Googles paid clicks fall further

Google has suffered another slump in paid clicks during the second quarter, dropping 1% on the previous period. It comes as the internet company acquires a Russian contextual ad company Begun for $140m (£70.1m).

Google’s paid clicks were up 19% year-on-year, but this is down from the 30% year-on-year rise in paid clicks Google recorded in the fourth quarter in 2007. It is also the second quarter in a row Google’s paid clicks have fallen.

The company also reported a 39% year-on-year increase in revenue to $5.37bn, while net income increased to $1.25bn from $925m in the same period last year.

Google says the acquisition of Begun from Rambler Media reflect its commitment “to improving the service it offers users, partners and advertisers in Russia, where digital advertising is currently experiencing rapid growth.” Google also announced that it has signed an agreement for Rambler Internet to use Google’s search and contextual advertising technology, through AdSense for Search and AdSense for Content services, on the rambler.ru portal.