A first-ever economic impact report by search engine Google shows it generated $3.2 billion in economic activity in Florida in 2009.

The dollar figures were estimated by examining the economic value generated by Google Search and AdWords, Google AdSense and Google Grants last year. The company used two assumptions: First, that businesses make an average of $2 for every $1 they spend on AdWords. Second, that businesses receive an average of five clicks on their search results for every one click on their ads.

Among the report’s findings:

• There were 118,700 businesses in Florida that benefited from Google advertising, either by advertising on Google or by placing Google advertising on their websites.

• Google generated $3.2 billion of economic activity for Florida advertisers and website publishers.

• 140 Florida nonprofits benefited from Google Grants, Google’s in-kind donation program awarding free AdWords advertising, including Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Birth Defect Research for Children Inc. in Celebration, Food for the Poor in Coconut Creek and the National Alliance for Youth Sports in West Palm Beach.

• Google donated $2.69 million worth of free advertising to Florida nonprofits in 2009.

Nationwide, Google said it generated $54 billion of economic activity in 2009 for American businesses, website publishers and nonprofits.

“People think of Google first and foremost as a search engine, but it’s also an engine of economic growth for business, ” said Claire Johnson, vice president of global online sales for Google.

The complete report is available at www.google.com/economicimpact.

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