MSearchGroove

In-brief: A mix of metrics MSG reports as a matter of record. Companies mentioned: AdMob, Bango, MLiven, Hitwise, Yahoo, Nielsen Mobile, Medio Systems & abphone.

ADMOB: Regular readers will recall that MSG has consistently presented AdMob metrics and analysis. To create maximum value and benefit for the vibrant and growing MSG community, Jason Spero, AdMob VP Marketing, and I have agreed to work together to create a “briefing room”, offering readers a knowledge resource where they can view AdMob mobile advertising metrics as well as research exclusive to MSG. I am very excited about what our companies can co-create and thank AdMob for its generous support. As Jason put it, AdMob looks to MSG to supply quality analysis and answer the all-important “why” question behind breaking news. I am honored that MSG is that destination and pledge to maintain our high standard of quality for a long time to come. (MSG is just getting started!) Other companies interested in creating a “briefing room” with MSG should contact me directly - our ad sales team comes on board on May 1.)

In the March Metrics Report, we see several additions/improvements in AdMob’s network traffic classification, aimed at enabling advertisers to better target their audiences and plan campaigns. In line with the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) definition of four standard screen sizes, AdMob not only serves different banner sizes to each of the four standard screen sizes; it has also added MMA screen size to the monthly report, providing a breakdown (on an worldwide and per country basis) of the traffic share of each of the MMA screen sizes.

Once again, AdMob provides a breakdown of smartphone traffic by manufacturer. Just under one-fourth (24.5 percent) of ad requests worldwide were from smartphones. (Moving forward, AdMob will also list smartphone share according to the individual operating system.) It’s interesting to note that Nokia’s share of network impressions decreased by 2.5 percent, a drop that could be linked to an increase in the share of transactions originating in the U.S., where Nokia’s overall market share is less than stellar. Altogether, the metrics show Nokia lost share (-2.2 percent) to Motorola and RIM. Another telling stat: iPhone traffic is now growing at the same pace as the rest of the AdMob network.

BANGO: Bango is again a source of invaluable data. (I urge you to check out Bango’s live ticker that shows the healthy state of the mobile Web, and commend Sarah Keefe, Bango VP Marketing, for her blog post that resolutely replies to premature declarations that the mobile Web is dead.) This month Bango has published click-through and conversion rates from mobile advertising campaigns to help marketers measure results.

Based on data collected by Bango customers who use Bango Analytics to measure their mobile marketing campaigns, Bango reports banner and text ads on mobile websites typically have a click through rate of 2-8 percent with a conversion rate of 2-5 percent, which can be as high as 12 percent on some networks. The data is a clear confirmation that click-through and conversion rates increase, and can even double, when the advertising message/offer is closely aligned with the target demographic. Bango Analytics operates as a hosted service and provides insights into who clicks what, from which device, and via which network. Check it out at www.bango.com/analytics.

CZECH REPUBLIC: Jan Rezab - an executive at MLiven, a Czech mobile software and mobile advertising services company, and blogger at Mobile Enthusiast - brought my attention to his take on mobile metrics related to mobile Internet usage and ad impressions in the Czech Republic.

Jan gives us insights into the intricacies of the Czech market and corrects M:Metrics’ figures for Eastern Europe. The research firm estimates that ad impressions for Eastern Europe last March totaled 110 million. However, Jan walks us through MLiven stats and those of its partners to show the Czech market - only a small portion of Eastern Europe, you understand, - is much more buoyant than we expected.

His stats:

• MLiven sites - 12 million impressions
• Operator official decks - 15 million impressions
• Other service partners - 30 million impressions
• Total: 57 million impressions

Jan also combines operator data and information he has collected to give a good overview of operator portal traffic in his home market. The breakdown: T-Mobile - 500,000, O2 - 500,000 and Vodafone 330,000. Total number of mobile subscribers: 12 978 000 (or 126 percent penetration). O2 in the Czech Republic gave Jan the scoop on mobile data revenues. He reports that total data revenue in the first three quarters of 2007 increased by 17.5 percent to reach CZK 1.4 billion (56 million euros ).

ANSWER SITES: New Hitwise stats point to new business models for mobile and confirm some of the more interesting discussions I’m hearing in the industry these days. (Case in point: The blue-sky session I had with Qualcomm on MSG, where we mulled over the future for services that offer/recommend advice. And let’s not forget Yahoo’s clever move to make Answers core to its oneSearch 2.0 mobile offer.) Indeed, the market share of U.S. visits to Question and Answer websites increased 118 percent for the week ending March 15, 2008, compared to the same week in 2007, according to a new Hitwise report. And a whopping 889 percent (!) increase if you compare February 2008 to February 2006.

Top destinations in the online space include Yahoo Answers (which received 74.05 percent of the market share of U.S. market), followed by WikiAnswers , Answerbag, Ask MetaFilter, and Askville. I’ll leave you with this quote (and ask you to recall that mobile is a perfect medium for unleashing the potential of social knowledge on the fly…) from Heather Dougherty, Hitwise Research Director: “Online users are increasingly seeking advice from question and answer websites that leverage shared knowledge contributed across a community of experts and enthusiasts. The popularity of user generated media has helped to establish a category for social knowledge where consumers can obtain answers from a single aggregated source developed through others asking similar questions.”

NIELSEN MOBILE ADVERSTING & SEARCH: Two worthwhile reports from The Nielsen Company. First, the bi-annual Mobile Advertising Report from Nielsen Mobile, a service of The Nielsen Company, that examines consumer recall, responses and attitudes toward banner ads on mobile web pages and other types of advertising. Based on a survey of more than 22,000 active mobile data users who used at least one non-voice mobile service in the fourth quarter, the report found that 23 percent (58 million) of all U.S. mobile subscribers say they’ve been exposed to advertising on their phones. Just over half (51% or 28 million) of all respondents who recall seeing mobile advertising in the period surveyed said they also responded to a mobile ad.

What’s more, 26 percent of those who saw an ad responded at least once by sending an SMS, the most popular ad response; 9 percent used click-to-call to respond to a mobile ad. Only 10 percent of respondents said they think advertising on their mobile devices is acceptable. But there are indications that an increasing number of mobile users appear to understand the value proposition of ad-supported mobile content, the report concluded.

Meanwhile, the Nielsen Mobile Search Report (3Q2007) reveals that the highest user satisfaction ratings go to Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile - mobile operators that are also partners with Medio Systems, a white-label mobile search provider that powers search on Verizon’s Get It Now and T-Mobile’s t-zones carrier portals. Nielsen found 23 percent more users reported being “Very Satisfied” with the T-Mobile and Verizon carrier search boxes than with those of any other carrier. Furthermore, while having the greatest proportion of very satisfied customers, Medio’s overall satisfaction scores are higher than the current mobile WAP search offerings from the leading Internet search providers. The report also found that 19 percent of mobile subscribers and 42 percent of mobile data users employ some form of mobile search (included in this are mobile 411 services).

VERTICAL SEARCH: A short snippet of information that shows opportunities abound in the Long Tail of vertical search for mobiles. French vertical mobile search provider abphone, which offers an ad-funded, mobile multimedia search engine for images andvideos, counted its 500 millionth search. (Thanks again to Herv Hoff, abphone Head of Marketing & Sales, for bringing this to my attention.)

The release doesn’t tell us how long it took for abphone to reach this milestone, but Herv told me the company counts results for image and video search over the last 24 months. The mobile music search service that MSG reported here is still in beta and Herv tells me that mobile games are the one to watch for - soon.

Olivier Laury, Director of Contents at Bouygues Telecom said in a statement: “abphone delivers good results thanks to the relevance of the photos and videos it gives to our subscribers, who regularly and repeatedly use this mobile search service. A service such as abphone, which is free for our customers, makes sense in our Web & Mail option offering.” (BTW: The service charges 9.90 euros for full mobile Internet access.) What all this means: We have welcome evidence that mobile search is evolving from a universal to a vertical proposition.

• Posted in
• Mobile Social Networking, Mobile Research, Mobile Search, Mobile Music, Mobile Content, Mobile Advertising

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