Data from ComScore released to Wall Street analysts indicates that Google’s paid clicks in February rose only 3% compared with the same month a year earlier. Paid Search is Google’s Primary revenue source, when search users click on a sponsored-search result, generating revenue from the company’s advertising customers.
So what does this mean for Paid Search advertisers?
Google’s 25% growth rate in the final quarter may have harkened Google’s growth from new to emerging media, but the slowing of the income growth rate is not a sign that Google advertisers are slowing down.
Google dominates the U.S. search market, delivering sponsored search results relevant enough for users to actually click on them. Search is the driving force behind Google’s success. The February paid-click figures from comScore could reinforce the perception that Google is feeling the effects of the recent troubles in the broader economy, but really it is a sign that Google realizes that while it matures into mainstream media, it still has some refining to do.
ComScore even made it a point to come back and clarify for Wall Street what those of us on the Google Highway already know…
…Google’s quality improvements, known as a “Google Dance,” account for the drop-off in paid click growth. Unlike the housing boom, Google is taking time to reflect, improve, and solidify it’s position as the top dog in the world of search.
