Google released first-quarter 2011 earnings Thursday. Revenue rose to $8.58 billion, up 27% compared with the year-ago quarter. Profits hit $2.3 billion -- up from $1.96 billion reported in the first
quarter of 2010, but down from $2.54 billion, sequentially.
This is its first earnings report under Google CEO and Founder Larry Page.
The sites owned by Google generated $5.88 billion,
or 69% of total revenue, in the first quarter of 2011 -- representing a 32% increase compared with first-quarter 2010 revenue of $4.44 billion. Partner sites generated revenues through AdSense
programs of $2.43 billion, or 28% of total revenue, in the first quarter of 2011. This represents a 19% increase from first-quarter 2010 network revenues of $2.04 billion.
Aggregate paid clicks
from search campaigns, which include clicks related to ads served on Google sites and the sites of its AdSense partners, rose 18% compared with the year-ago quarter and up 4% sequentially. The average
cost-per-click (CPC), which includes clicks related to ads served on Google sites and the sites of its AdSense partners, increased 8% over the first quarter of 2010 and fell 1% over the fourth quarter
of 2010.
Google said traffic Acquisition Costs -- the portion of revenue shared with Google's partners -- rose to $2.04 billion in the first quarter of 2011, compared with TAC of $1.71 billion in
the first quarter of 2010. TAC as a percentage of advertising revenues was 25% in the first quarter of 2011, compared to 26% in the first quarter of 2010.