Mobile search 'critical' to web publishing

Mobile search advertising growth will be driven by an 'escalating array of options'

Mobile search will become a global business worth $5bn by 2013, according to new research published today.

The growth of consumer options to search on mobile devices by SMS and via branded or white-label search providers has created opportunities for advertisers to reach consumers through sponsored search opportunities, ABI Research observes.

The analyst firm estimates that mobile search advertising growth will be driven by this "escalating array of options" as total search-related mobile advertising expands from $813m in 2008 to $5bn by 2013.

"We are seeing strong growth of mobile search services within an on-portal and off-portal context," said ABI Research director Michael Wolf.

"However, given the constraints of mobile platforms and the specific needs of mobile users, mobile search services and the integration of advertising need to be thought out carefully by branded providers, white-label search vendors and carriers."

Wolf predicts that the growth of mobile search-related advertising will be strong across many regions, with Asia-Pacific showing the greatest overall gains.

On-portal, off-portal and SMS-based search will be important drivers of search-related advertising, and total SMS searches will grow from 13 billion in 2008 to over 76 billion by 2013.

"Branded providers such as Yahoo and Google see the importance of the mobile platform, as the overall population of internet users on mobile devices exceeds that of PC-based internet users," added Wolf.

"While mobile search incorporates more contextually relevant information such as location, consumers will increasingly look to search as a way to discover content and pertinent information that could drive purchasing behaviour.

"Providers that can supply the most applicable solutions tailored toward mobile users will ultimately win in the marketplace."