AdWords on Apple iPod Touch

[abbottsys]

Does anyone have experience with AdWords on the Apple iPod Touch?

My testing of AdWords on the iPhone was very interesting, and I'm about to look at the iPod Touch. It's essentially the same device as the iPhone, but without the cell radio application, and it connects to the Internet by WiFi.

[beu]

Good question, seems like they would be the same in terms of device but no way to know the impact of wifi vs. at&t.

AWR?

[abbottsys]

Originally Posted by beu

Good question, seems like they would be the same in terms of device but no way to know the impact of wifi vs. at&t.

AWR?

Yup. Certainly, the idea of AdWords on the iPod is very attractive. I'll post my iPod Touch test results here.

BTW: off topic, but the theory is that AWR is keeping a low profile because of the Yahoo AdWords test and any possible deal announcement between Google and Yahoo. The situation is of course extra tricky because Yahoo has been put in play by Microsoft. So, while these folks slog out the future of ads on laptops and desktops we'll look at ads on the worlds biggest computing platform - handhelds

[beu]

Originally Posted by abbottsys

So, while these folks slog out the future of ads on laptops and desktops we'll look at ads on the worlds biggest computing platform - handhelds

AHHHH... great point, hadn't thought about that angle! Not to mention a certain Googler on Apple's board!

[abbottsys]

Originally Posted by beu

AHHHH... great point, hadn't thought about that angle! Not to mention a certain Googler on Apple's board!

Yes indeed. And as the world migrates from 2G to 3G wireless networks, the cellphone will go through a parallel migration from phone to handheld computer.

We can already see the beginning of this with the iPhone (which right now is a kinda 2.5G device with the 3G version coming out soon.)

And bear in mind that the *current* sales volume of cellphones is 1 billion units/year. So, do we have an amazing ad platform here or not? I believe that 5 years from now handheld computers will totally rule, making desktops and laptops look quaint.

[abbottsys]

Well, the test results are simple. The Google SRP on the Apple iPod Touch has one AdWords ad above the organics. It's a regular text ad, not a mobile ad.

The iPod Touch display (like the iPhone display), is so good it can handle regular ads, and Google does not serve the restricted mobile ad format.

In other words, Google treats the iPod Touch as a handheld computer. Same goes for the iPhone.

[Ryan L]

I haven't tested adwords on the touch yet but I can tell you that the lack of Flash on the iphone/touch does make google analytics experience rather underwhelming. It still is nice to check in on the hard numbers but the dashboard is essentially useless.

update:
whoops I thought you were discussing the configuration and administration of adwords accounts using a mobile device not the ads themselves.

[Discovery]

I'm a bit puzzled on this one.

On one hand I see huge potential with millions upon millions of users with nice big displays on their handhelds. Other gadgets I can’t even imagine will be introduced and placed right in the way of my everyday activities.

Then I think, I've had a big display on my web enabled handheld for the past 5 years... how many times have I responded to an ad? As a matter of fact how many times have I seen an ad?

I remember getting pissed off at not being able to use Google maps without a magnifying glass...and trying to login to adwords to no avail...but no ads, no consumerism on the mobile...

My Carrier keeps popping up a bunch of crap to sign up for feeds I don’t want...

I think this platform will be highly dependent on your service.
Nobody will be completing requests to get a financial analysis using their mobi, but they will try to find the closest pizza place with the best deal.

I think the winning ad system will be click to call.
Search: Taxi + long island, ny
Results: Click to call ads positioned on a Google map.
No charge to the mobi user for the call.

I see mobile advertising as circumventing websites to a large degree. People will not be looking for content, they want convenience, utility.

The iPhone and iTouch - beautiful marketing. How else can you get a person to spend double or triple on a gadget that has inferior transfer rates, and makes you purchase 3 devices that should logically be all in one!? My $200 phone has had the same utility for the past 3 years minus the cool factor. It doesn’t help that I hate AT&T

Discovery

[Ryan L]

Discovery what your describing sounds like "The Walled Garden"
approach whereby carriers attempt to corral their customers...verizon here in the states is famous for that.

those days are dwindling even verizon has committed to an "open" network.

your right about the gps driven ad placement though...that is the future for sure. I still expect the big "G" to develop a transactional network ala VISA in order to control the purchase cycle end-to-end.

Just my 2 cents

[abbottsys]

Originally Posted by Discovery

....
I think the winning ad system will be click to call.
Search: Taxi + long island, ny
Results: Click to call ads positioned on a Google map.
No charge to the mobi user for the call.
....Discovery

Indeed. And don't forget a nice thing about AdWords ads on the iPhone and iPod Touch platforms... if you include a phone# in your ad copy, the OS automatically converts it into a click to call number! This feature is totally independent of Google or AdWords. How's that for attention to detail.

These devices are just the beginning of a whole new computing platform that will explode as we move to 3G and beyond. And, an interesting historical note, the iPhone display (in pixels) is almost the same size as the original Mac!
Plus, it's in stunning color with a superb touch UI.

These things are way beyond cellphones, they're handheld computers. Lots of new applications yet to be invented (and yes, I'm working on one)

[Ryan L]

FYI
Blackberrys have had the same functionality (click to call numbers) for quite some time, at least 3 years.