Nexus Mobile Technology

Google is the undisputed king of desktop search. With revenues of nearly $30 billion last year, almost all of which came from search advertising, Google has created an internet giant from those little blue text links on the right-hand side of their search results.

However the technology world is changing rapidly; with each passing day, the desktop world is being replaced by the mobile world. Increasingly web surfing and searching are being done on mobile devices like smartphones and tablet devices.

Google seems to be recognizing this as they are focusing more of their efforts on mobile; over the next year, Google will earn approximately $2.5 billion in revenues from mobile search advertising. However this will still only account for less than ten percent of its entire advertising business.

The problem for Google is that, in the mobile search business, they will be facing far more competition than the near-monopoly they now enjoy with desktop search. Even worse for the company from Mountain View, many technology analysts fear that mobile search may not be so easily monetised as desktop search was.

Part of the problem is in the way that Google lays out pages. With its desktop search, Google clearly separates its internal search results from its sponsored links; this ensures the integrity of its algorithm while giving consumers the clear choice to click on advertising when it suits their needs.

However, Google traditionally does this layout in a horizontal manner. With a mobile screen, which is far smaller than a typical desktop monitor, it is nearly impossible to do this. As such, Google is forced to either commingle its search results with its ads, thereby putting into question its integrity, or to prominently place those ads at the top of its search results, which may make results less relevant to searchers.

Ultimately Google may be forced to alter its fundamental business strategy in order to cope with the changing times. In fact, it is appearing increasingly likely that they will need to develop a unique mobile marketing plan to take advantage of this new genre.

Google is already doing this with things like Google Offers, its “daily deals” site that competes with companies like Groupon. These coupon sites have become very popular with mobile user and offer businesses an alternative way to advertise to consumers.

Of course, the coupons-as-marketing strategy is not the only way in which mobile is changing the search business. Technology itself is also making mobile search a far different business than desktop searching, which could have profound implications for the future of Google.

Unlike desktop search, which can be used with a large keyboard, typing on a mobile device is generally an aggravating experience. Apple, which is the clear leader in mobile devices with its line of iPhones and iPads, appreciates this fact more than any company. This is why they introduced Siri, its voice-operated personal assistant, into its iPhone 4S.

Although it is still a rather primitive technology at present, Siri has the capability to fundamentally alter the search business. In a future where all searching is done by asking questions to a phone, there will be no need to browse search results on a page; the program itself will automatically select the best result. As such, there will be no need to browse Google’s search ads.

Mobile search in the years ahead will have serious implications for the current leader in search, Google, as well as the companies that would like to knock Google off its perch, including Microsoft, Apple and even Facebook. Thanks to advances in mobile marketing and technological progress, they may very well succeed at this endeavour.

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