Google's main source of revenue is their AdWords advertising product. (According to Wiki) last year it brought them a staggering $23 billion. That's how much Facebook is currently valued at. Now ad Age has obtained an internal Google document that shows some of the biggest AdWords buyers for the month of June 2010, offering an insight into how Google can earn enough in a year to buy a social network with upwards of five million users.
According to the leaked document, the biggest buyers of AdWords in June included AT&T Mobility, Amazon, eBay and BP. AT&T Mobility, spent $8.08 millionon search ads to coincide with the release of the iPhone 4 and is the third-largest U.S. advertiser overall, so its Google spending is not a big surprise.
Other companies that made up the top 10 (June 2010) include:
- The University of Phoenix (Apollo Group) $6.67 million
- Expedia - $5.95 million
- Amazon - $5.85 million
- eBay - $4.25 million
- Hotels.com - $3.30 million
- JC Penney - $2.46 million
- Living Social - $2.29 million
- ADT Security - $2.19 million
Stingy companies include GM, Disney and BMW who spent less than $500,000 on Google ads. Apple spent just less than $1 million on Google ads, despite its high-profile launch of the iPhone 4 (obviously leaving AT&T to pay the bill.)
This is only a small part of the picture but it offers an interesting insight into how the search engine giants can afford to take over the world.
Source: mashable