Mobile Going Gangbusters as Ad Spending Skyrockets

The handheld revolution is progressing at a breakneck pace, as reflected in survey results that show mobile ad spending exploding. 

A new study by eMarketer projects mobile ad spending will grow 80% this year to $2.61 billion, outstripping its previous projections of $1.8 billion.

The spike in mobile ad spending, eMarketer finds, is being driven by Google’s mobile search advertising business, advertisers displaying their inventory on tablet and smartphone devices, and the proliferation of mobile ad networks such as Google’s AdMob, Apple’s iAd, and Millennial Media.

A contributing factor is the large and expanding adoption of Apple iPhones and Google Android devices.

eMarketer’s figures show that Google dominates the mobile advertising space with $750 million, which represents a 51.7% market share. The next closest players are Apple, with $92.4 million and a 6.4% market share, and Millenial Media with $90.9 million and a 6.3% market share.

As Ad Age’s Cotton Delo points out, neither Apple nor Millenial are in the search business, from which Google derives its significant edge.

eMarketer said its revised estimates were based on a stream of new market data made available in the past few months from major advertising publishers and research firms.

What does this mean for the businesses in the trenches?

Go mobile and get located—geographically and on search engines. Position your business to be found on mobile searches, format your information to show up on mobile devices, and put mobile ads in your marketing mix.

For businesses looking to stay ahead of the curve in their marketing efforts, display and video ads are among the hottest trends and are expected to grow their spending share significantly in 2012.

eMarketer estimates U.S. mobile display ad spending, which includes banner and rich media ads, will grow 93.5% to $861.7 million in 2012, almost doubling the $445.4 million spent in 2011. Mobile video ad spending will grow an estimated 122% to $151.5 million this year, up from $68.2 million in 2011, according to eMarketer’s projections.