Welcome to ‘What Happened in Search’.
Packed full of the week’s search marketing news each Friday, this week the big news comes from Google I/O 2015, as well as mobile ad buy buttons and Adobe/Econsultancy’s Quest for Mobile Excellence report.
NEED TO KNOW: GOOGLE I/O 2015
Yesterday, Google I/O 2015 kicked off and was largely focused on Android optimisation. We’ve rounded up the key information so far and given our take on the updates.
Android M – Google’s latest update to the Android OS – was announced. This saw ecosystem improvements including faster charging.
The best of the rest:
Google Cloud Messaging – The push notification service is now supported on all major platforms, as well as introducing topics, which allows for a more personalised approach from developers
Android Pay – The search giant launched its direct competitor to mobile payment system ApplePay, with plenty of partners including wireless networks, retailers and banks
Google Photos – Allowing users free access to unlimited photo storage, with some powerful organisation tools. Apparently a ‘graduation’ from Google Plus.
Our Technical Services Director, Joseph Patterson, offers his take on I/O 2015, “Sadly no talk of the exciting new Project Fi, or Google’s driverless cars. A fairly down key event. However, it’s obvious why Google want to perfect its OS, with an estimated 1.53 billion devices using Android and the news that Apple’s iOS drives 75% of Google’s mobile advertising revenue – nearly $9 billion”.
To see the schedule for day two and watch live as it happens, click here.
MICRO MOMENTS
Based on various mobile and purchase studies, as well as Google data, Think with Google reports on ‘I-Want-to-Buy’ moments, specifically in terms of mobile’s role in the path to purchase.
82% of smartphone users use their mobiles to help them make a purchase decision. Google claims that these micro moments also apply to big decisions, such as booking holidays.
GOOD BEHAVIOUR
Twitter has launched an upgrade to its analytics tool, offering marketers more information about audiences on the network.
Called “Audience insights,” the new feature drills into demographics, interests, lifestyle, consumer purchasing behavior, television-viewing preferences and mobile carrier and device usage. The information is currently only available for U.S. Twitter users.
FOR SALE
This week Google confirmed that it will enable “buy now” buttons on some mobile ads.
In an interview at Re/Code’s Code Conference, Google’s Chief business officer Omid Kordestani said the buy buttons would be coming soon. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, after clicking on a buy button, users would be taken to a Google landing page to complete the transaction.
FULL REPORT
This week the Quest for Mobile Excellence report, created by Adobe and Econsultancy, was released.
Based on a survey of around 3,000 marketers and digital professionals, the report centres on the progress of the mobile industry over the past year, how businesses are adapting, and improvement opportunities.
You can check out the full report and all of the data here.