In the midst of ILM West happenings, call measurement ad provider Telmetrics announced today that it’s bringing its m.Call platform to iOS.

M.Call gives local search publishers and app developers the ability to capture data around the phone calls they’re generating. Notably it does this without the need for traditional call tracking numbers.

This works with both search and mobile banner ads, and app publishers embed it via plug-in. Tracking IDs are then used to measure call volume and details for advertiser numbers and/or call buttons included within ad units.

Stepping back, this is an important move as it brings m.Call to the place often referred to as the “develop first” platform, among top mobile publishers. As we’ll discuss tomorrow at the conference, this is also where a great deal of search is happening (in-app).

The point is that it gives mobile app developers another powerful tool to monetize apps where a great deal of high-intent based local searches are happening among demographically attractive and buying empowered segments.

And of course there are lots of advertisers, per our LCM data, that prefer phone calls to clicks. This will continue to develop on mobile where ad formats are evolving and many local players we talk to are looking at calls as a key source of monetization.