We posted a blog last week (by yours truly) that offered some practical guidelines for how the other half (or in this case over 90%) uses their mobile phones. I quoted a couple of statistics in that article that may make you think mobile integration with marketing is still a far-off concept, one that’s only taken hold in the Japanese market (Google says over 30% of all searches in Japan are from mobile devices). But while this is true, and while mobile use in the US is still low, it has still grown 107% since January 2008, according to ComScore. So while we may not have flying cars by 2015, we will have close to 100% of people using mobile phones with data service.

Half of you are probably thinking, “So, I’ve got six years, that’s plenty of time!” while the other half is probably wondering, “What does this have to do with search?” I’ll answer both questions in one statement:

There is a first-mover advantage for companies that invest in mobile marketing now.

Notice I said nothing about search. With no disrespect meant to my esteemed colleagues who argue that “new channels” like social and mobile “don’t really help SEO,” I say:

Anyone who thinks these channels are about SEO just doesn’t get it.

It’s about marketing, not about ten blue links on an HTML page or where you rank on Google. The future of search is quite literally in your hands. That mobile device you carry around with you is someday going to be your concierge, your map, your lifeline – if it’s not already.

The most successful companies will be the ones who focus on creating better mobile experiences for their users.

The most successful companies in the year 2015 will be the ones who saw this revolution coming: the ones who weren’t drawn in by the false excitement of WAP technology and widgets, the ones who focused on creating a better mobile experience for their customers. Notice I didn’t say the ones who built the coolest app. You need to cater to your potential customers’ needs – whether that involves improved usability on a mobile device, ads in the right places on map software, real time updates on availability and location, or simply making sure your business is listed when someone calls GOOG-411.

You may be overwhelmed by the options available, and ask, “Where do I start?” Again, I have a one statement answer:

Keyword-Driven Marketing.

If you haven’t yet checked out KDM, you should. It’s the philosophy behind all communication; the ultimate explanation of the encoding/decoding process that you learned about back in COM 101. In short, all marketing is conducted with keywords, whether they are explicit (as in the case of a search query) or implied (like the keywords that represent videos and images). By observing your customers’ interaction and interpreting their actions, you can discover what their intent was behind any search, click or call. This is where you start.

Observe your customers and try to determine what they are really looking for. Are you an airline who’s already built a simple mobile site that allows people to check flight schedules? Maybe your customers want an application that sends real-time updates (via data or text) to their phones anytime within 24 hours of their next flight. Are you next door to the hot new restaurant? Maybe you want to run an ad that appears whenever a patron unsuccessfully tries to get a reservation there, letting them know that you do have a table. Maybe you want to limit that ad to people who are in the vicinity (which you can find out via GPS).

Mobile marketing applies to everyone.

Finally, accept that mobile marketing applies to everyone. Maybe you’re not a local business. Maybe you sell enterprise CRM software. You might think that mobile isn’t for you. But you would be wrong. Because right now, the busy business executive is the person with the iPhone. Maybe you should connect up with that airline and see if you can run an ad for your software next to the first class passengers’ flight schedule updates.

Maybe if you start taking advantage of mobile marketing now, you can be the person who invents the flying car in 2015. Because “where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”

Jenny Halasz is Director, KDM Operations at Acronym Media.