6 Reasons You Should Pay More Attention to Mobile

Back in March of this year, we predicted that mobile was on pace to surpass desktop paid search on Google by the end of 2015. Tablet conversion rate has already exceeded that of desktop, and mobile adoption and engagement continues to grow.

The pie charts above, taken from the Marin Global Online Advertising Index at the conclusion of Q1, show that marketers have yet to catch up to the growth of this increasingly important medium. Take the US for example - click share on desktop was only 64%, yet spend share was significantly higher at 73%.

Still trying to get buy-in for greater investment in your mobile programs? Here are some stats you'll want to know:

• 93% of people who use mobile research go on to complete a purchase of a product or service. Most of these purchases happen in physical stores. (Source: Google)
• 55% of consumers using mobile to research want to purchase within the hour. (Source: Nielsen & Google)
• 86% of US smartphone users say they use their devices as second-screens while watching TV. (Source: Nielsen)
• The average US consumer spends 34 hours and 17 minutes using browsers/apps on a smartphone per month. (Source: Nielsen)
• eMarketer predicts that by the end of 2014, 1.76 billion people will own and use smartphones monthly, up more than 25% over 2013. (Source: eMarketer)
• Facebook ranks as the top mobile app, reaching 74.1% of the app audience in April 2014. (Source: comScore)

As marketers catch on to mobile, there is still some low-hanging fruit. For example, be sure to provide your customers with a good mobile experience. Don't send them to a brick-and-mortar store if there's no inventory for the product they're searching for. Consider whether you'd be better off providing a mobile browser or an in-app experience. And always provide immediately helpful sitelinks.

Looking for more mobile data or best practices? Check out our previous blog post 3 Tips Every Mobile Marketer Should Know, or click over to our Benchmark Report: Mobile Search Advertising Around the Globe.