For a while now, we’ve been hammering home how important it is for local businesses to attune themselves to people who search for products and services on mobile devices such as smartphones. To summarize those points:

Everyone is getting a smartphone these days. People are using phones for commercial reasons at a massively escalating rate, especially as it regards finding local businesses. If you don’t optimize your site, advertising and other aspects to attract and convert these people, you’re missing out on a gigantic revenue stream.

This brings us to a recent study by Google and Nielsen Research. The study dug into a broad variety of mobile search aspects, and but we’ll focus on the highlights here.

One of the biggest revelations from the study, “Mobile Search Moments: Understanding How Mobile Drives Conversions,” regards the immediacy of movie search. For example, more than half of the conversions (such as calling a business, entering a store or making a purchase) occur within just one hour.

That’s right: In over 50 percent of occasions when someone converts from mobile search, the search was initiated less than an hour earlier. That alone shows just how quickly mobile searchers can be converted if you’ve optimized your online marketing to attract and convert these users.

Another interesting revelation is that people aren’t simply using mobile search when they’re out and about. Actually, only 17 percent of searches occur when people are on the go. A full 77 percent of searches occur when people are at home or at work. This speaks to the ubiquity of smartphone use even when people are stationary.

One other revelation that stood out is that 3 out of 4 mobile searches triggered some form of follow-up action. More than a third of searches (36 percent) were followed by continued research. A full 1 in 4 (exactly 25 percent) went on to visit a retailer’s website. The study showed that 18 percent shared information about their search online, 17 percent visited a store, and 17 percent made a purchase. Additionally, 7 percent called a business.

What does this mean to you? The largest overall take from the study is that mobile searchers are primed to convert and act very quickly. It’s critical for local businesses to use this information to target mobile searchers. At Ring Ring Marketing, we can help you take advantage of this information to make mobile marketing a big source of revenue now and in the future.