Mobile Search Results without the Extra Fees

By Betsy Carpenter, Coordinator, Marketing & Strategic Partnerships

While everyone else is whipping out their new iPhone 3Gs, scrolling through their fancy touch screens, and ultimately have $300+ less in their wallet…I’m still getting all of my local info on the fly through Google Short Messaging Service (SMS).

While Google SMS may not be the hippest, sexiest, newest feature, it still gets the job done! Simply by texting a query to 466453 I can get movie times, weather, quick calculations… pretty much anything the fancy cell phone users are looking for only quicker.

Below is a reminder of all the services Google SMS provides on the fly.

Click to view larger image.
Google SMS Features


Google SMS is free but text charges may still apply from your carrier.

Grant Parker, Resolution Media Account Strategist, says “While all my friends are busy unlocking their iPhone, pulling up the web browser and conducting the search, I’ve already received a text response from Google with the name and number of the restaurant and am placing a call.”

Google SMS may not be the newest service in the world of mobile, but it is still efficient…and to coin an old phrase, “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.”

“New technology is not always improved technology. When it comes down to efficiency Google SMS may be the best bet.” Parker said.

For all those who may have iPhone envy, don’t fret, you are not alone.

2 comments:

Sebastian said...

I have had that number in my cell since mid 2007. It's a lifesaver. And so is Google Free Info as well.

Bryson said...

You're not alone either, Betsy. According to Nielsen, you and Grant were two of 14.1 million users who searched on their phone using SMS, making SMS search the number 2 preferred search mode behind 411 in their study. Personally I think voice search like Yahoo! oneSearch with voice and Google Maps with voice are more convenient/faster than SMS, but they're not as popular as SMS yet. To marketers, SMS is significant because SMS searchers tend to be younger (Nielsen says 33% of SMS searchers are under 25), and Yahoo! research suggests they use different queries than other mobile searchers. It also emphasizes the importance of being in the first position for mobile searches organically, as nothing below the fold is going to appear for SMS searches.

 
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