Nearly 1.3
billion mobile users – 30% of the subscriber base – are expected to utilise
local mobile search services by 2013, according to a new report from industry
analysts, Juniper Research.

The report argues that the best
equipped regions for the delivery of mobile local search are currently Western
Europe and North America, as all countries within these regions have good local
digital information suppliers (yellow and white pages, city guides, restaurant
and entertainment guides, traffic information, etc.) and also good mapping data
(both on and off road) with good coverage of points of interest (POI).

Advertising supported local search will
be the key to driving this sector according to Juniper Research, but the firm
cautions that the effectiveness of advertising in this sector will vary widely
according to local conditions. The availability and quality of locally based
directories and content will be a key factor, as well as the presence of the
necessary location based  infrastructure.
In the end it will be the quality of the user experience that will be of
paramount importance, the report states.

Additional findings from the Juniper report
include:

• Local search is expected to account for 43% of
  cumulative mobile search advertising revenues between 2008 and 2013

• User response rates to advertising which
  supports mobile local search are expected to be significantly higher than
  for advertising on general mobile web search

• While Western
  Europe currently accounts for the greatest volume of mobile search
  enquiries, it will soon be overtaken by the Far East & China region primarily
  through a surge in adoption within China itself

The report also forecasts total mobile
search revenues to reach $4.8 billion by 2013 but cautions that an
"advertising overload" might act as a disincentive to consumers and
might ultimately limit adoption, while there are continuing public concerns
over search engine usage of personal data.

Juniper Research assesses the
current and future status of mobile search market based on interviews, case
studies and analysis from representatives of some of the leading organisations
in the growing mobile search industry.

Whitepapers and further details of the study 'Mobile Search & Discovery:
Opportunities and Markets 2008-2013’ can be freely downloaded from http://www.juniperresearch.com [1]