Report: 32 Percent Of Users Do 5+ LoMo Searches Per Month

Local mobile ad network xAd has released its first quarterly report detailing traffic trends and user behavior on its network. While all mobile ad networks offer geotargeting, xAd is one of a small number of  mobile networks that specializes in local (search and display). CPM rates are considerably higher than on more conventional mobile ad networks.

The company says it serves 10 billion monthly ad impressions. The data in the report were collected between July and September. Here are a few key points:

• 37 percent of general mobile consumers use their devices for local search, while 75 percent of smartphone owners conduct local searches (Google has reported even larger numbers)
• Local search growth on xAd’s network has seen triple digit increases this year (with faster growth concentrated in apps vs. the mobile browser)
• xAd sees 90 million local-search requests per month and over 250 million local-search requests per quarter
• 62 percent of users conduct at least two local searches per month, while nearly a third (32 percent) of users do at least five local lookups per month
• Tuesday and Wednesday are the most active days for local-mobile search, which peaks generally during the middle of the day

The top local search categories or lookups seen on xAd’s network in Q3 were the following:

1. Restaurants
2. Gas stations
3. Shopping
4. Auto repair/dealers/rentals
5. Fast food
6. Cafes/coffee shops
7. Travel & lodging
8. Health & medical
9. Bars & clubs
10. Finance & legal

The network also reports on engagement and ad performance data, both in terms of apps vs. browser and iPhone vs. Android. The report indicates that CTRs on ads in apps are 8 percent vs. 5 percent for browser.

Call-through rates, however, are higher on browser-based ads. This difference is attributed to feature phone users calling businesses rather than seeking more information on their handsets, which offer a more constrained user experience than smartphones.

The company reported that CTR rates on the iPhone and Android are roughly comparable, but that “secondary actions” are greater on iOS. These secondary actions can include calls, map/directions access, review lookups and so on. Calls are the most popular “post-search” secondary action (62 percent), followed by maps and directions lookups (35 percent).

The xAd report also discusses demographic data. As one might expect, the heaviest users of local-mobile search tend to mirror smartphone demographics generally: a slightly more male audience (55 percent), concentrated in the 25 to 44 age range, which is also more affluent ($75K+) and educated than the general mobile population.