Mobile queries exceed desktop search: Google

MUMBAI, INDIA: Search queries from mobile devices have exceeded those form the desktops in the last one year, said Google.

The search engine major attributed the rise to affordable smart phones and data prices. It must be noted that India records sale of about six million smart phones every months. Among the 250 million Internet users in H12015, 65 percent accessed the net over mobile.

According to a vision report prepared by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), total Internet users in India are expected to be 500 million by 2017, of which smart phone data users would be 490 million.

The numbers assume significance as India, being the second largest Internet user in the world, is the biggest market for Google and other advertisement driven website companies after the United States.

Indian digital advertising is still tilted towards desktop versions of websites, as it attracts better prices and offers more space than mobile. But the trend has been witnessing a change with the never-before-seen rise of mobile Internet consumers in the country.

During the APJ quarter, nearly all Indian telecom carriers reported more than 50 percent jump in Internet data traffic from a year ago, attributing the growth to rising consumer base for third generation (3G) Internet services.

“We do not disclose exact numbers (of mobile-desktop split), but mobile is more than 50 percent. The share of mobile and desktop search was equal last year, but this year, it had exceeded,” said Sandeep Menon, Marketing Director, Google India.

It must be recalled that Facebook reported that its mobile traffic was higher than desktop traffic in India. Google, in a bid to catch-up with the opportunity and changed its algorithm to favour enterprises with a mobile-first strategy. Seems it is reaping the benefits of Mobileggedon.