Alphabet, the parent company of Google, reported first-quarter earnings that exceeded analysts’ estimates. The boost came from a pick-up in advertising.

First-quarter revenue came in at $55.3 billion, with Google Search at $31.8 billion, Google Cloud revenue at $4.05 billion, and YouTube ads at $6.01 billion.

Google advertising revenue was expected to jump 25%, compared with the same period last year.

YouTube ads were anticipated to have grown by 42% to $5.8 billion. 

“Over the last year, people have turned to Google Search and many online services to stay informed, connected and entertained,” stated Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet. “We’ve continued our focus on delivering trusted services to help people around the world. Our Cloud services are helping businesses, big and small, accelerate their digital transformations.”

Earlier this month, Pew Research released a report that said YouTube saw the most significant growth of any social media app among American users during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company grew in usage from 73% of U.S. adults in 2019 to 81% in 2021.