谷歌廣告價格下滑又怎么樣？

????大家請冷靜，谷歌（Google）活得好好的。

????上周三，隨著谷歌發布了第一季度財務。如果只是通過媒體的報道，大家可能認為全球最大的搜索巨頭谷歌或許陷入了麻煩。谷歌今年第一季度的營收入為154億美元，高于去年同期的129.5億美元；同時盈利34.5億美元，也略高于去年同期。

????但是這兩組數據還是沒有達到華爾街的預期，有一部分原因是由于谷歌的在線廣告收入正在下降【本季度谷歌的平均“每次點擊定價”（CPC）降低了9%】，而谷歌最大的財源就是在線廣告收入。谷歌的股價因此也產生了波動，同時媒體紛紛稱谷歌的財務季報“令人失望”。這一切似乎更加證明了谷歌正在經歷“增長的陣痛”，或曰“衰落”。

????究竟是什么導致谷歌的在線廣告收入降低了？主要原因是消費者從臺式電腦向移動設備的迅速轉變。據紐約數字營銷研究機構eMarketer的數據，今年全球智能手機用戶人數還將增長22%，達到17.5億人，到2016年將達20.3億，2017年將達到22.8億。

????谷歌等高度依賴在線廣告收入的大型網絡公司已經非常擅于打造針對臺式電腦的廣告，但到了移動時代，他們卻尚未掌握做好移動廣告的訣竅。他們顯然已經看到了移動市場快速增長的潛力，但是還沒有找到最好的辦法在移動平臺上發揮自己的優勢。谷歌的業務總監尼科什?阿羅拉在上周三的收益電話會議上也承認了這個事實。

????不過阿羅拉很樂觀，他認為移動廣告的定價最終將超過傳統電腦廣告的定價。他在收益電話會議上表示：“從中長期看來，移動廣告的定價一定會超過電腦廣告的定價?！彼瑫r還提到了一些移動設備上獨有的工具，比如在移動設備時代，在GPS技術的幫助下，可以根據用戶的地理位置更加精確地打廣告。

????對于谷歌來說，現實是，一旦有人弄明白怎樣在小屏幕的智能手機上以最好的方式向用戶打廣告，谷歌同其它任何公司相比，肯定將是最容易從移動廣告中受益的一個——可能只有Facebook是個例外。另外，盡管谷歌的CPC定價有所下降，但其它網絡公司也遭遇了同樣的問題，而且有些公司面臨的問題要遠比谷歌嚴重。根據數字營銷公司Ignition One統計，今年第一季度，移動搜索廣告的平均CPC定價下跌了35%，相比之下，谷歌的CPC定價只小幅下跌了9%。

????截止上周三股市收盤，谷歌股價當日實際上升了1個百分點，并沒有下降。

????從傳統臺式電腦向移動平臺的轉，可能給了谷歌充分的理由進一步開發其它收入流。比如谷歌的“其它”收入來源——YouTube、Android和Chrome等，目前為谷歌貢獻的收益可能剛剛超過10%，但這個數字比去年同期攀升了48%，達到15.5億美元。同時它也可以刺激谷歌避免做出沒有效果的投資，比如谷歌今年一月同意將兩年前以1200萬美元收購的摩托羅拉智能手機部門以291萬美元的價格賣給聯想。

????但是在可見的將來，谷歌最大的收益來源仍將是廣告收入。

????高德納研究公司的副總裁安德魯?弗蘭克認為，考慮到谷歌已經在在線廣告領域占據了統治地位，“我認為他們仍然必須要堅持發展移動廣告?！备ヌm克還認為，今天較低的移動廣告價格只是暫時現象，“它們未來只會繼續上漲?！?財富中文網)

????譯者：樸成奎

????Simmer down, folks. Google is doing just fine.

????Judging from media coverage this Wednesday following Google's (GOOG) first-quarter results, you'd be forgiven for thinking the world's largest Internet search provider is in hot water. Google reported first-quarter revenues of $15.4 billion, up from $12.95 billion the same period last year, while earnings came in at $3.45 billion, also up slightly from last year.

????But those numbers fell short of Wall Street's targets, based in part on the ongoing decline of Google's revenue from online ads, which account for the lion's share of company earnings. (The average "cost per click," or CPC, for instance, declined 9% this quarter.) That, in turn, caused Google's share price to fluctuate and set the media buzzing with talk of "disappointing" financial results, and more proof that Google is experiencing "growing pains," or is experiencing a "slump."

????The culprit behind lower ad prices?The rapid, tumultuous shift from desktop to mobile. According to New York-based digital marketing research firm eMarketer, the number of smartphone users worldwide will grow 22% to 1.75 billion this year, rising to 2.03 billion in 2015 and 2.28 billion the year after.

????Businesses like Google that rely heavily on ad revenue already have desktop ads down to a science, but mobile advertising, which has cropped up in recent years, has remained tricky. They certainly see the potential in the rapidly growing mobile market, but haven't yet figured out the best way to use mobile to their advantage -- a reality Nikesh Arora, Google's chief business officer, acknowledged during Wednesday's earnings call.

????Arora is bullish, arguing that mobile ad pricing will eventually surpass that of the desktop: "In the medium- to long-term, mobile pricing has to be better than desktop pricing," Arora said during the call, referring to mobile-unique tools, such as more accurate targeting of ads based on a user's location, thanks to GPS technology.

????The reality for Google is that, despite a rocky transition, it more than any other company -- with the possible exception of Facebook (FB) -- stands to benefit from mobile advertising once everyone figures out the best way to engage with users on smaller screens. Besides, while Google's CPC pricing is suffering, so is everyone else's, and some are faring much worse. According to digital marketing company Ignition One, the average CPC for search advertising on mobile plunged 35% during the first quarter of this year, compared with Google's more modest 9% decline.

????As for Wand after the market closed Wednesday, Google shares actually ended up almost 1% for the day and not down, as some outlets had suggested.

????The transition to mobile might give Google reason to further develop other revenue streams. For instance, the company's "other" revenue source -- a business segment that includes YouTube, Android, and Chrome -- may account for just over 10% of current revenues, but it also climbed 48% year over year to $1.55 billion. The shift could also spur the company to duck out of investments that aren't panning out, as Google did when it agreed this January to sell the Motorola smartphone unit to Lenovo for $2.91 million after purchasing it for over $12 million less than two years prior.

????But for the foreseeable future, Google's massive revenue driver will remain advertising.

????Given Google's already dominant position in the space, "I think they have to stay the course when it comes to the mobile advertising," explained Andrew Frank, vice president at Gartner Research. And like Arora, Frank predicts today's lower mobile ad prices are a temporary deal: "They can only go up," he added.