• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, June 12, 2015

When they takeoff, how will wearable devices affect the business of search? Well, “The consumer is not going to see a [long] list of links anymore,” according to David Ingerman, co-founder and CEO of mobile marketing startup PlaceCodes.

Rather, in response to mostly verbal search queries, wearable owners will more likely receive one or two written search results -- because of small screen size -- or a verbal response, Ingerman told attendees of MediaPost’s Search Insider Summit, on Friday.

Among other implications, that means the “importance of ranking” will become all the more critical, Ingerman said. Businesses will be spending a ton of money to make sure they rank at the very top of search results.

It might be helpful to think of search marketing on wearables like billboard advertising, said Leo Dalakos, VP of Digital Strategy at Performics, the performance-marketing arm of ZenithOptimedia.

Imagine trying to “catch people while they’re going 55 miles per hour,” Dalakos said on Friday. “They’re [going to be] doing something else, and you want to catch their attention.”