Google and the Mobile Internet

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 Ads (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.

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