• March 19, 2008

Annual revenues from mobile search services are expected to hit $4.8 billion by 2013, according to a new report from Juniper Research. Among the factors driving growth are the decline of carriers' "walled garden" approach, falling data costs and the entrance of search heavyweights such as Google and Yahoo.

Local search will be the most popular service among advertisers, attracting 40% of mobile search ad spending over the next five years. Globally, China and the Far East are expected to generate most revenues from mobile search in the coming years, followed by Western Europe and North America.

The Juniper report, however, cautions against an "advertising overload" in mobile search that could alienate consumers as well as citing ongoing concerns over use of personal data gleaned from mobile search.

--Mark Walsh