One interesting detail from Google’s Q4 earnings call that we didn’t cover in our write-up yesterday: Google’s very happy so far with the uptake in cost per acquisition pricing, which lets marketers name what a conversion’s worth to them rather than what click’s worth.
“That’s really gotten strong adoption, particularly among our larger clients, and we’re really excited about that,” said Larry Page.
It’s healthy and necessary for Google to diversify its ad formats and pricing models, especially in light of shakiness in its overall click volume and massive consolidation of display ad inventory (to the tune of 59 percent of all display ads) that could happen under a combined Yahoo/Microsoft. Google’s share of display ads meanwhile barely registers by comparison at one percent of the overall pie, Nielsen says.