Late last week Marchex put out its quarterly data report. That document carried the eye-catching headline that 76% of calls generated from mobile display ads were accidental or unintended. I covered that issue and some of the findings at Internet2Go.
Here’s Marchex’s graphic showing call metrics. It reflects bad calls, existing customers and new customer calls by channel:
You should know that these data were obtained from Marchex advertising campaigns. None of this is organic traffic or calls. So it may not be entirely representative of all consumer behavior. However there were 200,000 calls analyzed to generate the data.
Online and mobile directories appear to be better at generating new business than mobile search. More calls coming from mobile search ads were existing customers than new business, whereas the opposite was true for directory sites (i.e., yellow pages and similar).
The “mobile directories” here are mostly likely apps, whereas mobile search is browser based. What all this implies is that people are searching for phone numbers or contact details for businesses that they already know more than using mobile search engines to find new businesses. New business lookups, according to this data, are happening in these mobile directory apps more frequently — and online. I find these data surprising.
I know from talking to directory publishers that a larger percentage of their online traffic is category based than “name in mind” queries. I had believed the opposite for some time. In other words more people are coming in without a specific vendor or merchant in mind and then doing a lookup or search.
The data above suggests that a larger percentage of people using mobile search (there’s no discussion of PC search) already have a name in mind and are simply trying to retrieve it. Accordingly mobile search advertisers are paying a “toll” for existing customers in a relatively high number of cases.
May 23rd, 2012 at 1:28 pm
[...] scan or read something off a photograph.Do Directories Outperform Mobile Search For New Business? (ScreenWerk) Greg Sterling: Online and mobile directories appear to be better at generating new business than [...]
May 23rd, 2012 at 3:01 pm
[...] Several publishers report that their IYP traffic is flat to declining. However this week Marchex reported data that suggested IYP sites and mobile apps do a better job of delivering new business than mobile [...]
May 25th, 2012 at 7:48 pm
The information brought forth here is very interesting data, but as usual, we often forget to ask ourselves about motivation. Whenever I look at data I also try to put it into perspective of what or why was the information presented generated. For example: If I know the name of a business I am looking for I might use once source to obtain the phone number (White Pages in a phone book, Google the business name, etc.). On the other hand if I need tires while I am out of town on a raod trip, I would never go to a White Pages type source. I will go to a Keyword search process looking for suppliers in my immediate area. This , I believe, is where the printed Yellow Pages with Headings, or an online IYP with Keyword searches, will out perform looking at worldwide results.
When looking at the data offerred from this prospective the information becomes more clear and the number given make sense. Research is research and hitting wrong button on a smart phone very common. At least for me.
May 27th, 2012 at 9:38 am
I’d go even further with the need to begin isolating categories/business types, such that it’s safer to ignore all sneaky edge cases to assume consistency in user behavior. I.e. do true “name in mind” queries at point of entry correspond 100% to an existing customer conversion? Might some % end up struck by a sudden urge to try something new instead upon landing? Could that “fickleness” rate vary significantly from restaurants to say, dentists?
Seems like a trivial example but across all categories there’s likely dozens of edge cases, and I might be worried about the cumulative effect on conclusions drawn from any aggregation.
Hard not to also realize then that we’re often handed something of this variety and begin fitting causation ideas to the numbers, forgetting to ask if it’d be too much trouble to start with a few correlation coefficients and maybe some stdev figures. Then we could at least save breath in the spots where a difference in the numbers isn’t even statistically significant.
June 7th, 2012 at 4:03 pm
Well, of course Directories Out-Perform Mobile Search. Folks trust their brand name directories over unknown origins. And they trust the multi-billion dollar Big G Search Giant over the other brand names. The question we’re really asking is: WHAT ARE THE OPERATIONAL COSTS AND THE ACTUAL COST OF NEW CUSTOMERS FROM MOBILE SEARCH? (and is it worth it)
This idea of “name in mind” speaks to the old ‘top of mind presence’. Supposedly, there’s only three potential brands on a consumer’s mind that they might recall or consider in a category. Everybody else is an “also-ran”. In today’s go-go world of fragmented media and rapid technology change, you go with what worked for you last time. You use Google when you can, printed yellow pages if you need old-school specialization and everything else only when there’s BIG incentive. The days of trial-and-error are over when the trial area is limited to a tiny screen. We just don’t have time for it. And as suggested, the “name in mind” Mobile Search is down to two when looking for Auto Glass, a Payday Loan or a Storage Place.
Start with yourself. When the last time you seriously used ASK JEEVES, AOL, YAHOO or MSN for any important research? These ‘also-rans’ might be good for a cheap PUSH campaign, but they are not primary on anyone’s consideration in the Mobile Search world. And they better be CHEAP, because all advertising works, but only at the right price…
So, if you want to interrupt and PUSH, this is where Direct Response comes in on mobile search. First, you better have a very broad offer appropriate to mass appeal. This means SEX, GREED, FANTASY and sometimes CONVENIENCE. Remember, you are essentially out of the search business and more akin to a late night DRTV commercial. Think General Audience. Think SPAM email in the BILLIONS to generate one sale..
Next, you need an Offer or at least a Call to Action to close the loop and incent a qualified call. The Offer best be simple and powerful. And the sales call best be either highly valuable or easy to close. For tiny Mobile screens, there’s not much room in 98 characters or a tiny tile ad. Most importantly, the Mobile Display “Search” Offering has to be operationally feasible and most importantly profitable.
Primarily, you get what you pay for, we’ve found. Mobile display is the cheapest response medium and most subject to SPAM. $6 calls on Google Search are $1.14 per call on the mobile display networks. BUT, many mobile display publishers are foreign-based, really have BROAD keyword matching, and there’s limited geographic accuracy -especially with dumbphones. For many clients, staying off the “unbranded” side of search is vital because there’s just too many misdials, complaints and inaccuracy. You eat up any profit with customer service expenses.
Comparatively, Mobile Directory Partners like Marchex’s YP.com Mobile Search are not really good at showing an offer. But, they are pretty good at finding local listings. Yes, you’ll pay for a call you might have gotten on a Google Search anyway, but if wishes were fishes we’d all swim for a living.
Think of Mobile Search Directories as protection against the competition. Don’t let them poach your brand or offer—or if they do, make it cost them something. But, for gosh sakes, go build your brand and drive new business on the thing that works and stop chasing cheap prices. You get what you pay for.
August 20th, 2012 at 7:43 pm
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