Searches on Mobile All the Smartphones Are Doing It These DaysMobile is grabbing a bigger share of everything these days — including searches.

News just out from research firm Merkle I RKG shows that mobile upped its share of paid search clicks 6 percent in North America between Q4 2013 and Q4 2014.

That’s a boost from a third of searches to almost 40 percent. The increase, noted the company, was the result of smartphones, “which accounted for more than one-fifth of clicks in Q4 2014, up from 16 percent during the same period the year prior.”

“Meanwhile, after rising 2 percentage points between Q4 2013 and Q1 2014, tablets’ share of paid search clicks held steady at 18 percent,” said eMarketer. “As a result of this plateau, smartphones passed tablets in portion of paid search clicks in Q2 2014 and widened the gap over the next two quarters.”

Regarding revenue, mobile netted 30 percent of paid search dollars in Q4 2014. While tablets grabbed the lion’s share of expenditure, it was the result of advertisers’ greatly discounted bids on phone traffic compared with desktops and tablets, according to RKG.

Now, new mobile devices with much bigger screens entice 20 percent of paid search spend.

“Mobile search is no longer just for browsers—search engine apps offer consumers another way to find information,” suggests eMarketer. “But December research by Harris Poll for the Interactive Advertising Bureau found that the web was still the area of focus for mobile searchers. Among U.S. smartphone owners, 42 percent said they preferred to use mobile browsers when searching, vs. just 20 percent who said the same for mobile apps.”