• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, January 22, 2013

Fragmentation continues to complicate search marketing campaigns as an onslaught of new mobile gadgets makes audience segmentation and bidding for specific operating systems (OS) and device types more important.

adMarketplace changed that Tuesday with the release of a feature that allows search marketers to segment paid-search bids. The company now allows search marketers to target bids on ads based on mobile device types and OSs. Fragmentation requires more thought and sophisticated technology for targeting. The data in the ad request identifies the device type and OS. Marketers bid for ad placement, and pay for clicks.

The platform, Advertiser 3D, supports desktop, tablet, and smartphone targeting. But more importantly, it provides more specific optimization options -- about a dozen device types and operating systems. The tool analyzes changing consumer behavior and performance data based on the device to adjust bids as needed.

"Google and Bing let you target devices by campaign, but to price devices differently you literally have to set up a separate campaign for every device," said Adam Epstein, adMarketplace president and COO. "Pricing is key because our performance data -- and everyone else's as well -- shows clicks from mobile devices have a lower conversion rate, and thus lower value and price, compared with clicks from desktops."

Epstein said this is similar to how adMarketplace manages traffic sources. Advertisers can adjust bids by top-level publishers, or drill down into ad placements by publisher.

Companies like Mazda have begun to use Advertiser 3D for desktop and mobile campaigns. In July 2012, Garage Team Mazda partnered with adMarketplace to expand local search campaigns to improve engagement and lead generation.

The company tracked performance using five key performance indicators (KPIs): requests for quotes, locate closest dealer, search inventory, build your Mazda, and compare vehicles.

adMarketplace analysts not only optimized each KPI separately -- they also determined how each geographic region may behave and how it requires its own unique optimization strategy. After gathering enough actionable performance data for each local campaign, analysts focused campaign budgets and volume on the top-performing sources.

It turns out that adMarketplace delivered 38.1% additional conversions at 2.6% less cost than Google’s search partner network, and a 29.2% conversion rate versus 27.6%, respectively, according to the company.