Growing at an average of 76% per quarter, UK mobile search has surged past Bing and has Yahoo in its sight, finds a study by Latitude Digital Marketing – and cost per clicks are lower on mobile for retailers by an average per quarter of 45% finds the study.
Statistics comparing CPCs by sector reveal an interesting opportunity in the report. Classic economics of supply and demand are at play, because fewer advertisers are focused on mobile than the long-established PC search, CPCs are lower with some exceptions. This is all the more impressive given the importance of being in the top 2 positions on a mobile phone versus a longer range of relevant positions on a PC.
Whilst the mobile volumes are still a relatively small percentage of overall search traffic and many sites are not ‘mobile ready’, mobile search has attracted less competition and therefore the CPCs are currently lower. As mobile evolves, continued downward pressure on CPCs will be driven by campaign optimisation by advertisers and increased volume, but this will ultimately be offset by saturation and limited real estate. The message – get in and establish your brand while the arbitrage is good.
Alex Hoye, CEO, Latitude pointed out “Not only is mobile growing at an average of 76% in clicks and 26% in spend per quarter, but costs-per-click are an average of 27% lower on mobile. The difference varies by sector, but for brands who adapt campaigns and their sites to take advantage, there is an arbitrage opportunity versus PC search. With consumers and clicks still outpacing advertisers, we anticipate that this trend will continue for the next few quarters at least.”
