CHANTILLY, Va. – Mobile local search volume will surpass desktop local search for the first time in 2015, according to BIA/Kelsey. By 2016, the firm expects mobile local search to exceed desktop local search by more than 27 billion annual queries.

“Among the drivers of mobile local search is the fact that it happens further down the purchase funnel, compared with desktop search,” said Michael Boland, senior analyst and program director, Mobile Local Media, BIA/Kelsey. “We’re seeing that play out in the growth of local query volume, and in performance metrics like clickthrough rates.”

As mobile local search queries rise, so will related advertising revenues. BIA/Kelsey forecasts mobile local search revenues to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 160.4 percent, from $400 million in 2011 to $3.2 billion in 2016. During the same period, desktop local search revenues will grow from $5.7 billion to $10.2 billion (CAGR: 12.1 percent).

“It’s important to note that while mobile local search volume will exceed its desktop equivalent, ad dollars will remain lower,” said Boland, “This is because advertisers aren’t yet keeping pace with the growth of mobile local ad inventory, but we expect that to evolve.”

The mobile local media opportunity will frame the agenda for a new one-day conference by BIA/Kelsey. Mobile Local Media San Francisco (MLM San Francisco) will take place June 27 at the Mission Bay Conference Center at the University of California San Francisco. The program will draw from BIA/Kelsey’s forthcoming forecast for mobile local media and from the firm’s Mobile Local Media and Social Local Media advisory services. MLM San Francisco will gather the industry’s top strategists to consider questions such as:

• What are the near- and long-term opportunities at the intersection of mobile, local and social (SoLoMo)?
• What are the best practices in building and launching mobile products?
• What has changed in local advertising in the post-PC era?
• What are the ways mobile is developing into shopping, commerce and payment utilities?
• How do traditional media and start-ups play into this ecosystem?

Conference details, including speaker and agenda updates, sponsorship information, venue information and online registration, are available at www.biakelsey.com/mlmsf.

About BIA/Kelsey

BIA/Kelsey advises companies in the local media space through consulting and valuation services, research, Continuous Advisory Services and conferences. Since 1983 BIA/Kelsey has been a resource to the media, mobile advertising, telecommunications, Yellow Pages and electronic directory markets, as well as to government agencies, law firms and investment companies looking to understand trends and revenue drivers. BIA/Kelsey’s annual conferences draw executives from across industries seeking expert guidance on how companies are finding innovative ways to grow. Additional information is available at http://www.biakelsey.com, on the company’s Local Media Watch blog, Twitter (http://twitter.com/BIAKelsey) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/biakelsey).