With just about everyone from Google to Facebook jumping on the mobile revolution band wagon it's notsurprise to find out that mobile phones are influencing consumers buying habits. Smartphone users are more educated buyers and more inclined to buy when doing their research.

If business are not taking advantage of this they're missing out on a serious opportunity. A survey found that smartphone users who saw mobile ads where spurred  into action.

Over 90 percent of searches from a phone have lead to some form of action by the consumer. Which is no real surprise since mobile phones are carried everywhere. What other device to you know of that people carry around with them at all times?

Information From Mobile Devices

The survey also found that 95 percent of searches done are with local intent and that 88 percent of the people performing those searches use this information the same day. The best part is the action taken by these consumers. 61 percent said they will call the business while 59 percent said they physically visit the business. Now that's some conversion for you.

Consumers using their phones to educate themselves while shopping has increased exponentially. 79 percent use their mobile phones to compare prices, find more information on products or to locate another store close to them. When it comes to purchasing online, 74 percent of those surveyed said they use their phones to make a purchase online.

Not All That Surprising

Mobile ads influence consumers buying decisions. 71 percent of searches where performed because a user saw and ad of some sort. 68 percent took action because of a traditional media ad, 27 percent mobile ads and 18 percent because of an online ad.

Still don't think mobile media is the next big revolution? Well then pay close attention to these next survey stats. 82 percent of those surveyed said they take notice of mobile ads and 49 percent of users who see those ads make a purchase while 35 percent visit a website.
Now this may not come as a surprise to everyone. It just makes sense that the one device we all carry around with us everywhere has a huge effect on our buying decisions. However for those that need their eyes pried open with toothpicks this survey should do the trick.

Below is the findings from the survey taken from the Google Mobile Ads Blog: (Just in case you needed more proof)

General Smartphone Usage:  Consumers use smartphones as an extension of their desktop computers.

    •    81% browse the Internet, 77% search, 68% use an app, and 48% watch videos on their smartphone
    •    72% use their smartphones while consuming other media, with a third while watching TV
    •    93% of smartphone owners use their smartphones while at home

Action-Oriented Searchers: Mobile search is heavily used to find a wide variety of information.

    •    Search engine websites are the most visited websites with 77% of smartphone users citing this, followed by social networking, retail and video sharing websites
    •    Nine out of ten smartphone searches results in an action (purchasing, visiting a business, etc.)
    •    24% recommended a brand or product to others as a result of a smartphone search

Local Information Seekers: Looking for local information is done by virtually all smartphone users and consumers are ready to act on the information they find.

    •    95% of smartphone users have looked for local information
    •    88% of these users take action within a day, indicating these are immediate information needs
    •    77% have contacted a business, with 61% calling and 59% visiting the local business

Purchase-driven Shoppers: Smartphones have become an indispensable shopping tool.

    •    79% of smartphone consumers use their phones to help with shopping, from comparing prices, finding more product info to locating a retailer
    •    74% of smartphone shoppers make a purchase, whether online, in-store, or on their phones
    •    70% use their smartphones while in the store, reflecting varied purchase paths that often begin online or on their phones and brings consumers to the store

Reaching Mobile Consumers: Cross-media exposure influences smartphone user behavior and a majority notice mobile ads which leads to taking action on it.

    •    71% search on their phones because of an ad exposure, whether from traditional media (68%) to online ads (18%) to mobile ads (27%)
    •    82% notice mobile ads, especially mobile display ads and a third notice mobile search ads
    •    Half of those who see a mobile ad take action, with 35% visiting a website and 49% making a purchase

Local Search and Mobile Marketing from TurnUp Local

Google just released it's new Mobile Keyword Tool which will help marketers jump into the mobile world much easier. There is even a new feature to help segment keyword list to target mobile searchers. Google also has said that mobile search is up 130%.

Here's what Google has to say about their new mobile keyword tool:

Mobile Statistics in the Keyword Tool
The Keyword Tool now helps you build a better keyword list to target mobile users. Under "Advanced options," you can now search for keywords for devices with mobile WAP browsers, mobile devices with full Internet browsers (think iPhone and Android phones), or all mobile devices (sum of devices with WAP browsers and devices with Internet browsers).

When you do a keyword search, the statistics you see for Competition, Global and Local Monthly Searches, and Local Search Trends are all specific to the device or devices that you’ve selected.



This tool will help find focused keywords along with reporting and statistics. It makes it much easier to get into mobile marketing without that sinking feeling that you are going to loose you shirt overnight or simply not see any results at all.

The Year of Mobile Marketing?

Yeah we have all hear it before. "This will be the year of mobile marketing" The usual response: "Yeah right."
The smartphone market has grown exponentially in the past couple of years with just about every platform, phone company and provider offering a smartphone with search capabilities for practically nothing. Now you don't have to plop down $400 to even think about getting a smartphone for yourself. 

The mobile marketing market just has not shown enough growth to entice advertisers to jump in with both feet. Even though there are huge numbers to support getting involved.

Local search is something that mobile phones where naturally made for. I know I take advantage of that fact almost everyday I need to find something close to me in a hurry. Usually when I look for something close to me I am pretty motivated to buy right then and it's not just me. Add the local factor in with the shear volume of searches being done on mobile devices these days and you have yourself a market ripe for exploring.

If your not revving up for a mobile marketing campaign your missing out.

Proof is in the pudding

With the new tool comes new data which means you can track and analyze it. Now you can show proof in black and white whether a mobile campaign is working or not.

By being able to calculate metrics of a campaign such as ROI as well as compare performance across mobile channels gives the power back to the people, so to speak. Every marketer now has the information to compare searches across paid, organic and local mobile searches.

Now that you have proof there in Google Analytics it's just a matter of pulling out the new data analyzing it. With your data in hand you can now go to the boss and say, "See I freaking told you so!" Now if your own boss you can kick yourself in the rear for not starting a mobile campaign earlier.

By no means is the new tool perfect but it does give you the power to stop the moaning and be proactive. All of this just by releasing one little tool. 

Maybe this actually will be the year of mobile marketing after all… finally.