Mobile Search? Only for Free, Consumers Say
Search engines will have to get advertisers to pay for their transition to the mobile phone, because a new study by JupiterResearch finds that few cellular customers are willing to foot the bill.
Yahoo!, Google, MSN Search and America Online have all put development and testing effort into adapting their search functions for wireless users, on the theory that users who search avidly at their desktops will want to search on the street, too.
But the study, published yesterday by the research arm of Jupitermedia, found that while 81% of the online population has searched for information on the Internet, very few have so far used their mobile phones for searches.
Only 7% of the online users/ cell phone owners polled by JupiterResearch said they would shell out for the ability to search for local businesses such as restaurants on their wireless phones. By comparison, 20% of participants told JupiterResearch they would be willing to pay for conventional directory information on their phones, and 18% said they would find navigation or directional services valuable enough to be worth a fee.
The Jupiter study suggests low consumer demand for those services in the near future. That means search providers — and the wireless carriers or phone makers they partner with — will need to need to look beyond subscriber fees to earn revenue from the early stages of mobile search.
That probably will mean a paid advertising model. But while local businesses might be willing to pay for either leads or actual calls from mobile searchers, that market will probably grow slowly, at least until the current crop of text-messaging young adults start searching and buying over their phones.
