Google punts ads on the move

All your ads are now mobile

Google has expanded its AdWord product to mobiles, allowing creators of mobile content to embed Google advertisements into their pages and receive revenue on click-throughs.

But advertisers expecting a desktop browser may be disappointed when their beautiful landing page is rendered on a two inch screen.

Advertisers pay for every user that arrives at their landing page (the page the advert links to), and the page hosting the advert gets around 80 per cent of the money. Google's initial intention is to apply that same model to mobiles; serving the same adverts to pages designed for mobiles, without offering advertisers the ability to target either platform.

As users start to understand the potential as well as the limitations of mobile data, the scramble to present them with advertisements is well underway. However, taking an internet model and applying it to the mobile browsing experience may not be the best idea.

Google is planning to trans-code the landing pages to suit the mobile device being used, but even if it can squeeze the whole thing onto a mobile phone in a useable form, it's questionable if the content of the landing page will be of interest to the user.

Most landing pages require the user to buy or sign up to something, which may suit the user sitting in a comfortable office chair, but is unlikely to be of interest to the same user trying to find a pub.

Nokia's purchase of Enpocket was a recognition of that company's understanding of the mobile advertising business. Google may understand advertising, but when it comes to mobile phones it's still got a lot to learn. ®