• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, September 5, 2012

Targeted content will increasingly become important on mobile devices through on-site and in-app search for a variety of industries, which identifies the need for improvements in Web site and application search functions.

Some 57% of smartphone and 52% of tablet users participating in research released Wednesday admit to clicking on a mobile ad because it provided information about a need or answered a question related to a recent search.

The study from mobile-local ad network xAd, and call measurement provider Telmetrics, conducted by Nielsen, analyzes the mobile path to purchase for the travel, restaurant, and auto industries. It provides insights on successful strategies, but also considerations to increase conversions.  

Bill Dinan, president at Telmetrics, also explains the role of search, and why on-site and in-app search needs to improve.

Travelers using mobile devices convert at higher rates, for example. Nearly half of those surveyed admit to making a purchase. With 75% of traveling consumers reporting that they notice mobile ads, only 25% have a preferred brand before they begin a search. This presents opportunities for marketers to influence consumers as they search not only on engines, but in apps and on Web site.

It also brings up a need for advancements in site search and in applications.

Mobile travel users prefer apps rather than the Web because many brands have made it easier to find information. Tablet users, at 51%, tend to frequent travel comparison or utility Web sites, while smartphone users, at 35%, prefer the app version of travel comparison or utility sites, followed by branded or local directory apps at 31%.

More than one-third of travelers using mobile access information, such as a business location, directions or a business phone number, and more than 30% make a purchase within the day. Nearly half of mobile travelers make a purchase related to the activities they completed via their mobile device, with 29% completing the purchase on the smartphone.

About 47% of mobile travel searches result in calls to the brand, compared with up to 73% of those on mobile searching for information about a restaurant. Dinan said searches related to automotive triggered a call shortly after about 50% of the time, and travel triggered a call a little less than half the time.