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Google: Searches via mobile up 5x over 2 years; ad rates on fones expected to surpass those of PC

Categories: Marketing
By: , IntoMobile
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 at 1:43 AM

In a recent analyst call, Google Engineering Vice President Vic Gundotra said that Google searches via mobile have gone up 5x over the past 2 years, and that the company really believes that one day ad rates for mobile will surpass those of ad rates on PC.

Vic’s right, of course, since mobile ads will be able to utilize the location sensor inside a mobile phone to show highly relevant information, but the real reason is that mobile screens are simply smaller. We, as internet addicts, have learned to ignore the top 200 pixels, and right hand side bar, because we know it’s usually loaded with complete and utter bullshit. How does this bullshit pay my salary is beyond me, but it magically does, so I have to at least partially respect it.

On mobile, when even the highest resolution devices today are “only” 800 x 480 pixels, that ad is going to take a nice chunk of your screen. You’re more likely to notice it, and more importantly for Google, you’re more likely to accidentally press an advertisement. I’ve done this on numerous occasions on my Nexus One.

Anyway, let’s all keep on going about our days, sucking the mighty Google [expletive deleted], because we all know it’s good for us in the end.

About The Author

Stefan Constantinescu

Stefan Constantinescu (@WhatTheBit on Twitter) has loved technology since as far back as he can remember. It started with computers, but in the past few years his passion has turned to mobile devices. As a mobile phone enthusiast who lives and breathes devices that connect to the internet, he knows he is not alone with this radical fascination of all things wireless. He is strongly opinionated and enjoys a good debate so leave comments in his posts and he’ll get back to you! Stefan began blogging as a hobby in the fall of 2006 and joined IntoMobile in the summer of 2007. Later he got a job at Nokia in March 2008, but as of June 2009 he has rejoined the IntoMobile team. He is currently based out of Helsinki, Finland.