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subject: Internet Marketing In The Age Of Google [print this page]

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. gxgxgx

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.

by: Arnulfo Schnakenberg

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