Android users learning to click

The Android mobile platform is making big gains in global click-through rates, according to Smaato’s Mobile Advertising Metrics report for June.

Android, the iPhone and BlackBerry all gained in Smaato’s worldwide CTR index. However, it was Google’s mobile platform that made the biggest gains, as it surpassed Apple to achieve the third-highest worldwide CTR of all the major platforms, behind Symbian and feature phones.

“The Smaato Metrics show a significant increase of mobile advertising performance for Android-based handhelds,” said Harald Neidhardt, cofounder and chief marketing officer of Smaato. “Android is closing the gap to Symbian-based phones and jumping way beyond the iPhone performance measured by click-through rate.”

“On a worldwide basis, Apple’s iPhone and Android are going head-to-head in CTR performance,” he said. “But Android phones from Google and other manufacturers are quickly gaining ground, especially in the USA.”

Worldwide CTR Index (Click Through Rate) by Handset Operating System

Worldwide click through rates (CTR) for June show Symbian and Feature Phones on top. They both dropped in comparison to May, but are still leading the performance metrics compared to the other operating systems. Symbian achieved a CTR Index of 144 (159 in May) and Feature Phones came to 135 (147 in May).

Android made the largest gains in the CTR Index this month, as it climbed above Apple, to third place with an Index of 58, compared to 40 in May. Interestingly, while Symbian and Feature Phones dipped, Android, iPhone, Palm and BlackBerry all saw increases.

Monthly Comparison: CTR Performance Worldwide

Symbian remains the leading OS in terms of click through rates worldwide, this month with almost three times the click through rate of iPhone. Smaato claims Symbian’s performance is partly down to the sheer number of Symbian devices compared to Apple devices, but it warns advertisers that “the iPhone is far from the be-all and end-all in mobile advertising.”

There’s pages and pages of info at Smaarto and it’s well worth a quick browse especially if you’re interested in fill rates in Europe.[ad name=”Google Text half banner advert “]