Mobile Search Set To Fuel Call-Based Ads

Businesses spent $132.8 billion in the U.S. last year on local ads and about $68.4 billion -- or 46.5% -- aimed to drive telephone leads, according to a BIA/Kelsey report that highlights the trend toward call-based ads.

Fueled by mobile devices, U.S. small businesses spent $41.1 billion on local advertising. Of that, $24.7 billion -- or 60.1% -- of all SMBs earmarked budgets for generating telephone leads, said BIA/Kelsey analyst Matt Booth. About 11% of companies now use call tracking to follow leads from the Web, up 5% in one year. "Call conversion from a local search on a desktop local is 7%, once the landing page is viewed, compared with 57% from a mobile device," Booth said. "Mobile applications can drive up to 62% of telephone calls." By 2015, the number of local search queries on desktop and mobile devices will "equal each other." Booth forecasts call volumes from search -- organic and paid traffic --will pale in comparison to calls generated from mobile devices by 2016. BIA/Kelsey forecasts 70 billion calls from the Internet and mobile to all U.S. businesses that year, with most of them coming from mobile devices. The report, titled "Call-Based Ads: Eliminating the Unknown From Advertising," provides a historical context, explains the foundation for growth and provides market forecasts. It also highlights data from BIA/Kelsey's ongoing "Local Commerce Monitor" study, highlighting that small-business advertisers report a phone call, even more than a personal visit to their store, can become the most valuable new business lead.