SEMPO Launches White Paper on Mobile Search Trends

Capturing Mobile Search Market via Best Practices is a Focal Point

WAKEFIELD, MA, September 11, 2009 – Mobile may be the next hot thing, but how as a search marketing professional, do you fully realize the potential of this healthy, growing market? SEMPO (Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization), www.sempo.org, recently looked at the mobile market subject and is publishing a “Point of View” (P.O.V.) paper, examining the interrelationship of mobile and search.

The complete mobile paper, authored by SEMPO’s Emerging Technologies Committee, is available at http://www.sempo.org/learning_center/editorials/sempo_etc_mobile_pov_09-01-09.pdf. Earlier this year SEMPO published its first P.O.V. paper, on social media, accessible at http://www.sempo.org/learning_center/editorials/sempo_social_media.pdf.

“The gap between mobile and desktop searchers is getting much narrower. SEMPO felt it was important to examine this powerful shift in how consumers are searching and present some ideas, for not only marketing via mobile, but also creating compelling content that works optimally for the mobile search medium,” says Sara Holoubek, SEMPO president.

“SEMPO’s Emerging Technologies Committee developed the mobile paper to further identify what opportunities exist for search marketers in the mobile Web ecosystem and how they can best be leveraged,” says Noah Elkin, eMarketer senior analyst, and committee co-chair with Rachel Pasqua, director, mobile strategy, iCrossing. “Specifically, we wanted to examine what mobile channels show the most promise for search marketers, how search is evolving on mobile devices, and how marketers can optimize their consumer presence via mobile.”

Based on research from a number of sources, here are some of the top-line data points for consideration in looking at the growing mobile market:

• 64 million U.S. wireless subscribers surfed the mobile Internet in May 2009, compared to 36 million in January 2008.
• PricewaterhouseCoopers’ “Global Entertainment and Media Outlook, 2009-2013” predicts that global mobile advertising spending will rise from $3.8 billion in 2008 to $9.2 billion in 2013.
• The U.S. will account for approximately one-third of this spending, making it the largest single-country market for mobile advertising, followed by Japan, with the total EMEA region roughly analogous in size to the U.S.
• iPhone and iPod Touch own 60% of the current market.
• Mobile networks are reporting click-through rates of anywhere from 5% to 15% on campaigns, putting the desktop Web’s average of 2% to shame.

Optimizing Mobile
Mobile is a compelling market force but search marketers have some challenges ahead, according to SEMPO. Disparate hardware and software platforms, competing applications and rival search engines make the mobile Web ecosystem more complex than the desktop environment. SEMPO suggests marketers implement these steps in order to achieve better visibility, more accurate targeting and more successful conversions:

• Create usable content designed around the specific wants, needs and usage patterns of mobile consumers.
• Redirect users to that content via SEO and paid search efforts calibrated to the smaller screen real estate available on mobile devices.
• Location, location, location: remember that mobile is about location, specifically where the mobile user is at any given moment. Take into account the specific behaviors and needs that accompany on-the-go Internet access when crafting advertising messages.
• Brands that value their site stickiness and hard-earned search equity should create versions of their desktop Web content synthesized specifically for the wants and needs of the mobile user.
• Marketers need to segment the market by demographics and mobile device traffic. Mobile is not a one-size-fits-all proposition.

About the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO)
SEMPO is a global non-profit organization serving the search engine marketing industry and marketing professionals engaged in it. Its purpose is to provide a foundation for industry growth through building stronger relationships, fostering awareness, providing education, promoting the industry, generating research, and creating a better understanding of search and its role in marketing.

Representing thousands in over 39 countries, SEMPO has more than 820 members. It represents the common interests of companies and consultants worldwide and provides them with a voice in the marketplace. SEMPO’s education and outreach initiatives are funded in part by Yahoo!, Google, Superpages.com, SMX, Search Engine Strategies and MediaPost. For more information, or to join the organization, please visit http://www.SEMPO.org.

For more information, contact:
Greg Jarboe
978 549 9537
pr@sempo.org