Mobile Surpasses Desktop in Search Queries
BIA/Kelsey found that mobile has overtaken desktop in search query volume. While the numbers remain close, the gap will continue to increase over the next few years.
As of last year, mobile has overtaken desktop for local search query volume, according to recent research from BIA/Kelsey.
The market research firm found that 66.5 million local search queries were made via mobile devices to desktop’s 65.6. By the end of this year, those numbers will be significantly more disparate: desktop will decline to 64.6 million, while mobile will swell 23 percent to 81.8 million.
That trend will continue over the next five years, with local desktop searches predicted to decrease by about 500,000 each year. Mobile’s growth will be much more rapid, jumping to 13 billion queries by next year alone. By 2019, BIA/Kelsey anticipates an annual 62.3 billion local desktop searches versus 141.9 billion for mobile.
As mobile search increases, mobile search spend is following suit, albeit less dramatically. In 2014, desktop accounted for $14.30 billion of U.S. search ad spending, while mobile made up $8.72 of the total. By the end of this year, the numbers will be much closer together: $12.82 billion for desktop and $12.85 for mobile, according to March research from eMarketer.
eMarketer predicts that in two more years, desktop will be $9.12 billion of the ad spend share and mobile will be more than double that, with $21.73 billion. Getting more specific on ad spend, BIA/Kelsey estimated last month that mobile would increase 56 percent to make up $6.7 billion of local ad spend. That’s 37 percent of the total; by 2019, mobile is expected to nearly triple to $18.2 billion.
Most Popular
10 SaaS marketers share what's NOT working in content marketing anymore
Insights from folks who’ve been creating SaaS content on a daily basis for years
Are these SEO rookie mistakes costing your search rankings?
From optimizing your website for wrong keywords to creating similar doorway pages, avoid these rookie SEO moves to protect search rankings
In a sea of signals, is your on-page on-point?
Findings from a rigorous competitive analysis that sheds light on how to turn findings into action for niche industries
From cookie, to beyond CRM and constant consent - why cookieless means a brighter future for digital experience
Parking the issue and sleeping on the job could prove more problematic in the long run