Mobile web advertising is an online marketing method in which ads are displayed exclusively over a mobile phone’s Web browser. Purchasing mobile Web advertising is similar to purchasing ads for websites on a full-size computer, but there are design restrictions, and the ads are mostly cost-per-mile (CPM). These ads can be used to garner sales, fill out forms or capture emails. Competition is lower in mobile marketing, because only one ad unit is shown at a time — when an advertiser’s display is being shown, it will be the only one on the website.
There are many online marketing methods, but most of them target websites viewed on desktop and laptop computers. In mobile web advertising, the marketing is done on a website viewed from a mobile device. While mobile advertising is mostly concerned with the Web browser, advertisers also can have ads on mobile TV and mobile messaging, but these ads usually have a lower click-through — the rate at which a consumer sees an ad on his or her mobile device and clicks on it to get more information.
When an advertiser uses mobile web advertising, he or she buys space just like with regular Internet advertising. This can either be done through a website owner selling space or a hub that shows the ad on a network of websites. Unlike full-size Internet advertising, there is only one type of advertising method: CPM. This means advertisers will have to pay a certain amount for every 1,000 ad impressions. Ads are displayed on devices of different sizes, so advertisers will typically have to submit several different ads, each optimized for a different size.
While mobile web advertising ads are paid for in the same way, the ads can be used in different ways. Mobile ads can be used to bring people to a business website to make purchases, to fill out a form for more information, or to capture an email address for future email advertising. This allows the advertiser to reap the benefits of mobile advertising, regardless of what the advertiser is selling or doing online.
Unlike Internet advertising, mobile web advertising is considered less competitive. One reason is that there are fewer mobile web users than Internet users, so most advertisers focus more on Internet advertising. Another reason is that, when an advertising banner is displayed, only one is displayed at a time. Instead of potentially reading or looking at several advertisements, the viewer will only be able to read and connect with a single advertising unit at a time, which can lead to better click-through rates.