While it may be a little over the top to suggest that Google has taken over the Internet there is no doubt that Google leads where the rest follow. This is a company which has seen its adjusted share price increase from $50 up to $800 plus in less than a decade. Just when the markets start to write off the company it becomes back with a refreshing and innovative services giving analysts much to look forward to. So, how did Google manage to take over the Internet and leave other more established companies in its wake?
Search engines
While the likes of Microsoft and Yahoo were for many years the leading search engines around the world both of them lost their way. At this moment the new kid on the block in the shape of Google took advantage of lost momentum, confused business objectives and the slow reaction to market changes. Very quickly the company became “trendy” and even today many people prefer to ask “Mr Google” when they have a question.
As Google became stronger, investing heavily in search engine services and new algorithms, Microsoft in the shape of Bing and Yahoo simply could not respond. While not as drastic, it does have a similar ring to the battle between Facebook (the new kid on the social media block) and MySpace which was pummelled into submission by Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg. It is interesting to see that the likes of Facebook and Google have never really gone head-to-head although each has tried in the past to infiltrate the others main market with minimal success.
Online advertising
As Google continued to dominate the search engine industry it began to control the way people operated and designed their websites. The main breakthrough came when the company launched its online advertising services Google Adwords and Google AdSense. The opportunity to create long-term income streams was too good an offer to refuse for many website/company owners and they all began to sign up to Google’s digital advertising service. This is still the most popular advertising channel today although recently a number of high profile customers have temporarily suspended their campaigns until Google addresses the problem of adverts appearing on inappropriate and extremist websites.
There is no suggestion that Google got lazy with regards to problem adverts but perhaps the full extent of the problem is only just emerging. The company has been forced to apologise for these issues and significant investment has been put aside to address the problems. It may take some time for customers to return but ultimately if Google dictates the majority of Internet search engine traffic then customers who recently suspended their campaigns will eventually be forced to return.
Diversification
Google has diversified into a whole array of different areas such as autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence. There have been many more secret and public investments by Google and like most successful investors the company has regularly “buried its dead at night”. This is an investment term used whereby companies quietly eject unsuccessful investments with minimal fuss and minimal media coverage.
There are concerns that Google is now so entrenched as the leader of the Internet that it would be difficult for any existing or new company in the future to make a credible challenge. However, we could see a repeat of the Microsoft issue which has seen the company dragged through courts in Europe and around the world because of its influence in various sectors. Microsoft Windows has been the main cause of regulatory concern amid suggestions that the software was effectively barring other software companies from competing. We have seen some legal actions against Google by various regulators around the world but so far they have not really come to anything.
However, history shows us that politicians regularly assist useful companies in their early days, nurture them but when they become too powerful in their own right they like to bring them down.