Dive Brief: 

• In its third quarter earnings call, Google revealed that ad prices are dropping for the search giant even though revenue growth remains steady. 
• According to the call, Google's cost-per-click has dropped 2% while the number of clicks has increased 17%— earnings followed with a 17% growth year-over-year. 
• The cause of the problem seems to be the increase of Google ads on mobile screens and advertisers unwillingness to pay more for the smaller-screen ads. 

Dive Insight: 

While it's disappointing for Google that it can't seem to prove value in mobile ads or costs-per-click, the fact that revenue is still on the rise should bring some comfort. If trends continue, the search giant may have to switch goals from achieving a higher cost per ad and instead providing a different kind of ad or increasing number of ads purchased.