Mobile Advertising Grows, Google Releases Its Dashboard Privacy Tool, Free Wi-Fi For The Holidays, And More

Mobile Advertising Showing Impressive Growth

With mobile advertising on the rise, top players in search advertising are competing for traffic. In the last year, there has been a 32% increase in the number of people accessing info using their mobile phones, as well as a 42% growth in the number of people using mobile search engines to find info of all kinds.

Bing is competing for that traffic by partnering with Verizon Wireless in a 5 year deal.  Bing search now powers all mobile phones in the Verizon network “on deck” and Microsoft will offer search and display advertising to wireless subscribers.  Bing expects the partnership to cause in increase in their mobile search advertising reach.

Google has also made a move in the market by buying the mobile advertising firm AdMob for $750 million. The firm specializes in selling adverts displayed on small screens and their ad network runs across thousands of websites.

Lastly, Yahoo has also tweaked their Sponsored Search system in the past months to serve ads on iPhones and Android mobile phones.  Advertisers don’t have to change anything; Yahoo has done all the work for them and ads should begin appearing immediately on the phones for relevant searches.

Google’s Dashboard Privacy Tool Released

If you are ever wondering what information Google knows about you, you can now find out with a click of your mouse.  Google has released a feature that allows users to see and control the data that they have collected about them.  The service, called Google Dashboard, provides a summary of your Google files from Gmail, Google Docs, etc.  The search giant has been criticized by politicians and privacy advocates for their data collection practices. Google states that the service has been created because, “we are very aware of the trust that you have placed in us, and our responsibility to protect your privacy and data”.

Free Wi-Fi for the Holiday’s

Google is wishing traveler’s Happy Holiday’s by providing Wi-Fi access at 47 US airports so people can access the Internet for free while waiting at gates and other areas.  The service starts Monday, November 16th and goes through mid-January, except in Seattle and Burbank where the offer will continue indefinitely. Those who log into the free service will have the option to make donations to Engineers Without Borders, the One Economy Corporation, and the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, and Google will match those donations up to $250,000.
For an internet retailer, this means that during the holiday season travelers may be making purchases online while at the airport and thinking of their relatives, including during busy airport times near Thanksgiving.

If you’re interested in learning more about what Rocket Clicks can do for your pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimization, website design and development, or law firm marketing, please check out our PPC services and SEO services or schedule a quick audit today. 

Sources:

http://moconews.net/article/419-microsoft-plunges-into-mobile-advertising-with-verizon-wireless-deal/
http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/25068.asp
http://www.ysmblog.com/blog/2009/09/29/mobile-reach-for-your-ads/
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/05/google.dashboard/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
http://www.freeholidaywifi.com/