Media execs are fretting over "sluggish" domestic ad spending, but Google execs are remarkably unconcerned about a potential slowdown -- even though advertising makes up roughly 99 percent of the company's revenue.
Speaking at a UBS media conference in New York, Nick Fox, a business product manager at Google was pretty dismissive of whether a potential downturn could affect Google.
"We've studied this quite closely," said Fox. "We're actually resilient to sector performances. . . When the mortgage business was very weak, we saw a pick up in other sectors -- such as foreclosure options."
Fox added that although he couldn't comment specifically on the current quarter, "fourth-quarter tends to be a very attractive time quite late" for advertising.
"Roughly after Thanksgiving we see conversion rates spike dramatically," Fox said. "When people click, they tend to purchase much more rapidly in the November-December time frame . . . it's a lucrative time for advertisers."
Photo: Flickr/Mr. Thomas
