’ll be there. Leave your questions for the panel in advance by clicking on the scrapbook photo at the top of the Think with Google Google+ page and leaving a comment on the photo.

When: Wednesday, April 25, 2012 3pm EST/ 12pm PST
How: In order to view the Hangout on Air, visit the Think with Google Google+ page at 3pm EST on April 25th, look for the stream post about the Hangout on Air, and click on it to tune in. Don’t forget to be signed into Google+! If you aren’t started yet with Google+, get started here with just your Google account.

On April 25, look for the Hangout on Air post like the image above on the Think with Google +page and click to tune-in!

Posted by: Jason Spero, Head of Global Mobile Sales and Strategy

Build a flexible app business with the latest AdMob SDK

2012-04-19T11:27:00.003-07:00

Mobile applications are now big businesses, but the developers behind them are forced to spend more of their time dealing with increasing complexity. They need to develop for different devices with different screen sizes, choose from a myriad of advertising networks, and manage varying rich media ad creative formats.

The new Google AdMob SDK 6.0 release for Android and iOS is designed to reduce the complexity that app devs are managing, freeing them up to focus on continuing to grow their great app into a great app business. With AdMob SDK 6.0, app developers can:

Use multiple ad networks
We recognize that many app devs work with several ad networks to maximize fill rates, and ultimately, revenue. AdMob SDK 6.0 makes it easier to do this with our free AdMob Ad Network Mediation solution which allows app developers to allocate inventory across many top 3rd party ad networks on a country-by-country basis. App devs will retain full control and choice over the ad networks they use with a single UI that features the best-in-class AdMob reporting. For more information on AdMob Ad Network mediation, visit the AdMob Help Center.

Get banner ads to be smart, regardless of screen size
New mobile device screen sizes pop up every day, but app developers shouldn’t have to worry about how banner ads will appear on different devices. AdMob SDK 6.0 eliminates this issue with the introduction of new banner ad formats that automatically expand to the full width of any smartphone screen, even in landscape mode. To learn how to implement these new banners, visit the AdMob Developer Site.

Serve more rich media ads
The lack of industry standards for mobile rich media ads has been a barrier for advertisers and made it challenging to app devs to run more of these engaging ads in their apps. The new AdMob SDK 6.0 is compliant with Mobile Rich Media Ad Interface Definitions (MRAID), a common API for mobile rich media ads running in mobile apps. This is a big step forward in reducing complexity as it establishes a standardized set of commands for developers creating rich media ads. It also means that advertisers will be able to build mobile rich media ads that can be served across networks regardless of device platform, application or technology used to display the media.

As we announced several weeks ago, the iOS version of the Google AdMob SDK no longer uses the universal device identifier (UDID). We are working toward a long-term solution that will benefit users, app developers and advertisers.

To learn more about how app devs can work with AdMob to build a great app business through monetization and promotion of their app, visit our new AdMob website.

Posted by: Chrix Finne, Product Manager, Mobile Ads

New app promotion ads - Knowledge is power

2012-04-17T13:22:00.001-07:00

We recently launched improved app promotion text banners for Google Play and iTunes Store apps on the AdMob network. These banners will now contain information about the app being promoted, such as the price, app title, and the user rating that come directly from the Google Play or iTunes store.

Here’s a sample of what these ads will look like:

By providing more details in the ad unit, we empower users to make more informed decisions about what they’re getting, what they have to pay for it, and how other users like the app. More informed users drive improved conversion rates, thus providing better value for advertisers and app developers when they promote their mobile apps on the AdMob network.

Keep an eye out for more improvements to our ad formats, as well as look out for more ways to improve advertiser value and provide users with more information to make better decisions on mobile. We’re looking forward to continuing to helping app developers grow their businesses with AdMob.

Posted by: David Lewis, Software Engineer, Google Mobile Display Ads

Mark your calendar for a Hangout On Air with mobile thought leaders introducing The Mobile Playbook on April 25th 3pm EST

2012-04-16T10:00:00.001-07:00

Over the past year we’ve talked to hundreds of CMOs and marketing decision-makers about mobile and we’ve seen a shift in the conversation: businesses are no longer asking “Why mobile?” With half of all Americans now owning a smartphone, the necessity for brands to be involved in the mobile space is clear. Today, we are increasingly hearing questions from executives related to the “How?” of investing in mobile. That’s why we are launching a new resource designed to offer our perspective on how to strategically approach mobile called “The Mobile Playbook”. On April 25th we will be hosting a live streamed discussion with an incredible panel of mobile thought leaders talking about how to strategically approach mobile including:

Joao Machado - Director of Mobile, OMD
Michelle Ogle - Digital Marketing and Affiliate Strategy Manager, Starwood Hotels and Resorts
Joshua Palau - VP of Digital Sales and Marketing, Comcast
Amit Shah - Director of Online, Mobile and Social Media, 1-800Flowers.com

Tune in to the Think with Google Google+ page on Wednesday April 25th at 3pm EST/ 12pm PST to learn how mobile can help businesses win the moments that matter, make better decisions, and go bigger, faster. These panelists have all been early movers in the mobile space and we’ll be discussing their perspective on the 5 key questions we feature in The Mobile Playbook that every business executive should be asking today in order to win with mobile. We hope you’ll be there. If you have a question for the panel, leave your questions with #playbookpanel as a comment on our hangout announcement post the Think with Google Google+ page.

Details on how to tune in:
In order to view the Hangout on Air, visit the Think with Google Google+ page at 3pm EST on April 25th, look for the stream post, and click to tune in. Don’t forget to be signed into Google+!

On April 25, look for the Hangout on Air post like the image above on the Think with Google +page and click to tune-in!

Posted by: Jason Spero, Head of Global Mobile Sales and Strategy

GoMo and DudaMobile offer do-it-yourself mobile site builder

2012-04-05T08:27:00.000-07:00

Did you know that one in every three mobile searches has local intent? That means local businesses need to be prepared for more site traffic from mobile devices. An important first step to attracting customers on-the-go is creating a mobile-friendly website which can sometimes be complicated and confusing. We’re happy to announce that GoMo and DudaMobile have joined forces to make it even easier for small businesses to create a mobile-friendly website.

Starting today, you can create a free mobile site directly from howtogomo.com using a tool powered by DudaMobile. This do-it-yourself site builder, customized specifically for GoMo users, easily converts regular websites into mobile-friendly sites in five simple steps. And it allows you to add features like a click-to-call button, mobile maps and Google AdSense. Sites that are created with the GoMo-DudaMobile tool will be hosted free for one year.


Dog Nanny’s website was not mobile friendly. Visitors had to pinch and zoom to read content.	Dog Nanny’s new mobile site - created in just a few minutes - looks great on mobile devices.

Please note that DudaMobile’s technology is best for converting simple sites. If your site uses a lot of Flash content, framesets or e-commerce, we suggest that you Go Mobile by talking to your agency or working with one of the developers here.

Many small businesses are discovering that mobile sites mean more business. Now you have an opportunity to easily create a professional mobile site which will delight your customers when they visit you on the mobile web. Visit howtogomo.com/getstarted and build your site today. It’s time to GoMo!

Posted by Nabil Haschemie, Product Marketing Manager, Mobile Ads

With Google’s AdMob WWF gains new conversions at excellent cost

2012-04-05T08:20:00.001-07:00

Not only is WWF the world’s leading independent conservation organisation, measured by ad impressions it’s also one of the biggest online display advertisers in Sweden. In the beginning of 2011, WWF’s marketing team noticed the boom in smartphone usage and decided to get in on the action early, by running a test campaign over one month on a selection of mobile networks.

WWF’s digital mission is to recruit monthly donors at the lowest cost per order. The charity already has exceptionally high brand recognition in Sweden, so WWF’s debut mobile campaign wasn’t about building the brand or sharing values. Instead, the activity centred purely on direct response in the form of fundraising. The objectives were to test the charity’s online approach in a new platform, establish a performance baseline to inform future mobile campaigns and to achieve the most conversions at the lowest cost per click.

Simple banner ads encouraged users to adopt a polar bear or tiger; by clicking these ads users would be taken to a landing page on the WWF mobile site where they could sign up to make a monthly donation towards the animal of their choice.

AdMob was one of several mobile networks WWF put on trial. One of the largest of its kind in the world, AdMob gives advertisers the opportunity to reach and interact with customers on the mobile web by placing ads within its network of apps. In Sweden, it reaches around 3 million unique devices through thousands of premium in-app placements.

AdMob very quickly stood out with its high reach, low cost per order and impressive number of orders. WWF liked the fact that AdMob enabled them to buy on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis and delivered the lowest CPC of all the test channels by a factor of seven.

At the end of the month-long trial, WWF decided to drop advertising on the other more expensive channels, but they continued to advertise on AdMob for the remaining four months of the year, increasing their mobile investment by 400%.

WWF continued to see good results during the months to follow, noticing that as investment increased, conversions increased too. At the end of the four-month campaign, mobile conversions had risen to represent almost 25% of WWF’s total conversions across all platforms. WWF’s next step was to triple their mobile investment as they put plans into place for the 2012. Not surprisingly, based on their success to date AdMob will continue to perform a key role in their approach.

Read the complete case study on WWF’s success with AdMob here.

Posted by Matt Brocklehurst, Product Marketing Mobile Advertising