UK Mobile Search Spending Grows 250%

It might seem obvious but mobile is turning into a major driving force for growth, so getting some statistics on how the sector is faring might be useful.

A new report from Adobe shows that mobile search spending in the UK has soared by 250% in the first quarter of 2012, compared to the same period in 2011. Moreover, traffic on mobile devices has increased four times over the same period. The figures come from the Global Digital Advertising Update, published recently.

At present, mobile represents 11% of all search in the UK, compared to 8% in the US, confirming earlier research suggesting that the UK mobile search market is very strong.

Adobe’s study also reveals that the UK has seen a more modest overall search spending growth of 2%, while this has increased by 16% in the US. According to Adobe, the slower growth registered in the UK can be attributed to the uncertain economic situation in Europe. However, Jonathan Beeston, Adobe’s director of new product innovation, claims that the modest increase is no surprise bearing in mind the very strong growth registered 12 months ago.

Another important finding that emerged from the study is the growing prominence of social platforms for search, especially of Facebook, which accounts for 3% to 5% of the total search spending.