Marketers following their audience to mobile

The Australian mobile paid search advertising market is on pace to reach $430 million this year, and is growing rapidly, analyst firm Telsyte projects.

As Australians spend more time on smartphones and tablets, advertisers are following their audience.

In a new report, the research firm estimates that the market is growing at a 17% CAGR, making it perhaps the fastest growing advertising medium in Australia.

Paid search advertising refers to sponsored listings on search engines such as Google. Mobile paid search is expected to account for just under a quarter of the estimated $1.74 billion Australian paid search market this year.

According to the report, there are already around 14 million smartphone users and 7 million tablet users in Australia. By mid-2014, the firm predicts that the smartphone audience will exceed the computer online audience.

Yet the return on investment for mobile advertising still lags desktop search, with many marketers still trying to work out the best way to incorporate the mobile platform into their advertising strategies.

Tablets represent the largest segment of the mobile paid search market. Tablet paid search is projected to generate $240 million in 2013.

Telsyte predicts that by 2017, mobile will account for the majority of the Australian paid search market. By 2018, mobile paid search will be the largest digital advertising segment in the nation.

Image courtesy of Garry Knight under CC