Google’s AdWords has been launched to the mobile platform, and more specifically to Google Mobile Search. The move comes a year after it began testing paid listings on its mobile search product and advertisers will automatically have their listings delivered on the mobile platform unless they request otherwise.


As not all users have iPhones or other rich media-enabled handsets, advertiser landing pages may be adapted for mobile browsers (although the advertiser also needs to optimize the page on their own). Also, ads will only be shown on sites that can be adapted for mobile phone screens.


However, whether effective Web search ads will perform well in a mobile environment is another question. As mobile users search for different reasons as compared to Web users, relevance will be key.

The progress of digital technology has encouraged the media to make significant investments in upgrading online news properties in hope of “owning” customers, but a McKinsey study suggests that consumers are thwarting these efforts. The research—an online survey of 2,100 consumers in the United States—found that the respondents divide their time among as many as 16 news brands a week!

The reasons given for visiting a number of sources include “every news event has at least two sides,” to “get all the facts,” to “form my own opinion,” or to find specific types of content, such as local news. Also, a significant group among the respondents was found to avail themselves of alternative news sources, such as blogs or comedy news programs.

The findings have significant implications for advertising. Buying across multiple news sites may well increase frequency more than it does for reach while buying into multisource aggregators or even behavioural networks could be the next step in smart targeting.

Blog seeding, despite its less predictable nature as an advertising vehicle, may also be a viable possibility. The risks may be there in trying new media strategies, but the rewards are there for those who succeed.

© 2007 Zenithmedia
© 2007 Optimedia
© 2007 Equinox

Photos credited to media owners