Dive Brief:
- Google says that more searches were completed on mobile devices than desktop and laptop computers for the first time this summer.
- Google fields more than 100 billion searches per month, and more than half are conducted on screens measuring less than six inches, which excludes tablets, according to search chief Amit Singhal, speaking at the Code/Mobile conference last week.
- Google competes with companies such as Facebook and Apple for mobile search, and has struggled to monetize mobile.
Dive Insight:
As smartphone penetration has ballooned, Google has focused increasingly on mobile search, beginning with its decision to prioritize mobile results in its April 2015 update. The company is offering more search options tailored to setting and device, including the Google Now personal assistant.
Google faces challenges in mobile, where consumers have other options in search and are increasingly turning to vertical searches on Amazon to shop. To help maintain its influence, Google launched a new open-source initiative, the Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) Project, last week to help web pages load more quickly across devices.