MediaPost (reg req’d) writes today about a conference panel at its MediaPost’s Search Insider Summit. The panelists predicted that mobile search would be a boon to local. This is something of an understatement.
Let’s be clear: Mobile is almost entirely about local (except for video and music). Admittedly video and music are large categories but in terms of information, local will dominate mobile (where I am, where I’m going). Mobile social networking will also be a significant force (and something of an “X factor”) in the way mobile local search develops.
According to comScore (via ZDNet), 29% of European Internet users access the Web from their mobile phones vs. 19% in the US.
One of the quotes in the MediaPost article deals will the perpetual issue of local and small business:
But executives also said challenges remain, including the need to lure more small marketers to search. One problem, said DeLea, is that small businesses need search marketing services “that they don’t have to think about,” requiring fairly intensive involvement on the service end.
You won’t have to worry about this in mobile. The people that are trying to solve online marketing for SMEs will be simultaneously solving it for mobile. Mobile will largely be just another distribution mechanism for these businesses and they won’t have to know or do anything specific to wireless devices.
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Related: Vodafone and Yahoo! announced a deal (slated to kick in next year) offering Yahoo! ads (range of formats) on UK Vodafones (so to speak). Yahoo! will be the exclusive vendor of display ads.
Here’s the juicy bit from the release: “Under the plans, customers who agree to accept carefully targeted display advertisements can expect to enjoy savings on certain Vodafone services. This proposition could extend to key Vodafone mobile assets including the Vodafone live! portal, games, television and picture messaging services.”
Thus, there’s a financial incentive to receive/view ads. PaidContent has more information.
Screenwerk 
November 15, 2006 at 3:21 am
Google is now toying with the idea of free mobile phones that are ad based. I think they may be stretching it here.. but there are also MVNOs in EU and USA also building services based on mobile advertising. Problem is there are only so many advertising dollars, and advertising spends are the first cuts economic downturns. The USA is bordering a possible recession and it will be interesting to see how all these ad based models survive in a shrinking economy. Of course, consumers will flock to “free phones” in a downturn, but will there be ad spends to subsidize them?