AdMob Mobile Analytics (AMA) has been available for just over four weeks now and the number of sites continues to grow steadily.  We’ve already received some great feedback and are excited to hear how site owners are leveraging the analytics data to make site optimization decisions as well as track advertising ROI.

One of our primary objectives with AMA was to make an analytics package that is incredibly powerful but easy to use.  Based on the small number of support requests received, I think we can say that goal has largely been achieved.

We have received one question I want to address: “How do you plan to use the data collected and who will have access to this information?”

Your site data is your property and is completely confidential.  The AdMob Mobile Analytics Terms of Service (ToS) provides the legal language detailing our policy, but I think it is important to clarify to anyone considering using AMA exactly how we will and will not use your site data:

1. We will never share your site data with a third party unless in an aggregate and non-identifiable format.

2. We may use analytics data to optimize and improve the performance of the AdMob advertising network.  If you are running AdMob campaigns, we may optimize your advertising based on conversion data. Optimization is done entirely by machine algorithms, not by human review.

3.  General AdMob employees will not be able to access your data unless you give them explicit access as a site owner using the “Account Access” feature.  In limited cases, AdMob engineers and technical staff may view certain data for quality or maintenance purposes.

4. You may discontinue use of AdMob Mobile Analytics at anytime. No further analytics data will be collected after you disable or remove the code from your site.

We’re happy to answer any specific questions you may have and welcome all feedback as we continue to improve AMA over the coming months.  Just send us an email: analytics@admob.com.

Jason M
Senior Director of Product Management

Since launching our iPhone network just a couple weeks ago, we’ve seen an incredible amount of interest from both developers looking to monetize their web & native apps as well as advertisers looking to reach iPhone users. Our new iPhone ad unit has eight possible actions, including downloading an application from the App Store, watching video content on YouTube, or opening a custom canvas allowing a user to engage with an advertiser’s message without leaving the current page.

You can learn more on the iPhone portion of our site, or directly experience AdMob’s iPhone ads on your iPhone at http://iphone.admob.com/iphone. Please note – this url won’t display ads when viewed from the PC web and it must be viewed from an iPhone with 2.0 firmware.

We’re excited about the possibilities to reach iPhone users in new and engaging ways. Enjoy!

Tony

VP of Sales

Today we released our July Mobile Metrics Report.  This report will help you see trends in the mobile ecosystem.  It will help you better understand who is using the mobile web and which devices are getting the most use.  Each month the report breaks down manufacturer, device and country-specific data based on ad requests from our thousands of mobile publishers around the world.

This month the Metrics report focuses on Africa, highlighting traffic and handset data in the top markets of South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and Tanzania.  From Q1′08 to Q2′08, AdMob’s mobile web traffic across Africa increased 21%, with particularly strong growth in Nigeria and Egypt.  Although South Africa still represents over 50% of impressions, mobile Web traffic in Africa is rapidly becoming more diverse.  Nokia dominates the market with a 51% share of traffic, followed by Samsung with 20%.

This month, for the first time, the report includes mobile browser share.  Nokia and Openwave are the top browsers worldwide with 34% and 29% share, respectively.  Globally Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, Palm, and Safari (Apple) all had less than 5% market share.   Nearly half of Windows Mobile traffic came from HTC devices such as the Dash and the Touch.

This month we also added Philippines to the Metrics report due to continuing strong growth in mobile Web usage in the country.  In the Philippines 34% of traffic comes from Smartphones, and over 20% of traffic comes from devices with XL screen size, both metrics significantly higher than other countries.  Interestingly, the Sony PlayStation Portable and iPod touch are both in the Top 20 devices.

Send us an email at metrics@admob.com if you would like to sign up for to receive the monthly newsletter or have any feedback on the report.

Jason Spero
VP Marketing

We’ve just launched two new products (mobile analytics and iPhone ads) that really point to the general direction that AdMob is going.  We’re working very hard to become much more than an ad network (although we’re pretty good at it), and truly deliver on our mission of providing the business models, services, tools, and data fundamental to the development and growth of the mobile internet.

By its very nature this mission means that we have to do more than be an advertising provider, and we have  to take a deeper look at the problems that are impeding the growth of the mobile web from the perspective of advertisers and publishers, but also users.

We’re excited to get these new products out the door, and see what people do with them.  We’re also very interested in seeing how this company will evolve to serve everyone who participates in the growth of the mobile internet.  Fun times

- Omar

The debate in Silicon Valley around the future of mobile browsing - the “full” vs. mobile web - takes as a given that user activity on the mobile internet is set to explode. The debate here in India is different, focused on the more basic question of whether it will reach a broad audience at all in the near-term. Media owners are, by and large, skeptical, and in any case assume that all revenue models “mobile” will be tied to the operators unto eternity.

It’s against this context that ecosystem experts invariably raise their eyebrows when they read that AdMob serves over 300 million ads per month to Indian users on non-carrier mobile websites. The numbers are significant because they suggest that India’s off-deck mobile web activity, along with the market for mobile advertising, have already hit a crescendo.

As in South Africa, many of the sites Indian users are visiting today are internationally-based, and that very well may be because local content simply isn’t available: of India’s top 10 internet sites (according to current Alexa rankings), only Rediff, Cricinfo, and MoneyControl have deployed full-fledged mobile versions (the latter two are AdMob publishers). The opportunity presented to media owners and entrepreneurs, then, is clear: invest in creating a strong mobile web presence today and you’ll have the opportunity to build a technology, traffic, and monetization advantage now and into the future.

If you’d like to work with us in India as a publisher or advertiser/agency, drop us a line: india@admob.com.

-Zubair Jandali
Mumbai, India