Nielsen Provides The 411 On Mobile Search, Literally

The mobile advertising marketplace may be slow to develop, but mobile data usage--especially search functions--continue to accelerate, according to new data released Thursday by the Nielsen Co. More than 46 million subscribers utilized mobile search functions during the third quarter of 2007, according to the report, "Mobile Search Size," which derives its estimates from a survey of more than 5,700 mobile search users.

The most popular form of mobile search among data users was the same one that has dominated conventional land-line usage: 411. More than 18 million users accessed mobile 411 listing during the quarter.

The next-biggest application--SMS, or text-based searching--was accessed by 14.1 million data users during the same period.

The dominant source of information searched was local listings, with 27.1 million data users accessing local information during the quarter, nearly twice the volume (14.8 million) who said they searched for more general information such as sports scores, news or weather. Another 11.3 million reported searching for specific mobile content.

"As more mobile users turn to their phone for the answers they need, mobile search has quickly escalated as a critical part of the mobile media and advertising landscape," Kanishka Agarwal, vice president-mobile media at Nielsen Mobile, stated in the release of the report. "Knowing how mobile searchers find information--and what they're looking for--will help us intelligently engage with consumers through mobile search." The report also found that demographics vary by search method, with 411 search skewing female (61%) vs. WAP, or mobile search, which skews male (60%).

SMS-based searching, conversely, skews younger when compared to other methods of search. A third of all SMS searchers are conducted by those under 25.

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