BUSINESS BLOGS
BUSINESS BLOGS
category: business
05 Oct 2007

One thing stood out in the IAB’s report that online ads clocked in over $10B in the US alone.

How much went to Google?

Google generated $3.66B in Q1 2007 revenues and $3.871B in Q2 2007, that’s $7.531B.

Its Q1 revenues grew 63% compared to the first quarter of 2006.

Its Q2 revenues represented a 58% increase over second quarter 2006 revenues of $2.46 billion and a 6% increase over first quarter 2007 revenues of $3.66 billion.

Anyway, in the first 6 months, Google did $7.531B in sales. Q3 is slow for display/banner sales because, well, a lot of people are on vacation and the summer effect kicks in, only entertainment (think new movie releases) really see a spike in advertising. But with Google, I don’t think that will really be the case. Q4, we know, is always blowout quarter.

By my calculations, Google will do well over $15B in 2007.

Bear in mind, Google’s:

- 2002 revenues grew 409%
- 2003 revenues grew 234%
- 2004 revenues grew 118%
- 2005 revenues grew 92%
- 2006 revenues grew 67%.

CNN got it right (this was posted last week, so I hope so!):

Most of Google’s ad revenue, which is expected to exceed $15 billion this year, currently comes through online searches and Web pages viewed on personal computers connected to the Internet. [source]

Then can someone tell me why all of these analysts got the numbers so wrong?

[source]

Mind you, that poll was done in March 2006… which is another reminder of why outside-analysts will usually get the numbers wrong. As early as Q3 2006, I was calling for Google to hit $15B on the assumption that its 2006 revenues would probably be 70% growth (it did 67%) and that 2007 would be at least 50% higher than 2006. Do I get a sticker, at least?

Anyway, onto the question: how much did Google account for in the US?

Last year, it was reported that $1 out of every $4 of online advertising spent in the US went through Google. Not search, that was much more, we’re talking all online advertising.

If you consider that Google did $7.531B in Q1 and Q2, and all online advertising was $10B, and that Google’s global sales

- represented 48% of total revenues in the second quarter of 2007, or $1.75B

- represented 47% of total revenues in the first quarter of 2007, or $1.81B.

The math suggests that Google did $3.57B from global, and (oh-oh) $7.531-$3.57 = $3.97 Billion in the US in Q1 andQ2.

How much was online ad spending in the first half of 2007 again?

Right, “for the first six months of 2007 were nearly $10 billion”, not even $10B.

If my math is correct, the for the love of all things holy, Google accounted for nearly 40% of US online ads in Q1 and Q2?

Wow, maybe Google will be worth more than MSFT by 2010.

And good thing Google didn’t sell, after all.