# How do search engines make money?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-search-engines-make-money/274671>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 14, 2004, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-search-engines-make-money/274671 "2004-11-14T05:51:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2004, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-search-engines-make-money/274671/1 "2004-11-14T05:51:44Z")

</div>

Microsoft has a new one; Google is on the stock exchange; AOL is starting one.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2004, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-search-engines-make-money/274671/2 "2004-11-14T05:53:45Z")

</div>

Google sells advertising, and a large portion of their revenue comes from licensing search technology to corporate and government clients who use it internally.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2004, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-search-engines-make-money/274671/3 "2004-11-14T08:45:05Z")

</div>

By selling the info you give them to other businesses.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![aahala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@aahala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aahala)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2004, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-search-engines-make-money/274671/4 "2004-11-14T14:35:27Z")

</div>

It’s the Google T-shirts.😃

> **[Google Store](https://store.google.com/?utm_source=googlestore&utm_medium=redirect&utm_campaign=store-brand&hl=en-US)**
>
> Shop the latest Google devices

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-search-engines-make-money/274671/5 "2004-11-14T14:48:24Z")

</div>

> [@ouryL](#):
>
> By selling the info you give them to other businesses.

What info would that be?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2004, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-search-engines-make-money/274671/6 "2004-11-14T14:59:38Z")

</div>

Google in specific sells [AdWords](https://adwords.google.com/select/), which are a kind of Holy Grail for admen: They buy the privilege of having their brief text-only ad appear in the small ad boxes around the main search results whenever the Google engine trawls for specific keywords they select. This allows them to run very focused campaigns that don’t piss people off with massive blitzes or huge annoying popups or flash ads or GIGANTIC BLINKING BANNERS. Especially since more and more people are blocking such things completely.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2004, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-search-engines-make-money/274671/7 "2004-11-14T16:29:55Z")

</div>

> [@Derleth](#):
>
> Google in specific sells [AdWords](https://adwords.google.com/select/), which are a kind of Holy Grail for admen: They buy the privilege of having their brief text-only ad appear in the small ad boxes around the main search results whenever the Google engine trawls for specific keywords they select. This allows them to run very focused campaigns that don’t piss people off with massive blitzes or huge annoying popups or flash ads or GIGANTIC BLINKING BANNERS. Especially since more and more people are blocking such things completely.

THIS is the answer. Run any search through Google that would likely be used by someone looking to buy something (say, “travel”), and just look at all those Adwords on the page. These are pay-per-click ads. Click on one, and Google charges the seller.