14 DAY TRIAL // Google's image is probably one of its biggest assets and, even as it generates tens of billions of dollars in revenue, it’s still seen as a company that can do no wrong. But that has been changing lately especially in the eyes of regulators and government officials who are uneasy with Google’s increasing dominance on the online advertising market and the amount of data it holds about its users. Data privacy fiascos don’t help either. So, perhaps in an effort to fight some of those concerns, Google is releasing an “Economic Impact” report showing how its operations positively impacted the US economy and small businesses.
“People think of Google first and foremost as a search engine, but it’s also an engine of economic growth. In our report, we’re announcing that in 2009 we generated a total of $54 billion of economic activity for American businesses, website publishers and non-profits. Over the years people have asked us whether we could quantify our economic impact on a state level, and we’re pleased to do that for the first time with this report,” Claire Hughes Johnson, VP of Global Online Sales, explained.
The report is being made public over at google.com/economicimpact. In it, Google lists the positive impact its business had for each of the US’ 50 states. The report is packed full of data, but also singles out individual stories of small entrepreneurs that were helped by Google’s advertising options. Google says the report was issued to coincide with the National Small Business Week.
In total, Google says it helped drive $54 billion in economic activity last year in the US alone. The company goes into detail explaining how exactly it came up with the number in the video Google also created for the occasion. It remains to be seen if this move softens up the Government officials who still don’t feel too warm towards Google despite having recently approved the important AdMob acquisition.