How Google makes money from mobile products

The Google Mobile Product Report Card
Mobile Advertising
Google Adwords: A
Location Extensions: B+
Call Extensions: A
Google Offers: C
Google Admob: B+

Killer Mobile Apps
Google Maps: A+
Google Now: A-
Google+ Local: A-
Google Play Books: C+
Google Wallet: B
Google Voice: B
Google Shopper: B+
Google Goggles: A

Mobile Devices
Android: A+
Motorola: C+
Chrome(mobile): A
Google Class: TBD

Mobile Content
YouTube: A+
Google Play: B+

* Grades are based on quality, market adoption, value to users, value to marketers, originality, and other factors.

Mobile Advertising

Google AdWords
Google AdWords is Google’s online ad servicing platform used by millions of advertisers worldwide.
How users use it: Users click on ads that are relevant to their searches.
How it makes Google money: New Enhanced Campaigns make it easier than ever to create and manage mobile-optimized advertising strategies.
Grade: A
AdWords provides powerful mobile targeting options and ROI reporting tools.

Location Extensions
Google’s location extension ad feature lets AdWords users add a business address, phone number and map to advertisements.
How users use it: Users get the information they really need from the ad – location is key for mobile users on the move, so the map extension feature makes it easy to see just how close a nearby business is.
How it makes Google money: Location extensions are great for mobile ads and are likely to improve CTRs, especially when combined with Clock-to-Call.
Grade: B
A solid ad extension that makes the most of a searcher’s location to deliver the best possible ads.

Click-to-Call Extensions
The Click-to-Call feature is an ad extension that lets businesses add a clickable phone number to their ads on mobile devices.
How users use it: Click-to-Call lets mobile users call a business directly from its ad, making it easy to connect with businesses while on the go.
How it makes Google money: This ad feature improves clicks on mobile devices by an average of 6-8%. Mobile searchers are usually much further down the purchasing path and click-to-call lets advertisements meet the user’s need more efficiently.
Grade: A
Everybody wins here: Users get what they need as soon as possible and advertisers, especially local businesses, get better results.

Google Offers
Mobile discounts that can be redeemed at brick and mortar stores or online.
How users use it: Google’s answer to Groupon, Living Social and Amazon Local deals. Google offers emphasizes with which offers can be redeemed on a mobile device.
How it makes Google money: Businesses posting an offer through Google must pay the toll, as with other deal sites. For advertisements, there is risk involved. Deal sites raise brand awareness, but can bring swarms of one-time customers that put the unprepared out of business.
Grade: C
Google Offers is fairly unremarkable, existing comfortably in the mold set by preceding deal site. Will new “Offer Ad Extensions” fare any better?

AdMob by Google
AdMob is Google’s mobile advertising platform specifically designed for mobile apps.
How users use it: AdMob is an annoyance for users, with constant ad interruptions during gameplay, but on the upside, it enables developers to offer games for free, letting them make revenue from advertisement instead.
How it makes Google money: Advertisers pay Google to use AdMob as a platform for promoting their app within other, existing apps. Alternatively, an app can generate revenue, even when it is free, by letting other apps advertise in-game. Either way Google takes a cut.
Grade: B+
AdMob was created fairly recently to monetize the mobile app industry and it does its job well.