Globally, mobile advertising grew sequentially by 35% in Q1 2014, and 135% compared with the prior year. Mobile search advertising contributed 25% to the total amount that marketers spent on search campaigns, and of that 40% went to smartphones and 60% to tablets. Search volume rose 16% sequentially.
The cost per click (CPC) on mobile devices continues to rise. CPCs rose 9% on smartphones, sequentially, although tablets remained stable.
Overall, global paid-search advertising among Covario's high-tech, consumer electronics and retail clients rose 25% in the quarter compared with the previous year, and by 7% sequentially. The average cost per click (CPC) rose 12% globally in the quarter, compared with the prior year. Ad engagement continues to make steady improvements as a result of larger formats and ad extensions.
Covario's B2B, technology and consumer electronics clients' increased search budgets in the quarter can be partly attributed to the seasonal spending around those industries and renewed emphasis on direct-response marketing tactics. Marketers in the Americas increased media budgets by 30%, driven in large part by investments in the U.S., Mexico and Brazil.
Budgets continue to rebound in EMEA, pushing up media spend by 6% year-on-year and 13% sequentially. The APAC region has had a healthy growth record as well, experiencing double-digit growth in both click volume and media spend.
Globally, Google continues to dominate the market with 84% share in spend, 86% in impressions, and 65% in clicks. Advertisers spent 25% more in the quarter, compared with a year ago. The Yahoo-Bing network eked out a 10% gain and now holds 9% of the global market share in paid-search spend and 8% in clicks.
China's Baidu saw media spend rise on its search platform by 4% in the quarter compared with the prior year. Globally, Baidu accounted for about 8% of spend, 7% of impressions, and 24% of clicks, among Covario's clients, per the report.
Covario said it compares more than 29 quarters of aggregate customer data and
spending patterns, which consist largely of global high-tech and consumer electronics brands, as well as national ecommerce retailers.
"Smartphone user" photo from Shutterstock.