Google's announcement on Thursday, Oct. 15, that it realized a net profit of $1.64 billion in the third quarter of this year is good news not only for Google employees and shareholders but for everyone in this recession: Google's record profit suggests that better days are right around the corner.
CNN explains: "The company's ad clicks serve as a kind of barometer of consumers' willingness to spend. The more people click on ads, the more willing they are to buy things."
And for online marketers, in particular, Google's news sounds a welcome note of hope in that it indicates the resurgent strength of Internet advertising.
Google relies on online ads for almost all its revenue, and "accounts for roughly a third of all online ad spending in the United States," says Miguel Helft of The New York Times. The company's results showed 7% revenue growth YOY.
Google's rising boat signals a rising tide. CNN notes that in 3Q the number of paid clicks increased 4% from the previous quarter and rose 14% YOY.
Marketers are already responding to the brighter forecast, says Bryan Wiener, chief executive of digital marketing agency 360i.
"Now that marketers have seen the bottom, they are taking dollars off of the sidelines and plowing them into search advertising first and foremost," he is quoted in The New York Times article as saying. "We are seeing double-digit increases in budgets for 2010 from our clients.”
