Mobile local search ad revenues to reach $1.3B in 2013

Mobile search and display advertising revenues in the U.S. will increase to $3.1 billion in 2013 from $160 million in 2008--a compound annual growth rate of 81.2 percent--according to research, data and strategic analysis firm The Kelsey Group. The forecast adds that during the same five-year period, mobile local search advertising revenues will increase from $20 million to $1.3 billion, a CAGR of 130.5 percent, as the percentage of mobile searches with local intent grows from 28 percent in 2008 to 35 percent in 2013. A key driver behind the increase: Apple's iPhone. The report states approximately 15 percent of all iPhone applications are local.

The Kelsey Group report notes that at present, there are 54.5 million mobile web users in the U.S., representing roughly 25 percent of total online users. "As mobile data consumption rises, we expect local marketing to be a big winner," said Kelsey Group's Mobile Local Media program director Michael Boland in a prepared statement. "There is a strong correlation between local search and the mobile use case, which will cause a good portion of the ongoing mobile application boom to focus on local."

For more on the forecast:
- read this release

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