Google’s tremendous advertising revenues have left a bitter taste in the mouths of its competitors. The strong hold that it has on the Internet may have inspired various dictionary publications to legitimize the word “google” as a verb but this monopoly that the search engine giant enjoys is not only worrying but angering other companies.
Moreover, it is constantly changing and tweaking its searching and web ranking algorithms so that Google’s services are displayed more prominently in search results instead of websites by other companies. This is directing highly profitable traffic and advertising revenues away from competitors. The level of success that it enjoys had made the company an omnipresent brand and it often enjoys more than 90% of the search engine markets in most countries.
Advertisers, companies, marketers, content writers, SEO experts, etc. usually take into consideration only Google search engine algorithms when creating web content because, to be honest, search result of other search engines do not matter too much as only a small percentage of the population do not google. Many governments are also reviewing and probing Google’s information storage methods and privacy policies, especially that of Google Earth and Street View.
Information is very hard to get off Google
The search engine company’s privacy and data storage policies are causing problems for individual users too as once information goes up on the Internet, it will show up in search results for years to come. This is a problem faced by many companies too as one customer’s angry rant against the company can show up in search results for the company, discouraging potential customers away. E-commerce companies often lose a lot of revenue this way as one bad review of any of their products or services cannot be easily removed even after logging several complaints with the search engine giant. For example; if a doctor has faced a lawsuit – no matter how frivolous or how long ago – and has changed the state he/she is practising in, public records of the lawsuit and all its sordid details can show up in search results harming his/her practise. Even silly and embarrassing posts on social networks and blogs against ordinary citizens can last for years in Google database.
Print publishing industry is suffering
Experts predict that Google will earn more than $13 billion this year only from search ads. Not surprisingly, on the other hand advertising in print media industry has very few takers. Online advertising is often free and quick whereas taking out an advertisement on one page of a newspaper can set you back by a couple of hundred dollars. Ebooks are becoming more popular and some publishing houses even prefer them over paperbacks and hardcovers. Paper and printing are expensive and publishing eBooks reduces the cost to publish titles to the masses. It is also much easier to correct mistakes in online publications. This is why eBooks have become very popular among authors as they do not need the backing of a publishing house to release their work.
Google may be a boon for educators, students, researchers, writers etc. but its monopolizing ways is striking fear in the hearts of marketers, advertisers, businesses, publishers and its competitors. We have to wait and watch to see if any other company can compete with Google and eat away at its market share.