Strong Ads, Partnerships Nearly Double Google ProfitsStrong Ads, Partnerships Nearly Double Google Profits

Google on Thursday reported $2.69 billion in revenue for the third quarter, up 70% from the year-ago quarter and 10% more than its previous quarter.

Google's profit, $733 million, or $2.36 a share, was almost twice what Google reported in the same quarter a year ago, $381 million, or $1.32 a share.

"Our third quarter results are a testament to the strength of our network of advertisers and partners, as well as our continuing focus on users," Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, said in a statement. "We were particularly pleased with the contributions of our international business in a seasonally weaker quarter. In addition, we continued to forge significant partnerships with companies such as eBay, Fox Interactive Media, and Intuit that will be of great value to all involved."

In conjunction with its rising profits, Google continues to gain search market share. Google's share of online searches in the United States rose from 44.1% in August to 45.1% in September, according to online metrics company ComScore. During the same period, Yahoo slipped from 28.7% to 28.1%, and Microsoft declined from 12.5% to 11.9%. Ask rose from 5.5% to 5.8%.

Google's results showed that the company is becoming more adept at monetizing its own properties, as opposed to relying on partners for advertising income. Google-owned sites brought in $1.63 billion in the third quarter of this year, an 84% year-over-year increase. Google's revenue from AdSense partners was $1.04 billion during the same period, a 54% increase from Q3 2005.