WebProNews

The number of people using mobile devices to get content is on the way up. Phones are getting smarter, more services are being offered mobile and apps are being created left and right. Mobile content viewership will only continue to rise. It stands to reason that mobile advertising will increase as well.

Looking at mobile local search advertising, the Kelsey Group thinks it will be heading toward somewhere around $1.3 billion in the next four years in the US alone.

"As mobile data consumption rises, we expect local marketing to be a big winner," says Michael Boland, program director, Mobile Local Media with The Kelsey Group. "There is a strong correlation between local search and the mobile use case, which will cause a good portion of the ongoing mobile application boom to focus on local."

A few other interesting findings cited in a report from the Kelsey Group include:

- The percentage of mobile searches that have local intent will increase from 28% in 2008 to 35% in 2013.
      
- Currently there are 54.5 million mobile Internet users in the United States, representing 25 percent of online users.
      
- Approximately 15% of iPhone applications are local.

These are some interesting numbers to consider, particularly if you look to market your business to a local audience. In a related story, mobile search usage has jumped 14% in a year's time (between '07 and '08)according to ABI Research.