Marin Software Reports Share of Paid Search Clicks on Smartphones and Tablets Double

Quarterly report reveals mobile and tablet users account for 10 percent of all U.S. paid search clicks in Q4 2011

San Francisco, CA January 11, 2012 - Marin Software, provider of the leading online advertising management platform for advertisers and agencies, today released the findings of its U.S. Online Advertising Report, which finds mobile and tablet users accounted for 10 percent of all U.S. search ad clicks during Q4 2011. This represents a doubling of click share as a percent of total since Q3, 2011. Furthermore, the report reveals the click through rate (CTR) of search ads served on tablets, such as the iPad, was 38 percent higher than the CTR of ads on desktops.

Marin Software’s U.S. Online Advertising Report consists of key trends and statistics uncovered through an examination of the Marin Global Online Advertising Index. The Marin Global Online Advertising Index is comprised of data from more than 1000 large-scale advertisers and agencies that collectively spend in excess of $2.7 billion annually on biddable media through the Marin platform.

Paid Search Key Findings:

• During Q4 2011, 10 percent of all clicks on paid search ads in the U.S. were made either on a tablet (4 percent) or a smartphone (6 percent). Ads served to tablet devices provided a 37 percent higher CTR than ads on desktops while smartphones yielded a 31 percent higher CTR.
• Across Google, Yahoo and Bing, paid search spend increased 35 percent, click volume increased 56 percent, CTR increased 23 percent and cost per click (CPC) decreased 14 percent during Q4 2011 on a year over year basis. The combination of improving CTRs and declining CPC, point to significant efficiency gains for advertisers over the past year.
• Compared to 2010, search advertisers on Google saw a 48 percent increase in clicks during Q4 2011 without an accompanying increase in impressions. CTR on Google also increased 48 percent while CPC decreased 7 percent, suggesting large-scale advertisers realized efficiency gains through improved matching and more effective bidding.
• On Yahoo and Bing, impressions increased 43 percent on a year over year basis, most likely as a result of advertisers building more robust search campaigns and increasing spend on the Search Alliance. Compared to Q4 2010, Yahoo and Bing advertisers realized a 44 percent increase in click volume, a 9 percent increase in CPC and a 1 percent boost in CTR during Q4 2011.
• Marin Software’s U.S. Online Advertising Report also includes paid search findings specific to industry verticals, including Automotive, B2B, Education, Finance, Healthcare, Retail, and Travel.

Quotes:

• “In Q4 2011, we saw paid search marketers allocate a larger portion of budgets to mobile devices than ever before,” said Matt Lawson, Vice President of Marketing and Partnerships at Marin Software. “Given the favorable performance characteristics of mobile advertising today, we expect this trend to continue as advertising dollars begin to chase consumer behavior. Marin Software will also be a driving factor behind mobile growth, offering advertisers a powerful, intuitive platform for managing desktop and mobile campaigns within a single interface.”