Dive Brief:

• Merkle’s Q1 Digital Marketing Report saw an increase in mobile paid search, as reported by Search Engine Land, with smartphone clicks reaching 39%, and 57% of Google’s paid search clicks in Q1 coming from mobile.
• At the same time, Google’s cost-per-click fell 6%. 
• Yahoo’s search ad spending is falling across both the Gemini and Bing ad platforms, and the report cited the loss of the one-time traffic boost of becoming the default Firefox browser search provider in 2014 as a reason for the decline. The report also mentioned the pending sale of all, or part, of Yahoo’s business as a backdrop for the poor results.

Dive Insight:

According to the report, "Google search ads continued to deliver strong performance in Q1 2016, as the renewed wave of mobile growth that kicked off in late 2015 remains the key driver of year-over-year (Y/Y) Google trends."

In terms of paid search, Google Shopping Ads were up 41%, and text ads up 13%. Combined spend across Bing Ads and Yahoo's Gemini slipped 10%, while clicks fell 14% and cost-per-click up 4%.

The report also explains that in the third quarter of 2015, Google started showing more ads at the top of search results on mobile -- a move that has more than doubled the rate of mobile click growth. "This influx of mobile ad volume is driving average cost per click (CPC) lower and cannibalizing organic search visits, but it is ultimately propelling Google search spending to a six-quarter high," the report reads.

All in all, Merkle’s report made it clear that Google still holds the high ground in paid search advertising. And as product listing ads consistently fuel growth, mobile and search partners are seeing the benefits.