Remember how a recession is actually a good thing for Google? Not in January 2008, it wasn't. ComScore estimates that Google users clicked on 532 million paid links in January 2008 — about as many as they clicked on in January 2007. If the numbers are right, Google's year-over-year growth was flat and its revenue actually declined 12 percent since October 2007.

Silicon Alley Insider's Henry Blodget points out that some Google bulls don't believe ComScore's metrics. "While ComScore click-through data for GOOG was reasonably accurate last quarter, it has not been historically," one analyst wished upon a star. (Photo by Lance McCord)

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