AdWords has been around how long? Just over 15 years, according to Google. To celebrate, the company has released a commemorative infographic to remind us all just what things were like in search back then, and the journey we’ve taken together since.
When it emerged from a one-month beta trial in October 2000, AdWords had about 350 advertisers (there are now over a million globally). What’s more, Google.com then received around 20 million searches a day, but the company now provides results for more than three billion searches a day (over half of them coming from mobile devices).
Speaking of mobile devices, here’s a thought to ponder — back then, Nokia and Palm were amongst the five most searched brands.
Why should you care?
Who doesn’t like birthdays? Quite apart from the cards and presents, it’s an opportune time to reflect on years past, and those that lie ahead.
For Google, monetising mobile search as successfully as it has desktop search represents a challenge. So, too, does reducing its dependency on AdWords to provide the majority of the company’s revenue.
We look forward to AdWords’ 20th birthday, and reading about all that’s gone on over the next five years.
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Jeremy is a Partner and Senior Consultant at SureFire. Jeremy has been working in search since 1996, when he joined the Australian search engine, LookSmart. After relocating to San Francisco, he was instrumental in the development of the company’s paid search ad platform. At analytics company Coremetrics (now owned by IBM) he established an in-house search agency managing campaigns for Coremetrics clients such as Macy’s, Bass Pro and Lands End. At Acxiom he managed members of the pioneering SEO firm Marketleap and worked with clients such as Capital One, American General Finance and Kaiser Health. Joining SureFire in 2009, he is the head of Paid Search Advertising and oversees the delivery of AdWords and other PPC campaigns. He also helps clients make sense of their website data.
