Google generated $37.9 billion in revenue during 2011, a 29% increase compared with the previous year. Revenue from advertising also increased 29% year-over-year to total $36.5 billion, contributing 96% of Google’s overall revenue. The company increased its spending on sales and marketing by 62% compared with the previous year to $4.5 billion.
Revenue from advertising on Google-owned sites increased 34% to $26.1 billion for the year. Google recorded $9.7 billion in net income, up 14% compared with its 2010 net income.
Google’s fourth-quarter advertising revenue hit $10.2 billion, a 25% increase when compared with the same period last year. The quarter’s fourth quarter revenue from ads appearing on Google-owned sites rose 29% year-over-year to $7.3 billion.
Consumers clicked on 34% more Google-served ads in Q4 compared with the same period last year. The average cost advertisers pay for each click fell 8% year-over-year and 8% compared with the previous quarter.
“Google had a really strong quarter ending a great year,” said Google CEO Larry Page in an earnings statement. “Full-year revenue was up 29%, and our quarterly revenue blew past the $10 billion mark for the first time. I am super-excited about the growth of Android, Gmail, and Google+, which now has 90 million users globally — well over double what I announced just three months ago.”
Also during the fourth quarter, Google paid $2 billion to advertisers that use its AdSense product to run search and display ads on the company’s network of third-party sites, an increase of 16% compared with the prior year.
Google closed the year with 32,467 full-time employees. All Things D reported on Jan. 18 that Google expanded the role of commerce VP Stephanie Tilenius to a more global role. Tilenius oversaw the development of Google’s Wallet and Offers products unveiled last May. A PayPal employee before joining Google in 2010, Tilenius was sued by her former employer for breach of contract after the Wallet and Offers unveiling.
