A surge in searching

ItÔÇÖs crisis, what crisis? for online search engine Google, which has defied the credit crunch to post a 26 percent rise in profits for the third quarter. ┬á┬á┬á  Google recorded earnings of $1.35 billion in the third quarter of 2008, outstripping analysts' expectations. The company attributed the growth to its core online search and advertising businesses. ┬á┬á Quarterly revenue, including commissions to affiliated advertisers, rose 31 percent to $5.54 billion. ┬á┬á GoogleÔÇÖs chief executive Eric Schmidt said he does not expect the company to be immune from the financial crisis but remained optimistic about the future. "While we are realistic about the poor state of the global economy, we will continue to manage Google for the long term," he said. ┬á┬á In August, Google controlled 63 percent of US online searchesÔÇödouble that of its two closest rivals, Yahoo! and Microsoft. ┬á┬á Search engine advertising is a key marketing tool, as paid-for advertisements often appear relating to the item being searched, meaning that the searcher is already interested in that subject. It is also cheaper than other forms of marketing.┬á┬á┬á*┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á