MSearchGroove

This week, Google made history. It extended its AdWords to the mobile platform, converting PC AdWords ads to text ads and displaying them on a mobile phone. With the flick of a switch, advertisers have a mobile presence and Google has lots of new mobile inventory to sell. For an encore, Google today announced it is launching AdSense for Mobile, which will allow marketers to place contextual ads on sites viewed via mobile devices. If only it was that simple. A critical look at what Google proposes, and my own in-depth discussions with players in this ecosystem, reveals serious shortcomings – and some outright insensitivity (no, I’m not saying arrogance –more like cognitive dissonance) - that spell trouble ahead for the search giant.

Reams have been written about Google in the week since it formally extended its AdWords ads to the mobile platform, effectively and automatically converting AdWords ads to text ads that appear when users access the destination on a mobile device. (That is provided the ads are “suitably adapted” for mobile, a rule that excludes sites heavy on Flash or Java.) Google also makes clear on its AdWords support site that it is in the driver’s seat here, and it alone will determine the look and feel of the mobile website that will give users “an at-a-glance view at your site while they’re on the go and away from their computers.”

It’s easy to imagine that not all publishers will appreciate Google’s my-way-or-the highway approach to transcoding and final presentation of their websites. (Translated: Google’s approach squeezes a PC landing page to fit on a mobile phone.) In my book it’s a flawed and typically PC-centric way of looking at the mobile Web, but what else would we expect from a search engine company that has merely retrofitted its approach to appear made-for-mobile? Check out these screenshots and tell me you’re sure these advertisers don’t have to worry about a drop in CTR…

But it’s not about aesthetics; it’s about ensuring an optimal end-user experience on mobile and acknowledging how the emergence of the empowered consumer has turned what used to be a content (and advertising) consumption experience into a two-way conversation. Again, Google doesn’t seem to get it.

Just before investors (including Qualcomm) funded Novarra, to the tune of $50 million, I had a conversation (more of a meeting of the minds) with Jayanthi Rangarajan, Novarra president and CEO. Vendor pitch aside (Novarra develops software to make the Internet available on mobile phones), Jayanthi made the point that transcoding is much more than making sure everything fits; it also has to function. Mobile is a communications channel, and effective mobile ads are combined with a call to action.

That interaction is what makes for a winning campaign and that’s what advertisers stand to lose if they don’t have a proper say in how their pages are optimized for mobile. It’s clear from random examples I’ve chosen that the transcoded pages served up by Google with the mobile search results can hardly clinch a sale.

But don’t take my word for it. I’ve also contacted a few advertisers for a reality check on this one and they are anything but happy with their debut on mobile. As one creative director in Europe told me: “If a site is built well, it may work… But Google basically removes the style sheet, which can be bad news for a lot of sites. It breaks down the content for mobile but the results aren’t that great. His take: A great time to start a company that builds mobile sites from the ground-up. They’re going to make a killing!

Intrigued by Russell Buckley’s recent rant at his MobHappy blog, I caught up with him today to put his initial criticisms into perspective. Russell, who is also the European head of AdMob, kept his blogger hat firmly in place, and calls Google’s first foray “commercially naïve.” In his view, wresting control from the advertisers and publishers is bad enough; forcing them to opt-out rather than opt-in, before Google begins billing for the service, borders on arrogant. “It simply won’t work.”

And don’t think Russell wants Google to fail. To the contrary, Google is widely perceived as a trail-blazer and under no conditions can this market giant lead us to a dead-end. Google’s success would spark widespread interest in mobile advertising and create a bigger pie for all the players. Instead, “any short-term gains Google gleans from its quick win” will likely come at the expense of the entire industry.

Russell reckons that ineffective mobile campaigns – caused by even more inept transcoding - will depress overall Click Through Rates and ultimately stunt the growth of the mobile advertising industry. His point is well taken if we consider just how over-hyped and over-heated the mobile advertising space is. It’s a nascent market sensitive to buzz, and the slightest slip-up could cost everyone their shirt. (Remember “WAP is crap” and how long it took for that furore to subside?)

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Once advertisers understand this is not the PC, and become aware of the importance of a perfect match between mobile search and mobile ads, they will likely turn up the pressure on mobile search providers to improve relevancy and targeting. The emphasis will shift from quantity to quality – and open up new opportunities for companies that have stepped up R&D in this area. (Indeed, Russell tells me this is an area high on AdMob’s radar. Likewise, other mobile search providers have confided that they are fine-tuning their algorithms to play more of a matchmaker role between users and the content that matters to them most.)

If 2007 was the year of mobile search, then 2008 will be the year of personalized, profitable and productive search. After all, even power search is powerless if it fails to deliver the right results to the right users.

And if Google disappoints advertisers and delivers poor results, then there is a good chance these advertisers will simply vote with their feet and explore what Yahoo, MSN or a white-label provider has to offer. And would that be bad for the industry? Hardly.

Exploration and experimentation can only be a good thing for the industry – and the knowledge that we’re not there yet will force all the players to improve the end-user experience.

It’s early days in this industry and companies are allowed to make mistakes (yes, this cock-up certainly proves Google is fallible).

As my esteemed colleague Emma Mohr-McClune, Principal Analyst, Wireless Services Europe, CurrentAnalysis, puts it: “I do sympathize with those in the wider mobile ad value chain who claim that Google’s move will damage early end-user experiences and publisher sentiments, potentially stunting the development of the market for all. But, clearly, someone within the Google camp has looked at the size of today’s mobile advertising market and decided that it could take a short-term risk.”

Is Google being buccaneer about this? Absolutely. Did we really expect anything less?

• Posted in
• Mobile Search, Mobile Advertising

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