Google’s total ad revenue surged 33% to $61.2 billion in 2021’s fourth quarter, exceeding analysts’ consensus forecast by 4%, reports MediaPost.

The post adds that “Search advertising leapt 35% to hit $43 billion, and Google’s YouTube gained 25%, to reach $8.6 billion.

“Retail led the ad gains, with the media, travel and finance categories also seeing large increases, the company reported on Tuesday.

“YouTube’s quarterly ad dollar gain surpassed Netflix’s $7.7 billion in subscription revenue in the quarter, although Netflix’s full-year revenue of $29.8 billion still outstripped YouTube’s $28.85 billion.

“Still, YouTube’s growth (the numbers don’t include YouTube TV, YouTube Music or YouTube Premium) fell slightly short of analysts’ consensus expectation of an $8.7 billion gain.

“Now up against the formidable growth of TikTok, Google’s daily active user base remained at 15 billion at year’s end, unchanged since last July.”

More here.

PHOTO: Colorful bike in front of  Googleplex in Mountain View, CA.