Google is now showing more ads on smartphones (going from ~2 to ~3 ads on average) which is driving paid clicks. Most of our checks said that mobile clicks (smartphones and tablets) account for ~50% of click volume (which syncs with Google?s disclosure in May that mobile click volume has surpassed desktop in 10 countries).
Further, checks noted that smartphone click through rates continue to increase, driven by improvements in vertical products and ad formats. While smartphone click volume has been strong, checks did note that desktop clicks are declining which is a trend
we expect to continue. In terms of pricing, marketing partners said the gap between smartphones and desktop continues to narrow. That said, checks cited a wide range of smartphone CPC growth anywhere from 15% to 50% yoy. Partners continue to see increases in desktop CPCs which is keeping desktop search spend in positive territory while volumes decline.
On the 2Q15, call management noted that the gap between desktop and mobile CPCs is narrowing and that while mobile CPCs strengthened, desktop CPCs also increased.
