Google is testing a mobile version of its AdWords text ad program in wireless systems around the U.S., the U.K. and Germany.
The text ads are delivered on a keyword basis to users doing a search on Google’s mobile search engine. They can contain up to two lines of text using 12 to 18 characters per line and can contain a clickable link. That link can either lead searchers to the advertiser’s mobile Web site or to a toll-free phone number for pay-per-call ads.
Pricing for the mobile ads in test is comparable to keyword pricing for PC-based search. The company says that conversion tracking is not yet available for its mobile ads, although it hopes to offer that function in the future. The ads are also approved and monitored by a human editing team at Google before being accepted into the network.
According to press reports, Google is developing a proprietary technology that determines what type of device is being used for a wireless search and decides whether to take the user to a Web site or place a voice call.
The tests follow April’s lunch of a full-fledged Google AdWords wireless service in Japan. Earlier this month, Google struck a deal with eBay-owned Skype to collaborate on a click-to-call technology that will eventually connect allow PC users with IP voice equipment to call advertisers directly using links.
Google mobile search now sees around 4.5 million users a month, according to mobile data monitor M:Metrics. Yahoo! Mobile lags behind with 3.8 million visitors monthly, while MSN’s mobile search has 1.1 million monthly users and AOL’s has about 700,000.
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