Growing the Google way

Randi Abels //May 26, 2010//

Growing the Google way

Randi Abels //May 26, 2010//

Google says it generated more than $878 million in Colorado last year, part of a $54 billion economic impact nationwide.

Figures released Tuesday from the Internet giant’s first-ever economic impact report showed that 35,400 Colorado businesses benefited from its advertising. In addition, 100 Colorado nonprofits received $2.2 million in free advertising through Google Grants, Google’s in-kind donation program.

“Having an ad on Google is like having a store front on the busiest street in America,” says Claire Johnson, vice president of global online sales for Google.

Reports were calculated based on how much a company spends on Google advertising and how many search clicks the company receives from its Google ads. The report looked at Google search and AdWords, AdSense and Google Grants.

For AdWords, companies gain ad space by buying specific search words. If a floral shop in Colorado uses Google ads, they might buy the words “flowers” and “Colorado” so that their business will show up when those words are typed in.

Google estimates that a company averages an $8 return on every dollar spent on AdWords, giving even the smallest businesses a chance to compete with the big guys and grow, Johnson says.

Charles Overy, the founder of LGM, a Colorado company that provides 3-D printing software and modeling solutions, says his company initially grew by word of mouth.

“We knew that our website was not performing as it should,” he says. “AdWords allows us to instantly tune our advertising based on market trends and our budget. It also allows us to reach a global marketplace with specific products that we know are competitive in other countries.”

 With help from AdWords, LGM now exports its products to Europe and Mexico.

Google has also created jobs, both indirectly by helping businesses and directly through its Boulder office, where more than100 full-time workers focus on engineering and support for Colorado.

“Google is helping to expand business that would not have been able to exist,” Johnson says.

Read Google’s full report.

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