Google Generates More $ Than the Entire U.S. Print Industry

In the first six months of 2012, Google brought in more revenue than the entire US print industry - 20.8 billion vs. 19.2 billion. This is an obvious sign that organizations are focusing more than ever on digital advertising over printed ad formats. Now I'm a browser-thumping Internet evangelist if there ever was one, but even I am impressed by these numbers. It's amazing to consider that Google is bringing in more revenue than an entire 200+ year-old industry sector.

The chart below from Statista's Felix Richter tells the story.

We're seeing this in ArcStone's microcosm as well. Various online advertising tactics like pay per click, affiliate advertising, video advertising, ads on social media sites and others have become a vital part of many of our clients' marketing plans. I can't think of a single marketing campaign we run that is optimization only; most now contain a mix of advertising, optimization and content creation.

If you're interested in learning about advertising on Google, the best place to start is on adwords.google.com. There are a ton of tutorials and it's fairly easy to get started. One of my favorite descriptions of the basics of Google pay per click strategy is in Tim Ferris's The Four Hour Work Week. He lays out the basic concepts in an entertaining an easy-t- understand way. Or (a shameless commercial plug) - you could always give us a call. One of our certified experts will happily give you a guided tour :).