Apple spends $1M per month on Google AdWords - report

A leaked internal document from Google shows how much companies spend with the search giant on AdWords, and Apple is listed as investing nearly $1 million in a one-month span.

The document, obtained by AdAge, gives a glimpse into the value of search-related advertisements through the Internet's most popular search provider. Apple was said to have spent "just under $1 million" in one month, which is the same amount as chipmaker Intel.

If June is representative of Apple's average, then the Cupertino, Calif., company spends under $12 million on search-related advertisements with Google every year.

Just 47 advertisers spent over $1 million in the month of June on Google's AdWords advertising network. Another 71 companies spent between $500,000 and $1 million, while 357 spent between $100,000 and $500,000.

Among the top 1,500 advertisers, most — 1,356 — opted to spend between $10,000 and $100,000.

Google's biggest advertiser in June was Apple's exclusive wireless carrier partner in the U.S., AT&T, which made a big push for the iPhone 4 launch. The company spent $8.08 million on AdWords for the month.

The report noted that AT&T is the third-largest advertiser in the U.S., and the carrier spent a total of $2.8 billion in 2009.

The data shows that some of the largest companies do not necessarily spend a great deal with Google when compared with their peers. Major brands like Disney, of which Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs is majority shareholder, spent less than on AdWords $500,000 in June.

Google declined to comment on the figures. It said it was looking into the fact that someone leaked confidential information about its clients, and would take action accordingly.

Apple, in its 2009 Form 10-K filing with the SEC, revealed that it spent a total of $501 million in advertising last year. While the company spends considerably less than some of its rivals, like Microsoft, Apple's ad campaigns are often seen as extremely effective and sometimes become pop culture phenomena.

Late last year, Adweek named Apple's recently concluded "Get a Mac" advertisements the best ad campaign of the decade. Competitors have often parodied Apple's ads in an effort to cash in on the company's buzz.