SearchEngineLand reported that Google released some data based on their mobile query growth records over the past few years and made some projections for the upcoming holiday shopping season: “44 percent of total searches for last minute gifts and store locator terms will be from mobile devices this holiday season based on historical growth rates.” In other words, Google believes that 44 percent of total search volume in the U.S. will be generated by smartphones.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project just came out with a mini-study stating that 83 percent of all American adults own a cell phone. Of these, 42 percent own a smartphone. That translates into 35 percent of all adults owning smartphones.

You can imagine what this means for online merchants and retailers in terms of their paid search and SEO programs. Since smartphones have a small screen, only the top ad positions will be seen for paid and organic listings. That means these merchants need to get their websites optimized for mobile in time for the holiday season.

When reviewing stats of the last two years’ mobile shopping patterns, Google found a statistic they describe as a “double-peak” on mobile devices. The first mobile query peak occurred around “Black Friday,” and the second one occurred the “last weekend before Christmas.”

Google found that mobile queries increased from 2009 to 2010 in much the same pattern, and they predict there will be greater volume this year, following the same double-peak pattern described above.

Google and other researchers have found that people doing searches for products and store locations on mobile phones are more likely than others without these devices to go into the store and make a purchase.

We reported research recently on the TopTenWholesale Blog indicating that consumers browse on their smartphones; however, when it comes to making a purchase, they use their tablets rather than smartphones because of the larger display with more detailed product information.

According to data from a 2011 AdMob survey, 65 percent of respondents said they used their smartphones to find a business, and then made a purchase at the store in person. There is plenty of data that backs up the theory that people use their mobiles to search and they buy in the store.

Getting back to the upcoming holiday season, AdMob research found that both smartphone and tablet users intend to start their shopping on mobile devices before Thanksgiving this year.

Using the above information, retailers can get ready for all the people who will do the better part of their holiday shopping on mobile devices, smartphones and tablets. Tablet users have been found to be more engaged and to spend more than any other type of online shoppers.

Online retailers and merchants must optimize their websites for smartphones and tablets using HTML5 and creating apps and landing pages. When it comes to paid search, Google made an important announcement that the phone numbers in paid search ads will now be clickable. Clicks on a phone number in your ads will be charged at the same rate as a click to your website. For more details, you can read the announcement on the Google blog.

For all retailers and online merchants that still do not have an optimized mobile presence: there is still time to get this done before the holidays.