Mobile continues to assert its dominance on search in 2015’s second quarter—particularly smartphones, which account for 59% of search spending against 41% for tablets. Phones assumed an even higher profile in share of mobile display ads, with 85% of that segment, according to IgnitionOne’s Q2 Digital Marketing Report.
Thanks to surging mobile activity, search spending continues on a year-long trend of double-digit increases with a year-over-year rise of 22%. Smartphone search expenditures rose 71% in the past year and tablets gained 22%.
Google was the prime benefactor of this largesse, winning back share points it had lost to Yahoo’s Bing over the past three quarters. Google returned to a 75.5% share and Bing to 24.5%, but both search engines were buoyed by the mobile movement. Google saw a 69% increase in smartphone spend and Bing a lift of 78%.
Programmatic display advertising shot up 33% during the past year, with remarketing the dominant tactic at 45% of the spend. Automotive brands fueled the boost with a 94% increase in display outlays. Facebook was the big winner in this channel, collecting a 48% increase in expenditures compared with a 9% decrease for Google.
