How to Set Up a Mobile Search Campaign in Asia

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In one of my recent publications, I wrote about Mobile Search Marketing in 2012 and how to really go about identifying your opportunity in mobile search. Here is a best practice guideline for setting up a mobile search campaign.

Step 1: Let's begin with identifying the opportunity for your product. Let's take an example of car category, targeting Singapore as a market. (In the interest of the brand, the names have been erased.)

Google AdWords Keyword Tool

Looking at the column "Local Monthly Searches"; you know that it is the generic and brand keywords that are being searched the most. This is a clear sign that you have an opportunity to reach out to a sizable audience on the mobile platform via paid search. It is important to note that your mobile search campaign will be one-fourth the size of your desktop campaign in terms of number of keywords, purely because the keyword variations are limited on mobile as compared to desktop.

Step 2: Identify the kind of ad you want to show to your audience, as the mobile search landscape has really changed over the last few years. You now have a variety of choices and these are listed below:

Adwords location extensions format

Location Extension: Help nearby consumers find or call your nearest storefront from your paid search ad directly!

You can manage these addresses via Google Business Pages or via the AdWords interface.

Best used by brands in the retail industry; since you might have multiple locations from where the consumer can buy the product.

Adwords call extensions

Call Extension: Connect users to your business directly by phone. There can however be just one phone number that you can provide per ad. In Asia, they do not currently support toll free numbers.

Best used by service providers or even as a tech support link; when your users are looking to speak to someone. It has shown that people searching for technical support prefer to speak to someone than fill up a "Contact Us" form.

App Extension: Allows you to create a link either to download the app via the iTunes Store or Google Play Store; you can even link it to an app on the phone to launch a particular section within the app.

Best used when you have an app to promote for your brand.

Once you have gone ahead and done all the work, there are a few mistakes to avoid when you set up a mobile search campaign.

1. The mobile screen has limited space so make sure you always rank number one or two. 2. Use the right kind of ads to drive traffic to the right page or phone number or location. 3. If you are taking them to a website make sure it is mobile ready. A desktop site never loads properly on the mobile device. 4. Invest in mobile SEO; so that your search approach is more holistic than just paid.

Monitor the campaign for seasonality; we have noticed that over weekends your mobile searches outnumber the searches on the desktop. However, with the recent growth of tablets in the region it is difficult to ascertain if the searches go up because of tablets or the smartphones.

Until then, make sure you are on the mobile search results page.