Good News on the Mobile Front, Google stops Traffic
Feb 14, 2008 Google Adwords
That’s right, if you didn’t think cell phones were a bad enough influence on drivers, there’s more bad news on the way from Wired. According to Wired, mobile internet users (more specifically iPhone users) are avid Googlers. It’s not all doom and gloom, it may help some drivers search for instructions on how to use their turn signal. In all seriousness, this news should come as no surprise to the search marketing community, but does offer up some serious food for thought on how to get those surfers to convert.
Apparently, Google reported that mobile users are avid Googlers when on the Go. Bad news for drivers, as many more bad drivers will be doing anything but better driving. It is good news for Google however, as their search evangelists have been spending the majority of the year pushing Mobile Search and Adwords Mobile.
This news does pose a challenge for search marketers: how do you get mobile phone users to convert?
Many search marketers would love to tap into the highly sought-after mobile market, especially with the overwhelming success of both Apple and Research in Motion. iPhone and Blackberry users account for much of the business world, and not slouches either - movers and shakers, decision-makers. The main problem has been conversion.
There are solutions out there to assist in the mobile conversion problem, but they do little to sway mobile users to committing to purchasing through their phones. Most of the problem does not lie within the technology, but rather consumer behavior. Sending and receiving e-mail, gathering information, checking stock prices, downloading multimedia, and doing some light surfing probably accounts for the lion’s share of mobile activity.
Of course, it’s just a matter of time before behavior catches up with technology. After all, Apple seems to have figured out a great way for iPhone and iPod Touch users to buy music and movies on their devices. There has yet to be a truly universal solution to take the lead and win over mobile browsers.
Sure, the future is bright, with Google’s optimistic news on the Mobile front, but will it ever eclipse standard search behavior? Only time will tell.
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