Android seems to be in the spotlight more than ever these days, surpassing Apple in activations, mobile Web browsing and other important categories. According to new data from Chitika, Android now beats the iPhone on yet another vital front — mobile advertising CTR.
In a break down of iOS vs. Android mobile-ad click rates provided by Chitika, Android users clicked on ads 81% more frequently than iPhone users, signaling an important milestone as Google and Apple continue to battle on the mobile advertising front. Granted this is just one of many mobile ad-networks (Chitika), but it’s interesting nonetheless.
What’s interesting about the research is that the CTR for iOS includes the iPad, which is much higher than iPhones, but still less than on Android devices. The data shows the iPad with an average CTR of 1.010%, the iPhone with .654% and Android with a leading 1.187%. With a slew of Android-based devices hitting shelves in the coming months, Android’s overall CTR will undoubtedly rise even more.
This is also bad news for iAd, which has been hit with bad press recently regarding everything from Apple’s tight control over the creative process, to a lack of supporting analytics and even big-name brands dropping their iAd strategy altogether. In the end, it comes down to reach. Android is being put on numerous devices while Apple’s iOS will always be limited to Apple hardware. With more users, there’s more mobile ads being served, which aways equates to higher CTRs on average. Either way, the battle between Google and Apple rages on.
