Over the past year we’ve talked to hundreds of CMOs and marketing decision-makers about mobile and we’ve seen a shift in the conversation: businesses are no longer asking “Why mobile?”  With half of all Americans now owning a smartphone, the necessity for brands to be involved in the mobile space is clear.  Today, we are increasingly hearing questions from executives related to the “How?” of investing in mobile.  That’s why we are launching a new resource designed to offer our perspective on how to strategically approach mobile called “The Mobile Playbook”.  On April 25th we will be hosting a live streamed discussion with an incredible panel of mobile thought leaders talking about how to strategically approach mobile including:

• Joao Machado - Director of Mobile, OMD
• Michelle Ogle - Digital Marketing and Affiliate Strategy Manager, Starwood Hotels and Resorts
• Joshua Palau - VP of Digital Sales and Marketing, Comcast
• Amit Shah - Director of Online, Mobile and Social Media, 1-800Flowers.com

Tune in to the Think with Google Google+ page on Wednesday April 25th at 3pm EST/ 12pm PST to learn how mobile can help businesses win the moments that matter, make better decisions, and go bigger, faster.  These panelists have all been early movers in the mobile space and we’ll be discussing their perspective on the 5 key questions we feature in The Mobile Playbook that every business executive should be asking today in order to win with mobile.  We hope you’ll be there.  If you have a question for the panel, leave your questions with #playbookpanel as a comment on our hangout announcement post the Think with Google Google+ page.

Details on how to tune in:
In order to view the Hangout on Air, visit the Think with Google Google+ page at 3pm EST on April 25th, look for the stream post, and click to tune in.  Don’t forget to be signed into Google+!

On April 25, look for the Hangout on Air post like the image above on the Think with Google +page and click to tune-in!

Posted by: Jason Spero, Head of Global Mobile Sales and Strategy

Did you know that one in every three mobile searches has local intent? That means local businesses need to be prepared for more site traffic from mobile devices. An important first step to attracting customers on-the-go is creating a mobile-friendly website which can sometimes be complicated and confusing. We’re happy to announce that GoMo and DudaMobile have joined forces to make it even easier for small businesses to create a mobile-friendly website.

Starting today, you can create a free mobile site directly from howtogomo.com using a tool powered by DudaMobile. This do-it-yourself site builder, customized specifically for GoMo users, easily converts regular websites into mobile-friendly sites in five simple steps. And it allows you to add features like a click-to-call button, mobile maps and Google AdSense. Sites that are created with the GoMo-DudaMobile tool will be hosted free for one year.

Dog Nanny’s website was not mobile friendly. Visitors had to pinch and zoom to read content.	Dog Nanny’s new mobile site - created in just a few minutes - looks great on mobile devices.

Please note that DudaMobile’s technology is best for converting simple sites. If your site uses a lot of Flash content, framesets or e-commerce, we suggest that you Go Mobile by talking to your agency or working with one of the developers here.

Many small businesses are discovering that mobile sites mean more business. Now you have an opportunity to easily create a professional mobile site which will delight your customers when they visit you on the mobile web. Visit howtogomo.com/getstarted and build your site today.  It’s time to GoMo!


Posted by Nabil Haschemie, Product Marketing Manager, Mobile Ads

Not only is WWF the world’s leading independent conservation organisation, measured by ad impressions it’s also one of the biggest online display advertisers in Sweden. In the beginning of 2011, WWF’s marketing team noticed the boom in smartphone usage and decided to get in on the action early, by running a test campaign over one month on a selection of mobile networks.

WWF’s digital mission is to recruit monthly donors at the lowest cost per order. The charity already has exceptionally high brand recognition in Sweden, so WWF’s debut mobile campaign wasn’t about building the brand or sharing values. Instead, the activity centred purely on direct response in the form of fundraising. The objectives were to test the charity’s online approach in a new platform, establish a performance baseline to inform future mobile campaigns and to achieve the most conversions at the lowest cost per click.

Simple banner ads encouraged users to adopt a polar bear or tiger; by clicking these ads users would be taken to a landing page on the WWF mobile site where they could sign up to make a monthly donation towards the animal of their choice.

AdMob was one of several mobile networks WWF put on trial. One of the largest of its kind in the world, AdMob gives advertisers the opportunity to reach and interact with customers on the mobile web by placing ads within its network of apps. In Sweden, it reaches around 3 million unique devices through thousands of premium in-app placements.

AdMob very quickly stood out with its high reach, low cost per order and impressive number of orders. WWF liked the fact that AdMob enabled them to buy on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis and delivered the lowest CPC of all the test channels by a factor of seven.

At the end of the month-long trial, WWF decided to drop advertising on the other more expensive channels, but they continued to advertise on AdMob for the remaining four months of the year, increasing their mobile investment by 400%.
 
WWF continued to see good results during the months to follow, noticing that as investment increased, conversions increased too. At the end of the four-month campaign, mobile conversions had risen to represent almost 25% of WWF’s total conversions across all platforms. WWF’s next step was to triple their mobile investment as they put plans into place for the 2012. Not surprisingly, based on their success to date AdMob will continue to perform a key role in their approach.

Read the complete case study on WWF’s success with AdMob here.

Posted by Matt Brocklehurst, Product Marketing Mobile Advertising

If you’ve been scratching your head about how to advertise your business to the millions of people who use smartphones and tablets, then stop scratching and take a look at the new Google Mobile Ads website.

With a fresh look and new content, it is the place to discover how Google can make mobile advertising work for you. On the site you will find:

• detailed information on Google’s search and display ad formats;
• research reports and useful tools to build your understanding of the mobile audience;
• best practices for performance marketing and brand awareness;
• oodles of new success stories from advertisers who have grown their business with Google mobile ads.

Try the new site today.



Posted by Mike Schipper, Product Marketing Manager

As part of Google’s ongoing GoMo initiative, we hosted two live webinars to help advertisers and publishers learn the benefits of creating mobile-friendly sites, hear tips and case studies, and tap into new resources get started. If you missed the live webinars, no problem! You can watch the recorded videos and download the slides for either (or both!) webinars.

Advertisers who watch the video will learn how to:

1. Mobilize your site.
Understand what it means, learn the benefits and get started with GoMo.
2. Maximize your mobile ads.
Hear why it’s important and learn practical how-to’s for making the most of your mobile investment.
3. Track, measure and iterate.
Get tips and see helpful tools you can use today.

Interested in learning more? Watch the recorded webinar and download the slides.

Publishers who watch the video will learn:

1. Why go mobile?
Your users have gone mobile in a big way, hear why you must follow suit.
2. Tips for building mobile sites     
Mobile is different.  Learn 10 practical tips for building engaging, uniquely mobile experiences.
3. Best practices in action
Hear from web publisher FindTheBest about the success they’ve seen from going mobile.
4. How to get started
Google is here to help. Learn about tools we’ve created to get you started on the path to delighting
your users and maximizing your mobile revenue.

Interested in learning more? Watch the recorded webinar and download the slides.

Posted by: Suzanne Mumford, Product Marketing Manager, Mobile Ads and Joseph Corral, Product Marketing Manager, Mobile Ads

Back in November we launched GoMo to help businesses “Go Mobile” and easily create a mobile optimized website. GoMo has helped thousands of businesses improve their mobile experience and today we’re excited to introduce a new initiative: GoRo.

Every day, dozens of Americans use rotary phones, but 100% of these potential customers have experienced trouble loading a business’ websites on their device.1 Despite this, a recent study predicted that rotary phone usage is expected to surpass smartphone usage by 2015.2

Go Rotary, or GoRo, is a new initiative by Google where you’ll find resources you need to learn about what makes a good rotary site, why optimizing for rotary matters and the latest data to help you prepare for the return of rotary.

This week, we’ll be hosting a webinar “Is Your Business Ready for the Return of Rotary?” and posting daily rotary tips and case studies to show how businesses across the country have already optimized their websites.

In a recent interview, industry expert Roger Thornhill noted: “Technology is cyclical. In a few years touch screens will be replaced by finger wheels and smartphones will become a way of the past.” It’s time to make sure your website it ready; it’s time to GoRo!

Posted by David Kaufman, Rotary & Morse Code Marketing Manager

1Haines-Fisch Research Institute. “Rotary Phones and the Web”, March 2012.
2Stein Insight Group. “Rotary Phone Engagement Study”, February 2012.

For developers who want to run ads in iOS versions of their apps, we are releasing an update to our Google AdMob Ads SDK.  This new version of the SDK is consistent with Apple’s reported decision regarding developer usage of the universal device identifier (UDID).  Our goal is to help all developers and publishers continue to reach users on mobile, grow their businesses and make money, in accordance with the policies of the mobile platforms on which they build.

Developers and publishers building their businesses on the iOS platform can download the new SDK here.  Stay tuned for more new SDK features and updates in the coming weeks.

Posted By: Mark Schaaf, Google Mobile Ads