U.S. Senate Calls for Thorough Google Antitrust Investigation
December 21, 2011
In June, word got out that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) planned to ramp up its investigation into Google’s position as the biggest and most powerful search engine. On Monday, the leaders of the Senate antitrust subcommittee delivered the results of their ongoing investigation to the FTC, and the results don’t look great for Google.
Of course, common sense tells you that it’s highly unlikely Google can deliver unbiased search results when its entire business strategy in recent years has been to try to make people Google-dependent by surrounding them with integrated products. The launch of the +1 button and Google+ don’t help Google’s case at all.
The subcommittee said as much in its letter to the FTC:
“Google has a strong incentive to bias its search results in favor of its own offerings. Rather than act as an honest broker of unbiased search results, Google’s search results appear to favor the company’s own web products and services.”
You can read the full letter to the FTC here.
Google’s response was exactly what you’d expect. The company spokesperson glossed over the importance of the investigation by saying people have a choice in the search engine they use and Google is “committed to competing fairly on the Internet’s level playing field.”
This story is far from over, and it’s a very important one. The results of the investigation could be widespread in the United States and around the world. Earlier this month, the Financial Times reported that the European Commission is expected to release a 400-page document detailing its own antitrust allegations against Google in early 2012.
The problem that the U.S. Senate subcommittee and the FTC have with Google is not its dominance in Web search. The problem is in Google’s possible use of its position as market leader to drive people who use its search tool to its own products and services rather than providing unbiased results that put all websites and competitors through the same ranking criteria and on a level competitive playing field. Doing so without clearly disclosing it would be a violation of antitrust laws. Antitrust laws are intended to protect the free market by prohibiting anti-competitive behaviors and business practices for the benefit of consumers.
What do you think about these investigations against Google? Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment and share your thoughts about the company and brand that has become a household word for Internet search and allegations of antitrust law violations.
Image: Flickr
Google+ vs. Facebook: Which Brand Will Win in 2012 and Beyond?
December 15, 2011
In 2011, the battle between Google and Facebook really picked up. Google+ just might be the tool that Google needs to compete with Facebook and its 800 million users. Or is it?
Before we go any further, remember that Google+ is new, and there is certainly much more to come for the social network owned by the biggest and most powerful search engine in the world.
Google’s goal is to integrate all of its products so consumers have no need to use products from any other company to complete their online activities. Therefore, it’s safe to assume that Google+ is the next step in Google’s larger strategic paln, and the site will likely become a central focus from which all Google applications and products can be used. Google wants to use personal data and online behavior to connect consumers more deeply to the entire suite of Google products making people Google-dependent.
And of course, there’s all that social data that can be extracted from Google+ user behaviors. Those social signals will undoubtedly play a part in Google search results in the future as Google’s +1 button already seems to be doing in some search engine optimization tests. For brands and businesses, the new Direct Connect search tool for Google+ brand pages is just one more way that the Google social networking site is playing a roll in search results.
On the other hand, Facebook’s goal to date has been extremely focused. The site’s mission to create the world’s open social graph with features and tools that make it easy for people to connect with friends and acquaintances, has expanded to include new opportunities. However, the core goal has remained the same.
Of course, monetization has become a priority, and with the speculated 2012 IPO, it can be presumed that Facebook will change a bit in the coming years in order to continually deliver increased shareholder value. Facebook’s goal will undoubtedly evolve, but it’s unlikely that the core focus of using personal data and activities to open advertising opportunities will shift significantly in the future.
What do you think 2012 holds for the Google+ vs. Facebook battle? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.
Image: Flickr
Google and Apple Keep Stealing Market Share from RIM (and All the Rest)
November 10, 2011
Things aren’t looking good for Research in Motion (RIM) as far as the smartphone market is concerned. Recently, comScore released data related to the U.S. smartphone market that paints a grim picture for the maker of BlackBerry.
According to comScore, Google and Apple continue to steal market share from competitors in the smartphone market, namely RIM, Microsoft, and Symbian in the United States.
Check out the numbers below to see how these competitors fared in the fight for market share between June 2011 to September 2011:
- Google: 44.8% market share (up 4.6%)
- Apple: 27.4% market share (up 0.8%)
- RIM: 18.9% market share (down 4.6%)
- Microsoft: 5.6% market share (down 0.2%)
- Symbian: 1.8% market share (down 0.2%)
There is no doubt which brands are dominating the smartphone market, and it seems unlikely that this trend will change anytime soon. For companies and brands looking to pursue mobile marketing initiatives, this data is very important. It tells you which platforms to focus on for exposure to more of the 234 million Americans over the age of 13 who own smartphones.
However, there is more to this story than smartphone platform market share. comScore also keeps track of the activities that people engage in with their smartphones. The number of mobile subscribers using their smartphones for more than just making phone calls continues to increase as the data below shows:
- Sent text message to another phone: 71.1% of mobile subscribers as of September 2011 (up 1.5% from June 2011)
- Used browser: 42.9% of mobile subscribers (up 2.8%)
- Used downloaded apps: 42.5% of mobile subscribers (up 3.0%)
- Accessed social networking site or blog: 31.5% of mobile subscribers (up 2.4%)
- Played games: 28.8% of mobile subscribers (up 1.9%)
- Listened to music on mobile phone: 20.9% (up 1.9%)
The fastest growing mobile activities according to this study are using downloaded apps, using a web browser, and accessing social networking sites or blogs. Get out your creative thinking caps, because there are opportunities waiting for you to promote your brand via mobile marketing.
Mobile apps, mobile-friendly websites, Facebook pages, and brand blogs are just a few ways you could be connecting with the active mobile audience. Their mobile engagement is only going to continue to grow, so you need to make sure your brand is mobile before it’s too late!
Image: Flickr
Google+ Pages Open for Brands and Businesses
November 8, 2011
Just a few months ago, Google kicked brands, businesses, bands, and other non-personal profiles off of Google+ with a message that they’d be welcome back soon with something specifically created for them. That day has come.
Today, Google announced the worldwide launch of Google+ Pages giving brands, businesses, and the like a place on the fast growing social site. In a blog post on the Official Google Blog, Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice President of Engineering, stated that any business or organization, “will soon be able to join the community,” by creating their own Google+ Pages.
A number of bands, entertainers, nonprofit organizations, brands, and businesses have already created Google+ Pages, including Toyota, Pepsi, H&M, Save the Children UK, and more.
Not only can businesses and brands use Google+ to connect with existing and potential consumers around the world, but they can also use Google+ features like circles to segment groups of customers for targeted communications, hangouts to speak directly with their followers, and sparks to monitor conversations.
Google+ Pages will be integrated with other Google products such as AdWords for campaign tracking, and a verification process will be put in place for well-known brands to ensure people find the verified brand or business page rather than an imposter.
To coincide with the launch of Google+ Pages, Google also announced the launch of Direct Connect, which will enable people to search Google for a brand name preceded by a + sign (for example, +Toyota) and get an instant connection to that brand’s Google+ Page where they can instantly add the brand to their own account and go directly to the brand’s Google+ Page. Check out the video below to see how it will work.
Google continually teases both consumers and investors about more features coming for Google+, so we’ll have to wait and see what’s next. Google’s goal is clearly not to have the best stand-alone social networking site with Google+ but to integrate its varied products so closely that people become completely dependent on them — like a one-stop-shopping solution to more things than we can probably imagine.
What do you think of Google+ Pages and Direct Connect?
5 Companies Control 64% of Global Digital Ad Spending
November 2, 2011
Digital marketer Darren Herman published some statistics related to digital ad spending on his blog last week that give an interesting perspective towhat’s happening in the world of online advertising these days.
According to his research, five companies controlled 64% of the $64 billion in revenue generated from digital advertising in 2010 (per ZenithOptimedia).
Here is the 2010 advertising revenue breakdown by company according to Darren’s research:
- Google = $29.3 billion
- Yahoo! = $6.3 billion
- Microsoft = $2.1 billion
- Facebook = $1.9 billion
- AOL = $1.3 billion
Together, these 5 companies generated $41 billion in advertising revenue in 2010. Of course, Facebook is still fairly new to the digital advertising game, so there is no doubt that this breakdown will look very different when 2011 numbers are available.
However, Google is clearly the leader in the world of digital advertising — by a landslide. That’s not a secret, but sometimes seeing the numbers right in front of you, as they are above, is still amazing. Can one company continue to be so dominant in its industry? How long will Google live the good life? These are the questions that can only be answered by time.
It’s important to note that the figures used in Darren’s analysis might not be perfect, but they can certainly be used to demonstrate Google’s online dominance. Furthermore, Google generates most of its digital advertising revenue from its paid search advertising product. As Pareekh Jain mentions on Business Insider and explains on his blog, this part of Google’s business is dominated by the four BFSI keywords (insurance, loan, mortgage, credit), which generate 59% of its revenue.
Therefore, two things are certain: Google is a force to be reckoned with in the world of search and digital advertising, and there is room for a creative competitor to gain a foothold in the digital advertising space. A single dominant player can only remain at the top for so long.
What do you think about these numbers and the state of the digital advertising industry? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.
Image: stock.xchng
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