French fashion designer, Coco Chanel, once said that “The best things in life are free. The second best things are very, very expensive.”
Coco Chanel passed away in 1971, so she never heard of the internet, cyber-technology, or digital advertising – although her legacy lives on through the Chanel company, and especially No. 5. Yet, it is apparent that she understood the concept of monetization and, were she still with us, she would likely have been among the first to find a way to monetize digital technology. Regardless, it is obvious that Google understands.
I saw your ad on my smartphone when I started an organic search for organic foods.
What’s Going on at Google
When the Google search engine began, it was a novelty for most people. For Google, it was – and is – an enterprise. Many economists wondered how this company could possibly sustain the search engine service and from whence would come its revenue stream. The answer was always “advertising.” However farfetched that may have seemed at the time, Google has a current enterprise value of more than $462 billion.
Show me the money.
In 2014, Google’s paid advertising revenues totaled $59 billion. A telling statement appeared on Page 34 of the company’s financial statement for the first three quarters of 2015: “We … expect that our revenue growth rate will continue to be affected by evolving user preferences, the acceptance … of our products and services as they are delivered on diverse devices, [and] our ability to create a seamless experience for both users and advertisers.”
Key Observations from Keyword Connects
Our goal is improving quality lead generation for home improvement businesses. The purpose of our blog posts is to keep your business informed as the business of lead generation needs to evolve on the back of record-setting changes in lead-generation technology. Reading Google’s financial statement more in depth, it becomes clear that Google is trying to do the same thing. It has to follow the technology to stay at the forefront of search service providers.
Nothing is going to stop the growth of mobile usage.
While, on the one hand, it appears that Google is pushing mobile advertising, on the other hand, it’s just as appropriate to say that they are being pulled along with the current. In order to effectively “go with the flow,” they must “push” mobile advertising for lead generation.
Startling Statistics from Sterling Research
Google retained Sterling Research to study the impact of mobile optimized websites. Among the many nuggets they uncovered, they found that:
- 74% of users are more likely to return to a mobile-friendly site.
- 67% of users are more likely to buy if the site is mobile friendly.
What is more, a study conducted by Econsultancy found that “62% of companies reported an increase in sales after designing a site for mobile users,” and that “61% of mobile users call after a local business search.”
There it is, right there.
While the impact of local marketing on mobile devices is still relatively small, it is growing rapidly. A 2015 Deloitte study found that 78% of Americans plan to use their smartphones for holiday shopping. 60% say that they use smartphones to find retail locations.
The home improvement industry needs to understand the changing landscape of e-commerce and what is now called m-commerce for effective lead generation. We believe that business owners should be fully informed so that they can plan their advertising budget wisely. We also believe that no other lead-generation platform or service can come close to the consistent, proven, quality results that Keyword Connects delivers. Contact us and let show you why Keyword Connects is better.