Mobile Ad Click-Throughs Rise As Users Get Closer

Mobile ad click-through rates rise 1.48 times higher than the average rate when users get within one-to-two miles away from a business, according to new study.

The YP study shows that the sweet spot for mobile CTRs is between one and two miles. The firm’s statistics say ad CTRs consistently rise as get closer an establishment. When they’re between two and five miles away, CTRs rise 1.26 times. They hit 1.48 times between one and two miles away. However, when they get closer than one mile, CTRs drop off slightly to 1.4 times.

“In general, the closer users are to a business the more likely they are to engage and click on a banner. However, there is an interesting ‘sweet spot’ at 1-2 miles that yields the highest consumer engagement,” YP said in its third quarter Local Insights Report.

YP is a local publisher and ad network that releases its Local Insights Report each quarter. The report examines trends in local search and mobile advertising through its local mobile display network which targets locally relevant apps and mobile websites with banner ads focused on local businesses.

YP’s report sheds light on GPS targeted ad impressions. The company says in-app ads accounted for a big chunk of impressions – 60 percent – of its local mobile display network. Mobile web ads accounted for 40 percent of ad impressions, according to the study.

The study also shows that CTRs are higher in iOS app ads than for Android app ads. Ads in iOS apps see nearly 47 percent higher CTR than those in Android apps.

YP also points out that iPad ad CTRs are 9 percent higher than those of iPhone ads. “iPad ads make up a small but rapidly growing percentage of impressions,” notes the study.

Healthcare, reference, and multimedia apps yielded the highest amounts of mobile CTRs compared to other types measured. Communications and sports apps, meanwhile, received the lowest. Surprisingly however, mobile communication applications generate the highest amount of post-click engagement. As many as 33 percent of all mobile communication application users made a click on the landing page after they clicked on the mobile ad that led them there.

The YP study aggregated 1.5 billion monthly geotargeted ads for the study. The YP Local Mobile Display Network reaches 11 million mobile unique visitors per month.