Short Takes: Mobile Is a $2.5 Bil. Business for Google

Google’s focus on mobile appears to be paying off. The firm’s revenues from non-desktop devices reached a run rate of $2.5 billion during the third quarter, its CEO Larry Page told investors today, representing 150 percent growth over the $1 billion rate it announced for the same period last year.

Revenues don’t reflect profits, of course, but that increase at least demonstrates advertisers’ willingness to invest in the channel.

When asked, Page declined to disclose what portion of mobile revenues were garnered from search versus display, though. Despite the hype around rich media and other mobile ad formats, the fact remains that the majority of marketers’ mobile budgets are still being directed to search. As a result, Google’s numbers give little insight into the growth of the overall mobile ad market.

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