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Did Microsoft Make Google Pay Triple Rate To Mozilla?

Posted by samzenpus on from the jacking-up-the-price dept.

SharkLaser writes "Last week it was announced that Google has renewed their search deal with Mozilla. The amount Google paid to Mozilla was surprising: $300 million per year, despite the slightly falling market share of Firefox. Many took this as charity, and for the purpose of advancing the web. Now sources in the bidding process have revealed that Google's main rival in the bid was Microsoft's Bing, along with Yahoo. This bidding war was costly to Google, which is now paying 300% of what they used to, just to be Firefox's default search provider. Mozilla veteran Asa Dotzler is also giving insight into the deal between Google and Mozilla. 'Google started out as a search company. But that's not what they are today. Google's primary business is advertising. Google brought in $9.7B in revenues in Q3'11. 96% of that revenue was from ad sales. Not all traffic to Google ads is 'organic' though. To help drive ad sales, Google pays for traffic to their ads. They paid out $2.21 billion, or 24% of their ad revenues in 'Traffic Acquisition Costs.' That money goes to revenue shares with their AdSense partners and to 'distribution partners' — presumably browser makers, PC OEMs, and mobile OEMs and operators.' Google also pays shareware and freeware distributors to bundle Chrome and Google toolbar with their programs and games."

5 of 248 comments (clear)

  1. Re:You thought you were the user? by Missing.Matter · · Score: 3, Funny

    Did you think know one new that?

    Just.... wow...

  2. Re:To avoid antitrust by sglewis100 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why should we believe Microsoft supports Mac OS/X for anything but blatantly self-serving reasons, when the customers have been trodden on time and again?

    Oh come on. Even Apple only supports OS/X for blatantly self serving purposes.

  3. Re:Question by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 3, Funny

    If I'm the "product," wouldn't that mean I'm entitled to some form of compensation (preferably monetary)?

    You think they give you free access to Gmail, Chrome, etc. out of the goodness of their corporate heart?

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  4. Re:To avoid antitrust by jd · · Score: 2, Funny

    You sure? I thought it was research into novel torture techniques.

    --
    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  5. Re:To avoid antitrust by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    GP is an Apple shill, not a Microsoft shill. Put blame where it's due.

    (I'm the Microsoft shill)