Forget the Computer Age or the Internet Age, centuries from
now our current time will probably be referred to as the
Google Age. This assumption is not exactly a great leap of
faith; Google has quickly permeated into mainstream culture
to become an underlying factor of everyday life, a tightly
woven backdrop to our lives.
But never make the mistake of trying to define Google as
just a search engine or you will miss the true calling of
this little "Backrub", which was the original name used by
its founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1996.
Google as we now know it debuted in 1998. The name Google
is a twist on the word Googol, a number represented as 1
followed by 100 zeros. After everything is said and done,
it will more than likely refer to Google's net worth -
monetary or otherwise.
But forget search engine, for regardless of the founders'
intentions or company's objectives, Google is and has
always been the ultimate marketing machine. A massive
marketing machine that is just now gearing up and aiming
for more and more lofty heights. These heights seem to
increase each day as Google quietly rolls out program after
program.
All noble ambitions aside, Google is the perfect marketing
machine. Google has no equals, and it is very close to
getting a stranglehold on the real power behind all
marketing, which is information.
Marketing is information. Information is marketing.
Great marketing is supplying the right information at the
right time. Google more than any other entity on the web or
in the world, for that matter, fulfills this criterion at
its very core. Google is re-writing the book on how
products are marketed.
Google now has over 60% of the search traffic in the U.S.,
with a staggering 7.3 billion monthly searches. In some
countries Google's search share is 80% or more. (Source:
comScore) Those webmasters who have number one keyword
listings in all three of the major search engines will know
Google is the only game worth playing because it delivers
by far the most traffic.
While MSN and Yahoo! are still major players and are listed
in the top 5 traffic sites on the web, what most people
don't realize is that (unlike the other two) almost all of
Google's traffic is search traffic. From a marketing
perspective this is extremely important since search
traffic can deliver the highest conversions (sales) mainly
because it lets you capture the potential customer or
client when they are in the right mindset to buy or to
perform an action.
Obviously the key to successful marketing is finding the
buyers and clients for your products and services. Google
has forged itself as the ultimate "middleman" as more and
more of the world's business is performed in cyberspace.
And as everyone knows the "middleman" can reap huge profits
and hold enormous power.
Google, within its Adsense program, now offers CPA or Cost
Per Action where marketers can now receive larger returns
for displaying Google's links on their webpages. As any
professional marketer will tell you, you can get 10 times
the revenue by promoting affiliate products rather than the
Adsense code on your sites. But by adding CPA and other
affiliate products within the Adsense program, Google has
made it more attractive to serious online marketers.
Another step in that same direction is Google's acquisition
of DoubleClick, which includes the massive online affiliate
marketing network Performics. This means Google can now
bring any customer full-circle from initial search to
checkout.
This may have dire consequences for large, lucrative
third-party affiliate networks like Commission Junction and
LinkShare. Online marketing and ecommerce is growing at a
blistering rate, and the company that controls the majority
of these transactions will wield enormous power. Will make
the Medici look like paupers.
Those marketers who have managed to acquire number one
listings for their targeted keywords in Google's organic
search are smiling all the way to the bank. Mainly because
Google commands enormous trust with the surfing/buying
public and this is demonstrated through higher conversion
rates. Likewise, those who have mastered the Adsense and
Adwords programs will know Google is an excellent source of
online income.
Most of the complaints against Google stems from its
PageRank system, which is supposed to be Google's version
of online democracy in action, a link is a vote for your
page or content. The higher the number of links, the higher
your page will be ranked in Google's index or SERPs -
Search Engine Results Pages.
So far Google has played fair, giving even the smallest
webmaster the opportunity to capture top Google listings if
they produce superior or popular content to the surfer.
Some would even argue Google's recent crackdown on sites
offering paid-links can be seen as evening the playing
field for the small webmaster or marketer who obviously
doesn't have the economic clout or resources to buy their
way to the top of Google's listings.
Keyword rankings may be the ultimate equalizer and
determiner of online wealth. Those who can reach the top
positions for their chosen profitable niche keywords will
have companies and service providers lining up to do
business with them. The fallout can prove extremely
lucrative for both parties.
However, few marketers or webmasters forget who is really
holding the cards; Google controls all steps along this
marketing tunnel with its search listings, Adwords and
Adsense programs. The only dark spot on the horizon could
be monopoly issues, but Google probably has enough
reservoirs of public goodwill and deep enough corporate
pockets to squash any claims.
As Google's dominance in the search market becomes greater,
Google will have control of all segments of the online
marketplace. Why should Google stop there, why not go into
Radio, TV... as the Internet gradually mutates into a
billion+ interactive TV channel universe (as many believe
it will) who do you think will be at control central
offering you a nice free remote?
Then there is also Google's planned broadband 700 MHz bid;
one can only speculate on Google's intentions. But Google
must find a way to transmit its information at no cost to
its users. Could it mean free wireless Internet for
everyone on free Google boxes or gadgets of some form,
usable and accessible anywhere in the world? Anything is
possible because the stakes are so astronomical and the
marketing revenue so vast, Google must get its information
seamlessly and instantly to the end user at all costs.
One can only guess at the enormity of the marketing power
Google will yield in coming years as the Internet slips out
of its teen years. But it won't be just marketing, the
influence of Google on all aspects of our lives will
probably grow exponentially and that influence will be huge.
For the true power of Google is only just now beginning to
be glimpsed; only as more and more of the Google pieces
fall into place will we truly fathom what life will be like
in the Google Age. Google's power, reverence and respect
will no doubt be so enormous it may lead some to make
comparisons to a higher power that has guided most of the
life on this planet so far. Which could also lead one to
muse, at least they got the first two letters correct.
----------------------------------------------------
The author, a former artist and teacher, is now a full-time
online marketer who has numerous websites, including two
sites on Internet marketing. For the latest web marketing
tools try: http://www.bizwaremagic.com
or http://www.marketingtoolguide.com
2008 Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed
if this resource box stays attached.
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