Mobile PPC Revenue Continues to Grow

Mobile devices are gaining an increasing share of the pay per click market, according to recent industry research.

A white paper by Marin Software’s dealing with online advertising has highlighted the growing success of mobile marketing over traditional desktop computers. Further information on it can be found by visiting their website here.

The organisation found that click-through rates from smartphones and tablets are more than twice as high as desktop computers and the business case for mobile marketing is further strengthened by lower cost levels – mobile PPC is 50 per cent of that for desktop across the industry as a whole. In the UK mobile devices saw 13 per cent of the total search spend but benefitted from 20 per cent of clicks.

The latest figures show that in June smartphones were responsible for 5.6 per cent of click through rates, while tablets took 4.37 per cent of the market. Computers lagged further back with 2.65 per cent of CTR.

The cost per click reflects even more favourably on smartphones – 15p per click, as opposed to 30p per click for tablets and 35p per click for computers.

The duration of the cost differential is certainly a key point as the price differences may converge if these trends are replicated on a consistent basis. Prices for mobile advertising may rise, affecting PPC agencies.

However, the indications are that any PPC advertising agency will benefit from an increased advertising spend by companies. UK advertisers saw an increase in paid search click volumes over the course of the last twelve months of 52 per cent in addition to an 85 per cent increase in impression volumes.

Google was the recipient of much of the additional spend, seeing an increase of 59 per cent by UK companies over the last year, while Yahoo! and Bing received increases of up to 21 per cent.

Google’s capture of advertising spend in the UK also looks set to continue. Recent figures for June 2012 show that the search engine continues to dominate the market. It was responsible for 90.73 per cent of Internet searches.

Breaking down the PPC mobile results, content is continuing to drive traffic, according to research by Affiliate Window, a marketing network platform. Content comprises 29 per cent of mobile traffic while pay per click agency results make up 18 per cent. Just behind PPC are voucher codes (15 per cent) with traffic driven by price comparison and cashback/loyalty further back at 7 per cent.

PPC agencies have witnessed a rise of total clicks of approximately 52 per cent in the second quarter of this year and impressions by a significant 85 per cent for the year ending in June.

“On a year over year basis, general search click volumes increased across the US, UK and the Eurozone, which is great news for marketers globally,” said Ed Stevenson, Marin Software’s Managing Director for Global Agencies and International.

Stevenson furthermore said, “It’s particularly interesting that marketers have reflected the consumer move towards tablet and mobile searches by shifting search budgets accordingly. This trend was noticeable globally, but most prevalent in the UK, where we have consistently seen a very advanced mobile market.”