Speaking at the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) Mobile Engage 2011 on Tuesday (14 June), EMEA Head of Mobile for Google Ian Carrington disclosed that most brands working with Google are not ready for the mobile explosion.

Carrington told the audience that 79% of the brands that Google worked with at a global level do not have mobile-optimized sites. “They were already missing out on such a big opportunity in terms of mobile commerce,” he warned.

The digital advertising veteran said that brands were falling short in the performance of their mobiles sites, citing problems like being difficult to navigate, and brands not having a well-thought-out strategy.

However, Carrington also mentioned some examples of mobile websites that stood out from the crowd for the right reasons. Amazon, eBay, House of Fraser, and Marks and Spencer – which he cited as being “easy to navigate” and a “simple drop-down site” – are some of them.

At the end of the speech, he concluded that brands with non-optimized mobile website should learn from those leading retailers.