Smaato, a mobile-ad optimization startup, has released its latest “Mobile Advertising Metrics Report” for January, in which it compares leading mobile OSs and their ad-based click-through rates, among other unique metrics.
Last month’s report indicated that Symbian was the top mobile OS in terms of click-throughs, with Apple a close second, and Android in third place, but this month’s report paints a rather different picture. Based on an average index of 100, January’s metrics show Android’s click-through rate was 163, up from just 65 in December.
Apple’s click-through rate dropped slightly from 119 in December to 104 for January, while Symbian remained the leader overall with 173. Android has already bumped Apple from its #2 spot, and is only 10 shy of Symbian, showing just how far Android has come in a short period of time.
New to the report this month was a unique metric defining the average response time from ad-networks worldwide, or fill rates to be more specific, which stood at 256 milliseconds (MS). Out of the 16 networks compared, the fastest time was 43 milliseconds, compared to the slowest, which stood at a lagging 887 milliseconds.
The biggest take-away of the report is obviously the progress Android is making in the mobile-ad scene. Smaato attributes much of its growth to the influx of Android devices hitting the market quickly, such as the high-profile Nexus One and Motorola Droid, as well as the numerous operator-branded handsets that emerge everyday it seems.
It’s interesting to note that Smaato’s metrics are based upon 35 mobile ad networks and over 4 billion ad requests served in the Smaato Network of more than 2,300 registered mobile publishers, so while it’s definitely interesting metrics to build-on, the data is slightly skewed by not taking into account the entire ecosystem. Still, it’s clear that Android is moving up the ranks quickly, but Apple’s intended integration of Quattro will change things substantially.
