At the end of January, Google announced the introduction of ‘click-to-call’ phone numbers as part of the AdWords campaign options, allowing advertisers to target users of Internet smartphones (such as a iPhone). This allows potential customers to phone the advertiser directly from the advert and for the number of calls to be recorded within the AdWords system.

After having been in beta for some time, Google is now rolling out the click-to-call facility to AdWords campaigns in the UK and worldwide. As our article in last month’s newsletter noted, Google has recently been developing better options for AdWords advertisers to target Internet-capable mobile phone users, and the new click-to-call option recognises the fact that many mobile searchers would prefer to call from the advert, rather than visit the website to find the number.

To help better connect searchers with the right business, click-to-call ads and their corresponding phone numbers are based on users’ locations based on the Google Maps ‘My Location’ feature. AdWords advertisers can add a location-specific business phone number in the mobile ads, so that users can click the number to call the business immediately. Ads can be served based on user location, so that for companies with multiple locations or stores, a potential customer will see - and can click to call - the phone number of their nearest location.

This new feature also makes it easier for advertisers to fully measure the results of their ads by allowing them to track how many calls they actually receive within the AdWords interface. Google says that the beta trial demonstrated that some of those advertisers who participated “saw the overall success of the ads increase dramatically and the click-through rates on search ads increased up to 30%”. The advertisers’ bid levels remain unchanged with this option so that the same cost-per-click (CPC) applies to both calls and clicks to the website, however with the more limited screen space for mobile search and adverts, it will benefit those advertisers who rank in the first 1-5 positions for a search term on AdWords.

Paid-search ads will become an increasingly important tool as companies attempt to gain space on the mobile screen. Mobile search traffic continues to climb, and more people have begun to use smartphones that allow them to browse the web easily from any location. Internal data from Google suggests that consumers with iPhones search 50 times more than those with prior-generation phones.

Click-to-call ads underscore Google’s continued dedication to making money from the mobile web and it’s likely that Google will offer additional ways to leverage mobile ads, such as through GPS and other location-based mechanisms, in the future.

If you’d like more information about how click-to-call phone numbers can help the marketing of your business, please contact us now.

Google is rapidly expanding its interest in the mobile phone market, which is expected to see massive growth over the next few years. This has been demonstrated by three recent developments: the launch of its new mobile phone; the intended acquisition of AdMob (a mobile advertising network); and the way in which it has added extra options for Adwords advertisers to target mobile phone users.

On 7th January 2010, Google unveiled its new mobile smartphone, the HTC Nexus One, which is designed to compete with Apple’s iPhone. This is Google’s first own-brand smartphone, although it has previously been providing the Google Android operating system through other phones. The phone is initially available in the US and is being sold directly from Google’s website. It can be purchased ‘unlocked’ so that any chosen mobile carrier can be used, but clearly Google wants to gain a bigger share of the mobile phone market to capture more mobile search activity and to provide another advertising platform as a revenue stream in this growing market.

In another recent move, Google acquired the mobile advertising start-up AdMob Inc. last November for US$750 million. The purchase is one of Google’s largest deals and underscores how the search giant is trying to get more creative to extend its dominance in Internet advertising to mobile phones. AdMob is one of the leading mobile display advertising companies and comes with an experienced team and over 15,000 mobile websites and applications.

Although Google has been selling ads next to search results on mobile phones and on some mobile web pages for years, their efforts haven’t generated much revenue. However, AdMob – which was founded in 2006 - places ads on mobile sites that match advertisers’ chosen criteria and in some cases provides a system for large advertisers to design the adverts themselves. The change to Google’s mobile advertising strategy through this acquisition shows that Google is serious about becoming a major player in the mobile advertising business, as it has now put itself amongst the front-runners in this market.

Finally, at the end of January, Google announced new targeting options for mobile phone advertising through Google AdWords. This will enable advertisers with a carrier- or device-specific message to reach targeted users. For example, companies selling iPhone cases can use device targeting to ensure that users with Android phones won’t see their ads. Also, Google are making sure that ads linking to mobile application downloads will automatically appear only on devices that offer those apps which will improve the targeting and relevancy for advertisers.

To find out more about Google’s mobile advertising developments, please contact us now to see what opportunities are available for your business.

These were our 5 predictions for 2008 that were made in January last year, together with a review of what actually happened:

1) ‘Universal search’ becomes a significant optimisation issue: the inclusion of all forms of search results – such as images, videos, news or maps – within the main search engine listings has become more prevalent over the year, particularly on Google. This has created many opportunities for companies to achieve visibility within the search results in new and more creative ways. Local business listings have been the most effective method for many companies who target a localised area, so much so that Google has had to control some of the more extreme methods by companies trying to get listings within these results. Video sites like YouTube continue to attract huge traffic volumes and videos do appear within Google’s search results, when applicable. Google has also introduced new formats for PPC adverts although these remain limited to the content network and have yet to be offered within the main search listings.

2) Personalisation gains ground: the impact of personalisation has yet to be understood as no figures have been released by Google, or other websites that offer this option, to show what the levels of uptake have been. However, at the end of 2008 Google introduced the Search Wikia option for logged in users, so that search results could be adapted to suit user preferences and notes could also be added to listings. There were also hints from Google that this data may also be eventually used to determine search engine rankings which is likely to attract abuse of the system. We believe that personalization is still in the early stages of development with the vast majority of web searchers being aware of, or using, this option, although it is likely to gradually increase usage within the market and to become a more significant issue for search engine optimisation.

3) Behavioural advertising becomes the next ‘big thing’: this is still expected to become a key service for advertisers but has still to become a mainstream function, partly due to the technology still being developed and data being collected, as well as the privacy issues that are raised once individuals realise how their data is being used to target advertising. The huge mass of data that’s being collected by search engines and other major web properties should provide highly targeted advertising opportunities but the balance between this and privacy concerns is still to be determined.

4) Content targeted advertising becomes the new PPC battleground: Google has made further improvements to the content advertising network for PPC advertisers in 2008, most notably with the introduction of Placement advertising, and with the use of display and video advertising options. This sector has not become a battleground as other PPC services offer weak alternatives, but with better data and reporting on Google’s own service, the content network has become a more accountable resource to extend the reach of this targeted form of advertising.

5) Mobile search finally becomes serious: the launch of the Apple iPhone at the start of the year and the new Google-apps phone some months later has marked the start of the mobile Internet in earnest. The range of applications seems to be limited only by ideas at the moment and so as these type of phones gain market share and become ‘the norm’, then companies need to seriously think about focusing part of their online presence to the mobile market. This has yet to happen in any significant volume but the signs are there and examples can be demonstrated.

What do we predict will be some of the main trends this year? Here are our 5 thoughts for 2008.

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