The booming mobile search advertising will grow 112 percent within five years, making it imperative for market leader Google to take steps to defend itself against a search-hungry Microsoft, according to an analyst from The Kelsey Group and reported by PC Magazine.

The article goes on to say that the slowdown in traditional search engine growth "is one of the reasons mobile search advertising sales will balloon from $33.2 million this year to $1.4 billion by 2012," said analyst Matt Booth in the report.

This will likely lead to Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo attacking the mobile ad market, especially as growth in traditional advertising continues to slow down. All three companies have various mobile strategies in play in addition to their mobile search engines, such as mobile e-mail apps, phone operating systems, and more. But while Google has the lead in ad revenue on the desktop, all three are still jockeying for position in the mobile space.

Mobile Search Ad Growth Stokes Google-Microsoft Fires [PC Magazine]