Google is improving ads different ways, including creating new ad formats that allow advertisers to include more useful information. Like, say, a clickable phone number in mobile ads. "One of our customers," Rosenberg says, "Carnival Cruises, increased bookings from mobile phones by 175% when they included click-to-call ads."

If you're like me, you're thinking, "Well, duh!" But this just highlights how much there is to learn (and how quickly things change) in the online and mobile ad industries.

Two trends
Management is seeing a couple of major shifts among big-time advertisers. First, traditional brand advertisers like Procter & Gamble "are embracing search and search advertising as a way to build their brands online." P&G is one of Google's top ad buyers.

Second, there's a trend toward more integrated, major campaigns. "Integrated" simply means utilizing ads across the Google spectrum: display (YouTube, Google Finance, Gmail, etc.), mobile, and search. During the World Cup, for example, P&G, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Coca-Cola, Visa, and Nike all utilized this strategy and even combined online ads with their television and print buying.

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