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Today Google formally announced the launch of clickable phone numbers for its mobile ads. "Click to Call", as the phrase will officially be called, will be available only for high-end mobile devices or phones that allow full HTML browsing. It allows users to search on Google as they normally would and rather than have to click through to a webpage and find the number, the number is included in the ad copy.

What does this mean for businesses advertising on search? Greg Sterling of Search Engine Land expounds on it in his article. Here are a few of the points he makes:

• The presence of a phone number in the ad significantly improved ad performance. It gives a greater sense of credibility for the advertiser and then trust for the user. It also makes the ad stand out more.
• Calls can be tracked and show up  in reporting.
• Advertisers can make mobile specific campaigns with mobile targeting and ad copy. Very effective!
• The feature is now basically a pay per call system at bargain pay per click prices.

As the feature becomes increasingly popular we can expect to see prices increase as advertisers bid against each other. For now though, it is a steal for what businesses are paying. Just another exciting and innovative way that advertising is evolving.

Check back to the Get Found First blog for more news on any internet marketing related news!

As I read and watched the news results and videos for the hyped Apple iPad, I couldn't help but wonder what affect this might have on internet searches.  Does this mean that the iPad will increase search volume because it would be more accessible due to the iPad?  Will the larger display of the iPad (basically an enlarged version of an iPod Touch) allow people to see more sponsored links causing more people to click on those links?  Or, will is the iPad not quite what we hoped and will have no affect at all?

First, I think the iPad is a pretty neat device for the educational sector.  Universities could use the iPad for textbooks and possible subsidize it.  This might cause searches to increase because instead of using a textbook in the classroom, all the students would be on an iPad and have the ability to surf the web.  This also means that students would be reading and doing homework from an iPad, meaning they would be more tempted to connect to the internet because it would be right at their fingertips.  So, I could foresee the frequency of searches increasing if the education field began using the iPad.

I could also see that more people would click on sponsored links if they were using an iPad versus an iPod Touch.  I say this because of the larger screen.  I think this would make the links more visible to the user and as Scott Forstall, the Senior Vice President of iPhone software, said, "If you see something, you just reach out and tap it, you don't even have to think about it."  If you saw a sponsored link, maybe you'll just reach out and tap it without even thinking about it.

However, I could only foresee an increase in searches and the clicking of sponsored links if many people buy the iPad.  I do not know how many people will because the iPad won't fit in your pocket, but then again, Apple could not get Amazon's customers that are using the Kindle.  If Kindle users switched to the iPad, along with all the iPod Touch users, I could really see an increase in the amount of searches and the clicks of sponsored links.

All in all, these are just really my thoughts and speculations, but I could really see some of these things happening and the iPad adding power to the power of search engines.  Thus, it is becoming more and more relevant for businesses to advertise online and to really have a web presence in order to gain business and to succeed.

Is it any surprise that Google continues to attract the majority of searches on the web? According to Jack Marshall of Clickz.com over 2/3 of worldwide searches happened on Google sites(google.com, youtube.com, etc.).

What makes this fact even more interesting is that 46% more searches were conducted this December than last! In one year, the number of people searching on the web has increased almost by half. This fact emphasizes the role that online advertising is going to have in the future. Everyone is going online and searching for the things that they need! Even my Grandma is using the web now more and more... she's 80 something!

What does this spell for advertising in general? G.O. O.N.L.I.N.E. Marketers follow the people and where they are... and where are they now? On the net.

You can read the full article at http://www.clickz.com/3636277.

We posted last month about November's search results... Here is the latest:

Working closely with the three major search engines, Google, Yahoo, and Bing, we often get asked the question: how much traffic does each of the search sites get? To answer this question we turn to the latest results courtesy of Experian Hitwise:

Percentage of U.S. searches among leading search engine providers Domain Nov-09 Dec-09 Month-over-month percentage change www.google.com 71.57% 72.25% 1% search.yahoo.com 15.39% 14.83% -4% www.bing.com* 9.34% 8.92% -4% www.ask.com 2.65% 2.54% -4% Note: Data is based on four-week rolling periods (ending Nov. 28, 2009, and Jan. 2, 2010) from the Hitwise sample of 10 million U.S. Internet users. Figures are for web searches only.  
*This includes executed searches on Bing.com, Live.com and MSN Search but does not include searches on Club.Live.com.

Source: Experian Hitwise

So what does this all mean? For one it shows us that Google has found a way to increase its share of searches despite recent intense competition from Bing. It also shows that Bing is going to have to figure a way to increase its popularity now that the honeymoon is over for searchers! 

Will anyone be able to dethrone Google from its search engine throne? Only time will tell.

Being in the internet marketing arena, there are a lot of blogs that I read every day.  I frequently read www.ClickZ.com.  Just today, I read an article from one of their bloggers that I haven't followed very closely, Augustine Fou.

Apparently, Augustine considers himself to be the God of internet marketing as he is the one that has put together the 10 commandments that we as marketers should follow.  Here they are, in his words:

1. "Thou shalt not target customers with messages they don't want.
2. Thou shalt be truthful.
3. Thou shalt respect your customers.
4. Thou shalt make it easy for people to find you.
5. Thou shalt be useful.
6. Thou shalt make it easy for people to pass along.
7. Thou shalt measure and optimize.
8. Thou shalt listen to customers.
9. Thou shalt remove any organizational barriers to speedy, collaborative innovation.
10. Thou shalt not do brand-ing. "

You can read his reasoning behind each commandment at http://www.clickz.com/3636027.

I don't know that I will ever follow rules that some guy comes up with about marketing, but I can obey Augustine on these 10 commandments.  Not only am I already obey for my exisiting clients, but I plan on continuing to do it for myself and future clients.