But earlier today Google said that during the game, “41 percent of Google searches in the US related to Super Bowl TV ads came from mobile devices.” While this makes logical sense — people are sitting during the game with their phones in hand or pocket — it’s striking nonetheless.

According to Google, “Super Bowl ad related searches in the US rose 200% on desktop, 970% on tablets and a whopping 2700% on smartphones.” (Emphasis added.)

Google goes on to make the hopefully semi-obvious point that TV advertisers — indeed all advertisers — now need to be conscious of the presence of smartphones in the audience and integrate mobile into their campaigns in thoughtful ways.

The problem is that many Super Bowl commercials tried to use mobile in ways that weren’t particularly effective. As 360i’s David Berkowitz pointed out this morning, QR codes on TV ads is generally a bad idea.

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For the iPhone-app study, just published yesterday, Mediative monitored eye- and click-tracking with 12 people in Canada. They ranged in age from 21 to 45. The participants were asked to find places to get a tattoo in each of several Canadian cities. Here’s the task as described by Mediative:

Every participant in the study was given the same scenario as in the previous Google Places study – an imaginary road trip with stops in Hamilton, London, Winnipeg and Edmonton, with the task of choosing a place for a friend to get a tattoo in each of those cities based on the Google Places search results. From the participants in the eye tracking part of our study, we recorded each individual session, and then compiled the sessions to create heat maps that represent aggregate gaze data and supplement the qualitative findings.

Screen size was a critical difference between the PC and iPhone studies. Beyond this Mediative found that images and reviews were very important in capturing users’ eye movements and clicks.

The image on the left shows yellow bubbles of various sizes. The larger the size of the bubble, the more time the eye spent in that area of the screen. The numbers represent the progression of movement of the eye across the screen during the first several seconds. In other words the eye spent the most time on an image on the right, which was nearly the last thing considered in this sequence.

On the right screen above, red indicates more time spent and green less time spent. The second image in this case got the most attention among the three images. Mediative explains: “It’s the only image on this screen of a tattoo; both the other images are of storefronts.” Thus the image was directly relevant to the searcher’s objective: find a tattoo vendor.

As a general matter, people on the iPhone app scanned left to right and then down the page, not unlike eye-tracking patterns on the desktop. According to Mediative, reviews were an especially significant factor in eye-tracking patterns in the iPhone test:

People typically start looking in the upper left part of the screen, scan from left to right, then move down to the next result, and scan from left to right again. However, given the small space of the iPhone screen, some people will have their attention pulled to the right to look at an image, and may continue a scan down to the next image, before resuming a left-to-right scan pattern. If they start scrolling down, then their gaze will stay on the left side until they hit a listing of interest. In the examples we used in this study, in almost every case it meant that they would scroll down until they hit a listing with a better than 3-star review.

What Mediative observed is that where there were fewer “social signals” (e.g., reviews) among the top results users went further down the page to find places that had not only reviews but at least three stars. According to the report, “This presents an opportunity for businesses whose websites are not listed at the top; they can be more competitive by adding positive reviews.”

Mediative offered the following conclusions and recommendations:

• Reviews and other social signals grab attention: “If a business website is listed in any position other than the top three, and the listing does not include any social signals, it will be relatively ignored, especially if there are other listings that do have social signals.”
• Reviews drive clicks: “Positive reviews on the Google Places iPhone app were the biggest single factor we observed that determine which listings got clicks and which did not.”
• Volume of reviews matter:  Mediative found “that 29 of the 47 clicks went to listings that had at least four reviews.”
• Images matter too: “People . . . look at the images to see if the business looks trustworthy.” The type of image may matter as well: “We recommend giving the image that accompanies a listing some special consideration, and remember that an image that might work on a desktop might not work so well when reduced to a phone.”

You can download the entire report here (registration required).

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In October last year, after the Q3 call, I wrote that if Google’s current rate of mobile ad revenue growth continued that the company could see a “run rate” of $6.25 billion. However I argued that it would likely be closer to $4 billion. I reiterated that figure in my December 12 Mobile Predictions for 2102 article at MarketingLand.

In January Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster asserted that Google mobile revenues “could top $4 billion.” And this weekend TechCrunch is reporting that Cowen & Company analyst Jim Friedland estimates (based on a per-device revenue calculation of $7) that Google will make $5.8 billion in mobile ad revenue this year.

Accordingly the Google 2012 mobile revenue “run rate” range is probably between $4 and $6 billion (globally). In the US the figure would probably be just over half the number.

Most Google mobile ad revenue appears to come from paid search. On the Q3 call, Google SVP Nikesh Arora said this about where mobile ad revenues were coming from: “Larry mentioned $2.5 billion as a run rate. Our revenue growth continues to accelerate even in mobile, driven primarily by mobile search” (my emphasis).

Click2Call is a big driver of revenue for Google as a subset of mobile paid search.

Right now there are more mobile “page views” than display ads to fill them. That may depress the value and pricing of mobile display inventory. Indeed, many analysts on the Q4 Google call were asking whether mobile was partly responsible for a decline in Google’s CPC rate. However Efficient Frontier said that mobile click prices were higher and conversion rates were lower on mobile devices:

Mobile and tablet CTRs are higher than desktop campaigns. CPCs are higher on mobile than tablets at 108% and 85% respectively than Desktop. Conversion rates on mobile and tablets are still lower than desktop conversion rates at 31% and 96% respectively representing the need to continually optimize mobile platforms for higher performance. 

Of all the mobile ad networks Google is the largest, generating the most revenue with its combined search and display assets. In terms of mobile search Google is almost the only game in town, with roughly 97 percent of browser-based mobile search query volume.

As it grows, more than 90 percent of mobile search ad revenue will flow to Google. However display is something of a wild card in the Google mobile revenues guessing game.

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• Report: Search To Dominate Mobile Advertising By 2015
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• Forecast: More US Mobile Web Users Than PC By 2015

The new features will allow advertisers to target to specific versions of operating systems, to ensure the ads are going to the right users.

Additionally, AdWords users will now be able to target based on whether they are using a faster Wi-Fi connection. This functionality resides in the area where advertisers select targeting by mobile carrier. Google says targeting by Wi-Fi will let advertisers expand their reach, and also will come in handy if the campaign or landing page features high-bandwidth content like video.

Google’s new features come at a time when use of mobile devices, including tablets, is growing tremendously.

For some context and comparison, Apple’s China revenues were roughly $13 billion in fiscal 2011. That’s about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue.

While Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt would probably say there’s been no “reversal” or change of policy, the Wall Street Journal reports that Google is now “softening its tone” and “renewing its push” into China. According to the paper:

The search giant is hiring more engineers, salespeople and product managers in China and working to introduce new services for Chinese consumers, according to Daniel Alegre, Google’s top executive in Asia. In particular, Google is aiming to capitalize on its fast-growing Android operating system for mobile devices, online-advertising and product-search services to grow in China, Mr. Alegre said in an interview.

One goal, he said, is to introduce its Android Market, which offers thousands of mobile applications to users of Android-powered smartphones and tablets but isn’t available in China . . . The company also is trying to win over Chinese consumers with services that don’t require official censorship, such as Shihui, which launched in September to help people search among Chinese sites offering discounts at local stores. Google is also working to beef up its product-search service to help consumers find goods from online retailers.

According to various sources, China’s internet audience is close to 400 million people and its mobile subscriber population is roughly double that, or 800 million. According to China-focused iResearch the Chinese internet market looks like the following:

Below is iResearch’s ranking of the top 20 Chinese websites. Google is number 13 on the list.

Roughly two years ago, Google said it would no longer censor search results in China after a coordinated effort to access the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. The weight of evidence unearthed thereafter argued that the Chinese government or its surrogates were behind that attack, as well as subsequent hacking efforts directed at Google and other non-Chinese corporations.

Postscript: A Google spokesperson offered the following comment to us in response to this story: “Our position in China remains unchanged.”

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The new update makes it easier and faster for searchers to use. The new additions include:

• New color scheme and simplified UI
• Faster
• Enhanced suggestions and query editing
• Better localized suggestions and search results for more countries
• Long press on history items to remove them

Google also provided these new search tips for use within the app.

• Tap the arrow to the right of a search suggestion or history item to add it to your search term before searching.
• Get suggestions from other apps on your phone – check out searchable items in Search settings.
• Long press on home screen to add the Google Search widget, if you don’t have it already, to access search faster.

Related Articles

• Google Mobile iPhone App Gets Overhaul, Becomes Google Search App
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Those figures made it appear that Google had gained share at Bing’s expense. It was Yahoo that lost share, however. Below are the official comScore “explicit core search” numbers, released earlier today:

I was told by earlier today that the error was comScore’s. However comScore says that the error came from the third party that published the numbers yesterday. The more expansive “total core search” data (with slideshows) still shows Yahoo ahead of Bing.

The numbers above don’t include mobile search query volumes, which are now as much as 20 percent (or more) in some categories and growing rapidly. Below are StatCounter data reflecting mobile (browser) search market share in the US.

Source: StatCounter

Google is much more dominant in mobile than on the PC (in terms of browser-based queries). However there’s considerable “search” volume that goes through smartphone apps that isn’t being captured in the aggregate by comScore or anyone else for that matter.

Recently comScore reported that for the first time more people are using apps than the mobile browser.

According to the CNET article Korean official Kim Dong-soo asserted that Google has obstructed his agency’s investigation “by deleting key files from PCs and asking its employees to telecommute from home.” Google has denied obstructing the inquiry and pledged cooperation with Korean government officials.

In April of last year, NHN Corp. (Naver) and Daum Communications filed antitrust complaints with the South Korean equivalent of the US Fair Trade Commission. The complaints claim that Google is blocking them from putting their search applications on Android phones in South Korea.

NHN/Naver and Daum control roughly 90 percent of the South Korean PC search market between the two companies. Google has less than 5 percent and is using Android as part of a strategy to grow market share. Reportedly about 70 percent of the smartphones sold in South Korea are Android handsets. And South Korea’s Samsung has emerged as Google’s premier Android partner, dominating global sales of Android devices.

South Korea has historically been very aggressive in various legal actions against Google. During the Google WiFi-personal data collection scandal South Korean police sought to file criminal charges against Google executives.

Related Entries

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[Page] reorganized the company’s management structure, redesigned the face of the company’s products and pushed forward with a multibillion dollar deal to acquire a cellphone manufacturing outfit.

He also launched two other products aiming at Groupon, the leader of online coupons, and Facebook, the top social networking site.

Google (GOOG) in the past two quarters blew away analyst views while boosting revenue by 32% and 33%, respectively.

Page officially took over from Eric Schmidt in April (with the CEO switch announcement almost exactly a year ago). We wrote a number of articles at the time speculating about the rationale for the change and outlook for Google under Page’s leadership:

• Larry Page Takes The Helm As Google CEO Today
• Was It Time For A Fresh Face? Thoughts On Larry Page As The New Google CEO
• A To Do List For Google’s New CEO Larry Page
• Larry Page And The Reinvention Of “The Google”
• Google Turns To Page: The Day Two Narrative

Page has done a number of major things since taking over in April:

• Reorganized Google’s management structure for efficiency and faster decision-making
• Launched Google+ (and Google Offers)
• Shuttered numerous products and initiatives (and brought more focus)
• Bought Motorola Mobility (for $12.5 billion)

Most impressively however Page (and team) were conscious of the dangers of falling into a kind of bureaucratic malaise as the company matured — and sought to intervene in real time. There was already some evidence that it was happening. But to a large degree bureaucracy and its related challenges are a natural function of growth and maturation.

Companies periodically need to be “reinvented” or “shaken up” or they lose the qualities and momentum that made them successful. But reorgs can also go badly wrong. And while Page hasn’t “reinvented” Google he certainly has brought decisiveness and clarity, which seems to have reinvigorated the company in several respects.

What’s also interesting is that these changes internally are mirrored in a different way externally in Google’s increasing marketing polish and sophistication. Google’s consumer-facing TV commercials are an example — in particular its recent Muppet-themed TV promotion of Google+:

The commercial is not only clever it was likely expensive to produce. Google had to obtain the rights to the Queen-David Bowie song “Under Pressure” and gain agreement from Disney for use of the Muppets in the spot. It’s also not something that one would have imagined from Google as recently as a couple of years ago and reflects a philosophical shift toward consumer marketing. We can see it in the way Google is now marketing Android too.

Having said all that, Page still faces many challenges and the road ahead is lined with legal potholes. Indeed, Page is under more legal pressure, so to speak, than was his predecessor Eric Schmidt. And 2012 should bring some of that to a head, at least in Europe.

Yet, so far, Page’s tenure has been impressive. In less than a year, he has managed to accomplish almost everything he set out to do.

Search for Groupon, eBay, Amazon, Target, QVC or numerous others. Alongside the brand website listing, local listings, and social profiles, searchers are starting to see links to these brands’ iPhone, iPad, and Android app profile pages, right on the first page of Google.

These app page URLs are presenting powerful new opportunities to “occupy” Page 1 of Google SERPs for desktop and mobile searchers, with big payoffs.

eBay's iPhone App Page Ranks #2 in Google for "eBay"

Optimize App Popularity Through Organic Search

The opportunity is really the product of a collision between Desktop and Mobile worlds: the explosive popularity of apps are reshaping the Web’s link graph around the App Store and Android Market sites.

It comes as no surprise that “Popular Apps” listed in the App Store and Android Market pages are driven by app download volume and rating quality. But these app profile pages and app “directories” (like the App Store’s Lifestyle category page) are also webpages.

As search engines continue to index, display, and rank app pages for search-dominant mobile users, app-mania is simultaneously driving  a geometric expansion of the backlinks and social popularity of these ordinary webpages – giving them extraordinary influence over organic search results.

The net effect, based on our own analysis of top ranking mobile iOS apps, appears to be a powerful feedback loop: App Store popularity gets rewarded by incremental Google visibility.

Higher Google visibility induces more app downloads. More downloading drives higher App Store popularity… and on and on, potentially entrenching popular apps in a rich-get-richer-faster phenomenon:

The App Visibility Cycle (courtesy of pureoxygenmobile.com)

This might seem like bad news for the 99% who have good mobile apps, but aren’t among the “Most Popular” apps listed. But the fact is, this highlights the opportunity – and urgency – for brands to optimize app pages for organic search rankings, to help drive app popularity and other benefits.

Here are five Mobile App SEO tips to get started optimizing your apps for Page 1 Google rankings on brand queries:

Tip #1: Feature your brand prominently in the app name

The app name doubles as the link anchor text within the App Store and Android Market. Getting these sites to link to your app profile page, using your brand name as a link, is critical for tapping into their enormous link equity. (See Groupon, Amazon, and eBay examples below.) Be sure to feature the brand name in the download page URL as well.

Groupon, Amazon, and eBay: Their App Profile Pages Feature the Brand Name as Link Anchor Text

Tip #2: Link to your app profile page(s) from your home page and/or site footer

You have to aim the link equity of your most important pages at your app download pages. Many brands bury these important links.

Consider building a landing page or section dedicated to your apps with screen shots, reviews, features, etc. But it must also have links from the most important pages of your site, and follow the other tips here to make it into Page 1 for brand queries (REI does a nice job of linking to the REI apps).

REI's internal landing page promoting iOS and Android Apps

Tip #3: Include your brand name in the link text that points at app download pages

Too many brands make the mistake of linking to the app profile page without including the brand name, as in  “Download iPhone App.” Even worse, some just link through the “Available on Android/App Store” graphics. (See Walmart example below.) This is a huge missed opportunity! Use your anchor text wisely.

You have to signal that App Store or Android app page is all about your brand (as in “Download the Walmart iPhone app” or “Get the Walmart App for Android.”)

Walmart Links Graphics (No Anchor Text) to App Profile Pages

Tip #4: Provide a QR link to download the app from your desktop site landing page

Use QR codes to give desktop site visitors easy app access. The QR needs to trigger app download on the right device once scanned. Remember to compress the link before your generate the QR. Native Apple and Android app page URLs exceed 50 characters, producing high-density QRs that fail to scan when displayed at small sizes. (Notice the Walmart example above.)

For best results, use a link compression or QR platform that shows you bot QR crawl requests (full disclosure: we provide one). Our prediction is that QR will be a mobile search ranking signal within the next 12 months. Start experimenting now.

Tip #5: Cross-promote your app to mobile users, searchers, and bots

Here’s the magic. You already have a captive mobile audience itching for you to make it easy to discover relevant mobile pages (or your app).

When iPhone, iPad, or Android browsers hit your site (desktop or mobile), provide a link at the top of the page for them to download the appropriate app for their device. (Let’s assume your desktop pages indexed in search engines properly redirect mobile searchers to appropriate mobile pages. If you’re not sure, find out.)

But don’t stop there. For the trifecta, make sure Google’s new Smartphone Googlebot is crawling the app links from your mobile pages as well, using appropriately branded anchor text (not images).

Amazon's Mobile Site Promotes the iOS and Android App, But Lacks Anchor Text

App Store and Android Market app pages are a powerful new ranking opportunity for desktop and mobile searchers. Retailers and media brands with large volumes of site traffic, page content, link networks, or social popularity, can easily leverage these digital assets to influence app profile page relevance, and app popularity, at the same time.

Merry Christmas to all. See you in 2012.