For years, mobile devices were used primarily to stay connected with friends and loved ones or send emails. Touchscreens expanded mobile device usage to include entertainment and online shopping to the point that today, mobile devices are as common and as necessary as your house keys. As of 2021, an estimated 15 billion mobile devices were used worldwide, and mobile use will continue to grow, with a projected 18 billion users by 2025. Advertisers and search agencies should look to the future and innovate accordingly, and that future relies heavily on mobile advertising.

Mobile advertising is a dominant force in the digital advertising industry and has become the centerpiece of customer experiences. With 55% of search traffic originating from mobile devices, many brands and search agencies are turning to Google advertising and paid search to cast a wide net and reach a global audience. In fact, mobile internet traffic has increased by 75% since 2015. But without optimizing for mobile, they are missing valuable consumer interaction and profits. If you haven’t already optimized your brand’s mobile ads, consider updating your strategy to include these cost-free additions:

• Expanded text ads, which increase your ad text space on mobile devices

• Ad assets, which allow you to include valuable information like location, phone number and website links so consumers can interact directly with an ad without redirecting to a website

  

• Eye-catching, keyword-driven headlines that grab consumers’ attention

• Descriptions that highlight your unique product value

• Strong calls-to-action (CTAs) that drive consumers toward the next step in their customer journey

• Mobile landing pages or websites that load quickly and help consumers navigate toward purchase

• Active social media channels, which help bump ad content higher on search engine results pages (SERP) and increase brand visibility

Why should my brand invest in mobile marketing?

Today’s consumers don’t leave home—or the next room—without their phones, so cultivating a strong mobile marketing presence is vital. Mobile advertising allows businesses to reach a global audience across multiple mobile marketing channels, including apps, QR codes and SMS. A 2023 study found that Americans check their phones every 4 minutes and spent $430 billion in mobile purchases in 2022. By 2025, mobile purchases are projected to reach $710 billion.

Mobile marketing is also highly cost-effective. When compared with the cost of desktop ads, ad clicks coming from mobile are 24% cheaper. It is also easily sharable, which means that consumers can share your content on their own social channels and provide free advertising for your brand.

Lastly, consumers are constantly searching for a smooth and simple checkout process, so offering a seamless mobile experience is critical. Brands that design mobile ads and pages that give consumers the ability to instantly learn about products, ask questions, apply discounts and checkout quickly will always outperform those that don’t take advantage of mobile optimization.

How can my brand optimize campaigns for the VR and AR era?

One exciting and important way brands can optimize for mobile advertising is through virtual reality and augmented reality. Mobile VR and AR campaigns are one of the primary up-and-coming trends in mobile advertising, and search agencies like (amp) are putting this innovative technology to work for our clients. Here are 5 strategic and creative ways to help your brand stand out in a sea of marketing noise and truly capture your audience’s attention:

1. Augmented Reality

Advertisers are already discovering new ways to help consumers envision their products in their customers’ lives before they decide to buy, and augmented reality is a perfect way to make this happen. Creating an AR-based campaign can superimpose your brand’s products into a consumer’s real world, enabling them to experience how the product would fit into their lives.

Prime example: Domino’s has implemented AR pizza ordering that allows customers to build their favorite pizzas and visualize them in their dining rooms as they order.

2. VR + Metaverse Marketing

Virtual reality and the Metaverse take altered reality a step further by bringing consumers into a completely virtual world where they can engage with products in an entirely virtual space. While mobile VR is still developing, the technology will undoubtedly influence mobile marketing. VR enables brands to connect with consumers in an interactive and immersive way, which has the potential to outperform any traditional mobile ad.

Prime example: VR games like Roblox continue to grow, which will certainly create more opportunities for brands to enter these spaces.

3. Interactive Content

As mobile technology grows more sophisticated, advertisers really need to think outside the box when developing marketing campaigns. Static content is quickly scrolled past and forgotten, but interactive mobile ads are far more engaging and memorable.

Prime example: Burberry flipped the traditional video ad on its head and created interactive, 3D motion-responsive images and video that can be rotated and paused to immerse consumers in the shopping experience.

4. Gamified Ads

Gamification is hardly new in advertising, but new devices and new technology means new opportunities for creative innovation. Brands can give consumers that extra shot of dopamine by creating branded games or puzzles that encourage and reward participation.

Prime example: Fitbit’s fitness app gives users a gamified fitness experience by leading users through a game-inspired layout to track workout activity, daily progress, and rewards.

5. Cut Media Waste

Online users are flooded with content and digital noise, so creating mobile advertising content should focus more on quality than quantity. Place your ad content in strategic locations on mobile web and landing pages to grab users’ attention. You can also use contextualization to your advantage by placing your ads next to relevant content, such as advertising your brand’s new makeup palettes on a women’s self-care or fashion site rather than alongside athletic shoes or sports equipment.

Capturing the attention of the smartphone generation can be a monumental challenge, but with optimized mobile advertising campaigns and a trusted search agency partner, you can navigate the digital landscape and set yourself up for success. If you want to invest in innovative mobile advertising without the waste of needless spending, (amp) can help. (amp) has years of experience optimizing how, when, where and by whom these cutting-edge ads are seen. We get your message in front of your target audience in the right place at the right time to maximize its effect. Visit our website to learn more or contact us for a consultation.