Google search data reveals ad cash cows
The current antitrust lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice against Google has now revealed previously secret data on the tech giant’s most lucrative keywords and search queries. During this week’s trial, a list of Google’s 20 most profitable search terms for the week of September 22, 2018 was entered into evidence, providing a rare insight into the types of searches most profitable for the company.
According to a November 1 article from The Verge reportData shows that product and service keywords dominate the top revenue-generating searches. Apple-related terms take up three of the top five spots, with “iPhone 8,” “iPhone 8 plus,” and simply “iPhone” ranking #1, #2, and #11, respectively.
This highlights both Apple’s enormous popularity among consumers and its willingness to pay top dollar to advertise its new products at the top of search results. Other top searches were for competitive industries like insurance (“car insurance,” “auto insurance”), TV/Internet services (“direct TV,” “Hulu,” “Xfinity”), and transportation (“Uber”).
Interestingly, Google search term data doesn’t care what most people’s usual search patterns look like.
General information queries such as news, definitions, or navigation searches to find specific websites were notably absent from the top 20. According to experts, these types of searches don’t offer the same commercial intent that consumers covet. advertisers.
Although exact revenue figures have been redacted, analysts believe searches related to Apple devices likely generated tens of millions of dollars for Google during that one-week period. Terms like “car insurance” and “cheap flights” also tend to have high cost-per-click rates, meaning advertisers pay top dollar to Google every time a user clicks on their ad.
The release of Google’s most lucrative search terms offers a rare glimpse into the engine that continues to generate the bulk of the tech giant’s billions in profits. And as the antitrust lawsuit continues, experts say we could see new revelations about the search and advertising practices that are central to Google’s business model and market power.
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