• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, May 2, 2013

Facebook isn’t the only company making strides in mobile. Yelp on Wednesday reported that more than one-third (36%) of its ad impressions in the first quarter came on the mobile side, up from a quarter in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Furthermore, Yelp’s 10 million mobile app users also drove about 45% of total searches in the first quarter as the local ratings and review site continues its expansion from desktop to device. To help monetize that growth, it began rolling out display ads in the app in the quarter with brands including Taco Bell, Intercontinental Hotels and MillerCoors.

The mobile gains helped the company’s revenue climb 68% to $46.1 million, well above the $44.5 million that analysts on averaged had expected for the quarter. Local advertising, which accounts for the vast majority of ad revenue, increased 81% to $39 million.

Yelp’s net loss narrowed to $4.8 million, or 8 cents a share, in the first quarter -- from $9.8 million, or 31 cents a year ago. Analysts had forecast a loss of 6 cents.

The company has made mobile a key focus of its strategy in 2013, along with international expansion and helping local businesses better track the return on investment from a Yelp account. The company typically sells a bundle of ad impressions, which it distributes across the desktop, mobile Web and its app.

“As we focus more and more on mobile, we expect to see greater contribution of impressions coming from mobile,” said Yelp CFO Robert Krolik, during the company earnings conference call. In a research note on Thursday, JP Morgan analyst Kaizad Gotla said the company was well positioned for mobile expansion. Over time, he suggested that Yelp might move to monetize the voice calls it generates to local businesses.

For now, the company is still figuring out how to adapt its advertising and content to mobile. Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman said the company is exploring new ways of creating a “mobile first” experience.

At present, mobile users who begin writing reviews through their devices still have to complete them on the desktop. Users are now encouraged to post briefer “tips” about a venue through a tab at the top of the phone screen. “We get an enormous amount of contributions overall now on mobile -- be it tips, check-ins and photos. This is an area of exploration for us, so stay tuned,” said Stoppelman.

The total number of reviews on Yelp reviews increased 43% from a year ago to 39 million, with over 3 million added in the first quarter. Its average monthly unique visitors grew 43% to about 102 million, 30% of which came from mobile.

On the international front, Yelp launched in its 21st country -- New Zealand -- on Wednesday, and began selling ads for the first in France and Spain, according to Stoppelman. It is focused on integrating Qype, its biggest European rival, acquired last October for $50 million.

For the second quarter, Yelp is projecting revenue of $52.5 million to $53.5 million, which compares with analysts’ consensus forecast of $50.4 million.