Internet Marketing In The Age Of Google
Copyright (c) 2008 Titus Hoskins
Bizware Magic
http://www.bizwaremagic.com
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.
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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:
Internet Marketing Tools (http://www.bizwaremagic.com) or
Marketing Tool Guide (http://www.marketingtoolguide.com)
Copyright © 2008 Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely
distributed if this resource box stays attached.
