Traffic Acquisition Costs (TAC) -- payments to other Web sites -- rose 13.24% to $3.8 billion for the first quarter in 2016, making analysts a bit nervous. The amount comes to
about 21% of total advertising revenue. The red flag rose for analysts when the one-off deals that Google strikes to make sure that its search engine is the default option on devices like the
iPhone rose 33% year-over-year. Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat addressed the trend, saying Google's growth strategies like mobile and programmatic advertising have higher acquisition costs,
but Wall Street kept digging for details. Business Insider explains.
Read the whole story at Business Insider »