Research recently carried out by Google has found that different computing devices are commonly used at varying times of the day.
During working hours, in the day time, users mostly use desktop computers. In contrast to this, tablet devices such as the iPad and Android Tab, which are also becoming quite popular, are used mostly in the late evening or night time.
Smartphones and other mobile phones are used at a fairly steady pace throughout the day. This means that people make use of mobiles when they are at work, at home and also when they are traveling to and from home or work.
Percentage of day’s queries by hour from tablet, mobile and desktops
What is most striking about this finding is the fact that even though tablets are portable devices, just like smartphones, they are used mostly in the leisure and comfort of one’s home, while it is the mobile phone that gets used at work as well as on the go.
These findings are especially useful to advertisers, who may be wondering which screen is the most effective when trying to reach a target audience at a particular time of the day.
The most logical inference is that all the screens are important, as each one fulfills a particular requirement, and is used at a different time for a different purpose. Hence, it would be best for advertisers to make use of all the types of screens in order to reach the maximum possible number of users and create maximum brand awareness. That said, different messaging could be used when targeting each device type, while keeping in mind the typical time of day when such a device is likely to be used.
