Google claims $1 billion impact in Minnesota last year

Article by: STEVE ALEXANDER , Star Tribune
Updated: May 17, 2011 - 5:03 PM

The search engine says its ads provide lots of economic activity in the state.

12
comments
resize text
print
buy reprints

Tweet
share

email
Email share

your name

your email

recipients email

+ add a comment add a comment

Google says it provided $1 billion worth of economic activity in Minnesota last year as a result of its search and advertising services for 28,000 state businesses.

The information is contained in a Google-created report of company-related economic activity by state (see tinyurl.com/3hwf4zd.)

For the U.S., Google said it generated $64 billion of economic activity in 2010. The numbers, admittedly estimates, are based on the average number of clicks that a company receives on Google search results and Google ads.

Google's calculations are based on the assumption that every $1 spent on Google advertising generates $8 in profit as a result of clicks on the ad itself and on the customer's link in Google search results.

Google's report says it generated $643 million in economic activity in Wisconsin last year, $130 million in Iowa, $28 million in South Dakota and $23 million in North Dakota. It's biggest self-claimed impact: $15.2 billion in California.

Steve Alexander • 612-673-4553