Mobile advertising service provider AdMob introduced a free mobile plug-in for blogging tool WordPress that promises to enable bloggers to generate revenue from advertising. Mobile web developer Andy Moore of Web2Text created the plug-in, which integrates AdMob code to offer bloggers the opportunity to feature ads in their posts and provides configuration of pages leveraging .mobi and W3C standards. In addition, real-time reporting functionality enables bloggers to track their impressions and earnings. “We aim to reduce the entry level to mobile publishing by making it easy for WordPress users to go mobile and reap the rewards of AdMob’s advertising in just a few clicks,” Moore said in a prepared statement. “This plug-in lets bloggers adhere to standards without having extra knowledge or getting their hands dirty in any code. It’s easy to publish to mobile in a matter of seconds.”
For more on the AdMob plug-in:
- read this release
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
The rumor mill is abuzz with speculation that a cabal of mobile operators including Vodafone, Deutsche Telecom and AT&T/Cingular will meet not-so-secretly at next week’s 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona to explore the creation of a mobile search engine poised to challenge U.S. search giants Google and Yahoo. British newspaper The Telegraph reports that operator representatives will discuss a series of alternatives that includes pooling their combined resources to acquire a majority stake in an existing search engine provider or creating a white-label service backed by a single advertising team and technical staff. “There is a big play in mobile search that we need to be part of, and we are exploring those options at a very high level,” an anonymous U.K. mobile executive told the paper.
For more on the mobile search rumors:
- read this Telegraph article
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Days after making public a new content partnership with Google-owned user-generated video site YouTube, Vodafone Group announced a deal with Google itself, teaming with the search giant to develop mobile map and location services. According to Vodafone, the downloadable Java app promises subscribers maps and local listings in addition to local search and navigation capabilities. “Vodafone sees Google Maps as a new milestone in the relationship that both companies are developing,” Vodafone global chief marketing officer Frank Rovekamp said in a prepared statement. “It is a prime example of how Vodafone, through its location service and distribution scale, can complement Google’s products and unlock mass-market access to exciting services.”
Vodafone first announced plans to add Google search to its deck at 3GSM 2006, rolling out service in the Hungarian market late last year with plans to launch in other European markets throughout the remainder of 2007.
For more on the latest Vodafone/Google deal:
- read this MobileToday article
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Mobile media company InfoSpace announced it will team with search technology developer Fast Search & Transfer to develop white-label mobile search applications targeted to wireless operators. The applications will leverage Fast’s search software and InfoSpace’s mobile infrastructure experience to power content discovery and recommendation, off-deck access and mobile advertising solutions; the companies also plan to develop storefront and WAP index functionality.
“Search is the most used and most profitable tool on the Internet, and the Fast and InfoSpace partnership takes the search paradigm to mobile users to allow for controlling and monetizing each user interaction with a robust set of features, built on top of superior portal search and mobile web search,” Fast CEO John Markus Lervik said in a prepared statement. “Personalized results enhance user satisfaction, increase purchases, increase traffic, and drive advertising revenue or any other business model deemed important by the mobile carrier.”
For more on the InfoSpace/Fast deal:
- read this release
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Alltel Wireless and mobile search/advertising solutions provider JumpTap announced the launch of what the companies are calling the first carrier-branded mobile search application preloaded on handsets with a dedicated search key. The search key, which will debut on the LG8600 handset, launches an Alltel-branded BREW client with a search box; according to the carrier, the dedicated key’s visibility will both increase mobile search uptake and increase content purchasing by enabling subscribers to more efficiently find the content, services and information they seek.
“We have successfully used dedicated keys in the past to provide content we wanted to make readily available, including games and ringtones. It’s been proven that the easier it is for subscribers to find applications, the more likely it is that they will be adopted,” said Alltel senior VP of product management Wade McGill in a prepared statement. “We believe search is really at the heart of the mobile experience, and by putting JumpTap’s search solution right on the handset, our subscribers will use it even more often to find what they are searching for.”
For more on the Alltel/JumpTap search app:
- read this release
A new study issued by digital marketing agency iCrossing reports while only 30 percent of mobile subscribers access the web via handset, 75 percent of those who do so conduct searches, expressing a clear preference for major search engine brands like Google and Yahoo over carriers’ mobile platforms. According to iCrossing, maps/directions, weather and local information are the content categories most commonly sought by mobile searchers, although about 75 of respondents said they are unwilling to browse past the second page of search results. In addition, 84 percent of mobile searchers said they expect dedicated mobile versions of the sites they frequent.
“The type of content users seek varies greatly, but websites must be positioned in at most the first two pages of results in order to earn users’ clicks,” iCrossing writes. “In addition, sites must be optimized carefully so they can be captured in a maximum of three keywords. Convenience, ease of use, speed and relevancy are the values that must remain at the forefront of this ongoing effort.”
For more on the iCrossing study:
- read this release
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
AdMob plugs in to mobile blogging
