Ads are Google’s lifeblood, so you can bet that if they are thinking this way, then regular business mobile sites, if not now favoured, cannot be far behind.  Read the article below:

“Google is announcing today that websites that are optimized for mobile will now factor into ad quality. The company says that last year it began to limit ad serving on smartphone devices if they pointed to landing pages with Flash-heavy content, in order to improve the experience for users. Now the search giant will be considering the mobile optimization of a website as a new factor of mobile ads quality for all AdWords campaigns that are driving mobile traffic.

As a result of this change, ads that have mobile optimized landing pages will perform better in AdWords and drive more traffic. The core guidelines for landing page quality apply across devices (on desktop and on mobile) but this consideration will only affect AdWords on mobile devices.

For background, Google’s landing page quality for mobile sites factors in site navigability, simple layout, content prioritization, mobile features, touch features, minimal flash, landing page load time. Landing page quality is one of several factors that determine an advertiser’s keywords’ Quality Scores.

As Google says, a poor mobile web experience can negatively shape a consumer’s opinion of a brand or company and make it hard for them to engage or make a purchase. In fact, 61% of users are unlikely to return to a website that they had trouble accessing from their phone.

Unsurprisingly, Google is pushing its own mobile site creator, through Google Sites, on publishers and site owners who want to create a simple mobile website. Considering the holiday shopping season is getting closer, retailers may want to be sure their sites fit into Google’s landing page guidelines. Certainly, this year more than ever, holiday shoppers will be using their mobile phones for search and purchasing.”

In its newly released MobileSTAT report, mobile advertising network Jumptap reveals that Android and iOS together make up 91 percent of the mobile operating systems (OS) market.

Based on data from the Jumptap network of more than 95 million monthly users, both operating systems reached new heights in January 2012. Android hit 58.8 percent and iOS reached 32.2 percent market share, respectively.

Blackberry, on the other hand, sunk to a record low of 6.7 percent. The data supports Nielsen’s recent report that showed 89 percent of smartphones that were acquired in Q4 2011 were Android or iOS, and only 6 percent were Blackberry.

“With Google activating 850,000 mobile devices daily, it’s no surprise that Android has continued to outpace every other OS on the market,” says Jumptap chief marketing officer Paran Johar. “What advertisers should take away from this data is the importance of advertising cross-platform. Both the Android and iOS operating systems continue to grow while the remaining

Mobile is often called “the third screen” (placing it behind TV and the desktop web). There has been a lot of talk about this over the last few years, and some industry advocates have gone so far as suggesting that your web experiences should be designed for mobile first, and then adapted for desktop access. There are pros and cons to that approach and I don’t want to get into the full debate here. Instead, I wanted to point to the fact that two significant players in the media landscape have recently highlighted their evolving approaches to mobile distribution.

First, ESPN VP and General Manager of Mobile Michael Bayle talked about mobile as the network’s first screen during his keynote at MediaPosts’s Mobile Insider Summit. Bayle shared that ESPN’s mobile audience reach is over 20 million, with massive growth in terms of time spent on mobile properties versus last year.

Secondly, Facebook revealed in its IPO filing that it had more than 425 million active mobile users in December 2011; just over half of its total user base. Currently, the company makes “no meaningful revenue” from its mobile users, but all signs point to the fact that this will change in the very near future, as it is rumored (and alluded to it elsewhere in the S-1 filing) to be rolling out sponsored stories on mobile as a starting point. Facebook is clearly looking to grow mobile users and usage, and with already half of its total subscribers actively hitting the property from mobile, it has become a platform it can’t ignore.

Players can win prizes including from food and a car all from their smart phone. “The mobile component is simply an extension of the online game, in that it provides guests who are on the go the ability to use their mobile device to spin the roulette wheel for a chance to win great daily and weekly prizes, receive points and a chance to become eligible for an extra day of play”, says Hollis.

Due to the growth in smart phone use Timmies is keen to leverage marketing efforts in that direction. Hollis says, “Mobile is a key pillar within the company’s overall digital strategy. We know that the penetration of smartphones is growing exponentially and they are becoming an integral way for people to communicate and absorb information.”

Read more at Mobile Marketer

The magazine combines this QR code thrust with a companion smart phone app that contains deals, stickers and other content found within the app. Mobile Marketer says “Lucky is using the technology to increase engagement with its readers and enable its advertisers to reach their target audience with print-to-mobile experiences.”

The app is built by Nellymoser. Apparently their research shows that the more codes readers see in a magazine, the more likely they are to scan. Codes are incorporated artfully into the content so as to not distract. Lucky Shopper is achieving higher engagement with readers with this new marketing and greater opportunity for immediate sales via smart phones.

The graphics below (courtesy of Microsoft Tag) tell an interesting story about coupon use globally and how smartphones are involved.

Smart businesses are using QR codes to make their marketing more interactive by delivering instant coupons, bonuses and other mechanisms to promote customer loyalty and retention. Here are just a few ideas you could borrow to use QR codes effectively in your business:

• Browse a website URL
• Watch a YouTube Video
• Post to Twitter
• Visit a Facebook page
• Send discounts, rewards, coupons and special offers
• Go to an iTunes link
• Order via a paypal Buy Now link
• Call a telephone number
• Send/receive sms messages
• Send an email
• Subscribe to an autoresponder
• Direct to a product page on a website
• Submit contact details
• Book an event
• Wifi login (android)
• Enter a google maps location
• Receive any text message/instructions

The study polled 1,500 consumers in the United States and was executed by Equation Research.  For more go here: Mobile Commerce Daily

When a person is reminded to come for service or an oil change, they will typically respond positively when it is convenient for them. But this poses a problem.  Can every service center afford to hire someone to call and do appointment reminders?  In many cases, the answer is no.  If  so, can the mechanic or one of their staff take time away from servicing cars in order to look up records and make calls to those who are due for routine service?  They could, but that would probably not be a good use of their time.

What if the service centre could send out accurate reminders to its customers without having to hire someone or without having to take time away from repairing cars? What if those reminders were automated, so that every time a car owner came in, that customer would be automatically placed in a database and reminded when their time for service came up? What if the setup happened one time and the service center owner did not have to manage the system?  This would definitely be worth the time and investment for the service center owner, if it could be made affordable for them wouldn’t it?

SMS Marketing makes all of this possible and affordable.  The reason is simple. SMS Text Messaging can be automated and is cost-effective. And it is much more likely that a business owner will reach someone by their mobile phone than through other methods.  Current statistics state that over 50% of people connecting to the internet, do so on their mobile phone. That means that people are spending time on their phones and can be reached with a text message.

Stats also tell us that 95% of all text messages that are sent, are actually opened and read by the person receiving them.  So making sure that a customer gets a reminder at the three or four month point for their oil change is as simple as collecting their mobile phone number when they get their car serviced.

The same is true of required service and warranty reminders.  With a good automated SMS system, customers can get messages from a service shop that they will appreciate because its helping them to take care of their investment.

Some auto dealers and mechanics take the concept one step further and send out a text messages when a repaired vehicle is ready for pickup.  This is quicker than a phone call and ensures that the notice will reach the customer and (usually) read.  This increases customer satisfaction and sets the service center apart from others in the same city or town.

More and more auto service centres are adding text messaging services to their marketing thrust. The reason is simple — it works!

Combining SMS list building (using cell phones) with Groupon is an excellent way to encourage them to return by texting them new offers. If the offers are good enough, you may be able to convert them to a regular customer. And the best part is that you don’t have to share any of the subsequent profits with Groupon. Here is the article on how Gelato Spot ran their campaign: