GoogleNet
1.
Industry Background
In the highly competitive high-tech industry, the only formula for success is
innovation and Google has implemented this strategy better than anyone in its field.
Google is rapidly expanding beyond its core function of being an internet search service.
In fact, Google encourages its engineers to spend 20% of their work time developing
independent projects.
This is something that Google’s top competitors Yahoo and
Microsoft are definitely aware of and are taking measures to beat Google in this emerging
vicious three-way battle for net supremacy.
1.1
Competitive Analysis
-Microsoft
“These Google guys, they want to be billionaires and rock stars and go to conferences
and all that. Let's see if they still want to run the business in two or three years." Bill
Gates1 Unfortunatley for Bill Gates, Google is definitely serious about its company and
now Microsoft realizes the high threat Google poses.
When Google launched its search engine, Microsoft believed that the company
was only steping into its search territory. But now, after seven years, Google has become
the leading search engine for many internet users; Google is perceived to be “the only
1
Vogelstein, Fred “Gates VS Google: Search and Destroy”, Fortune, 1st Oct 2005
<http://www.fortune.com/fortune/technology/articles/0,15114,1050065-6,00.html>
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search engine that matters”2. In addition, Microsoft has seen this company grow into the
place that they ruled for so many years: software. Google’s software is compatible with
any internet browser that allows the user to search the web and the user’s desktop.
Moreover, Google has released GMail, where users can send e-mails and have 1 gigabyte
of space whereas, Microsoft’s Hotmail, which also offers free e-mail, only has 250
megabytes of space. In addition, Google has also launched the Picasa software that
always users to manage, edit, and send digital photographs. Most recently, with the
launch of Google desktop, there have been fewer users of the Windows start button
search. Google desktop allows users to search for documents, photos, music files, e-mail,
and with that being said, it is important to note that these are just a few of Google’s
accomplishments over the years. Importantly, all these programs can be used without
applications from Microsoft. 3
Interestingly enough, Microsoft has launched a project called the Underdog,
whereby its mission is to destroy Google. However, while Google has been launching all
its new products, services etc. Microsoft has spent over $150 million to keep up and
improve its applications and it has still failed to keep up with Google. Even the least
paranoid people at Microsoft think “Google Office” is inevitable. 4
-Yahoo
Buckley, Ciaran “Who’s affraid of the big bad Google?”, ElectricNews.net, 9 th sept. 2005
< http://www.enn.ie/ffocus.html?code=9637034>
3
Vogelstein, Fred “Gates VS Google: Search and Destroy”, Fortune, 1st Oct 2005
<http://www.fortune.com/fortune/technology/articles/0,15114,1050065-6,00.html>
2
44
Vogelstein, Fred “Gates VS Google: Search and Destroy”, Fortune, 1st Oct 2005
<http://www.fortune.com/fortune/technology/articles/0,15114,1050065-6,00.html>
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Another direct competitor of Google is Yahoo. This, however, has not always
been the case. In 2003, Yahoo decided to outsource its search results to Google, but in
2004 Yahoo decided to call full out war with Google, by purchasing Overture. Now the
two companies are intense rivals. 5
Regardless of their rivalry, there has been a clear-cut winner. In August 2004,
Google controlled 37.3 per cent of the U.S. search market which is a whopping 36 per
cent higher than in August 2003. This can be due to the fact that Google has been
continuously innovating and listening to its users to provide the best possible product. On
the flipside, Yahoo unfortunately observed shares of the U.S. market fall 29 per cent, as
competition began to take over what once use to be its territory. 6
Not only does Google compete with Yahoo on the search engine front, but now in
2005, these two cutting edge companies are fighting on the basis of e-mail, and many
other functions such as photo and maps. Google, however is still managing to be on top
in all its innovative endeavours.
1.2
Google’s Positioning
According to different market research surveys, Google is still the leading search
engine on the web despite the fact that Google’s results vary little from those found on
other search sites. In addition, regardless of the search king’s continued success in
5
Dukcevich, Davide “Google Vs. Yahoo”, Forbers, 30th Oct 2005
< http://www.forbes.com/ebusiness/2004/04/26/cx_dd_0426mondaymatchup.html>
6
Internet Life “Yahoo CEO Slams Google's Recent Expansion Efforts”, newsfactor, 1st Oct 2005
<http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=01300000AQJS>
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attracting customers, its users are less likely to click on advertisements listed on its site.
One survey7 even claimed that that Google trails behind its rivals in encouraging people
to click on advertisements, the site’s primary source of revenue. A part of the reason why
Google lags behind its competitors is the company’s stringent practice of keeping ads
well marked, while the other sites sometimes mix solicitations in with regular search
results.
Google is constantly trying to expand beyond its core business field. Google and
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have recently signed an
extensive agreement to join forces on future research projects aimed at pooling the
computing knowledge of both organizations8. Google and NASA share a common desire:
“To bring a universe of information to people around the world”, stated Eric Schmidt,
Google’s CEO, because large organizations and enterprises are creating complex,
multilayered data, search capability increasingly will be crucial to their productivity and
effectiveness. “Imagine having a wide selection of images from the Apollo space mission
at your fingertips whenever you want it. That’s just one small example of how this
collaboration could help broaden technology’s role in making the world a better place”,
said a lyrical Schmidt. The Google Earth project will clearly benefit from NASA’s
partnership in providing more detailed and up to date images of the planet, but what it
will imply for Google’s aspirations in providing the broadband network is still
speculative?
7
Press release Keynote Systems, Yahoo! Search and MSN Search Close the Gap with Google, 13th Jan.
2005 < http://www.keynote.com/news_events/releases_2005/05jan13.html>
Fox, Lynn and Laura Lewis, News release, “NASA Takes Google on Journey into Space”, 28th Sept. 2005
< http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/releases/2005/05_50AR.html>
8
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Recently, Google hired, Vinton Cerf, who is best known as the Father of the
Internet. Cerf is a NASA insider who has spent the last few years working on NASA’s
Interplanetary Network, which aims to extend the Internet into outer space for planet-toplanet communication; this harmonizes with Google’s objective of introducing
GoogleNet.
2.
What’s Next for Google
2.1
The Rumour of GoogleNet
Despite the fact that Google, the gatekeeper of world’s information, is not
declarative about its intentions, for the last few months, many have been speculating on
Google’s master plan.
Ever since Google announced a $4 billion secondary stock offering9, rumours
have risen even more. None of Google’s announced software projects even come close to
requiring such a fantastic sum of money, and it seems more than unlikely that Google
would raise funds in order to manipulate its stock price in the short term.
Search engine Google, is quietly but hard at work on a nation-wide high-capacity
data network. This national broadband network, called GoogleNet, is supposed to become
massive enough to rival even the biggest Internet service providers.
For the past year, Google has silently been shopping for miles and miles of
“dark”, or unused fibre-optic cable across the USA from wholesalers such as New York’s
AboveNet. As a result of the telecommunications bust of the late 90s, the “dark fibre”
market has risen, and Google can pick up fibre-optic cable cheaply.
Kawamoto, Dawn, “Google plans big new stock sale”, CENT News.com, 18 th Aug. 2005,
< http://beta.news.com.com/Google+plans+big+new+stock+sale/2100-1038_3-5838065.html?>
9
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Google’s activities could result in a gigantic digital video database, on-demand
television system, or even a free ad-based WiFi network. This latter wireless network, in
conjunction with location-tracking hotspot firm Feeva, has already been pilot launched in
San Francisco serving up Google Local-based ads.
Concluding, the next big game in search is localization. Google’s explicit strategy
is to develop “A Google that knows more about you”, in the words of CEO Eric Schmidt.
With a satellite service, Google could pinpoint where the user is located worldwide and
provide relevant search results based on that knowledge. Certainly there are huge profits
locked up in knowing users’ location. For example, localization gives the marketer the
advantage of knowing what you are looking at, and exactly where you are geographically
which is a huge gain to its core advertising business.
Google would thus control the whole chain, which would enable the company to
monopolize an even larger part of the advertising market, in particular of proximity,
while offering a still more powerful search service to its user. In addition to collecting
your Google search queries and correlating them with your Google GMail e-mail
account, the proxy gives Google access to all your internet traffic.
2.2
GoogleNet & the Google Business Model
Google generates revenue through two main sources: highly targeted advertising
and online search services. These two revenue channels will guide us in exploring
GoogleNet’s role in Google’s business model.
Google has six major vehicles related to the channels through which it generates
revenue: AdWords for Advertisers, AdSense and Website Services, Search Services,
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Search Appliance, Wireless Services, and AdSense for Domains10. Each of these six
areas has its own critical success factors however, focus on technology, support, and
customers are common to each.
These areas are all search-related and based on
constantly evolving technologies, that help offer innovations in every aspect of
information retrieval. Moreover, these functions provide the user with the most relevant
information.
Let’s take AdWords, for example. Through AdWords, Google is currently able to
offer customers such as Sony and Amazon.com information with respect to click-through
rates. This allows Google to better the customer’s attempt at reaching its target users by
displaying the most relevant ads more prominently. Pricing for these ads is based on costper-click (CPC), a value assigned by the customer to specific keywords. CPC helps to
determine an ad’s position on a page and helps to ensure performance by narrowing
targets (users). Smaller scale advertisers can sign up and manage their own accounts,
while larger advertisers are looked after by Google’s full service account team11.
Consequently, it is evident that Google has the foundational framework organized
to manage and sustain the introduction of GoogleNet. So far, Google has succeeded in
keeping its customers happy through customization and quality customer relationship
management (CRM). Now, with these relationships in place, Google can offer customers
yet another type of customization. By viewing users as information flows, Google
(through dematerialization) can not only tell customers what users are clicking on, but
10
11
“Google Corporate Information: Business Model.” <http://www.google.ca/corporate/facts.html>.
“Google Corporate Information: Business Model.” <http://www.google.ca/corporate/facts.html>.
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what they want to see, what they are interested in, and most importantly: exactly where
they are.
Reviewing Google’s business model we can observe that the foundation is in
place to launch a new and improved way for GoogleNet to manipulate the same
environment that the user is exposed to, in turn increasing market power for their
customers and decreasing waste. While GoogleNet has its advantages for its customers,
Google too reaps the benefits of profits via premium pricing due to being an innovation
leader in collecting and using and/or selling information about users. With the trend
towards Network Marketing growing, Google will have no trouble recouping its billion
dollar investments in GoogleNet12.
2.3
GoogleNet: How will it work?
Originally, Wi-Fi is the standard for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs);
however, today, the definition and use of Wi-Fi will soon be changing as Google takes a
big step into building GoogleNet. Imagine if everyone could be connected to the internet
anywhere at all times- this is exactly what GoogleNet will enable people to do.
GoogleNet would provide free Wi-Fi access that may well soon be offered to everyone
across North America13. Like WLANs, GoogleNet will also transmit and receive radio
waves, which work as carriers from the users to the access point and vice versa; the
access point is then connected to the network backbone built with cables.
Google is currently purchasing a large quantity of unused fiber-optic cables1;
many speculate that this is what the company will use as the backbone of its free
Hogan, Mike. “GoogleNet, Echoes of Orwell.” Blog Spot. 18 August 2005.
<http://thinklocal.blogspot.com>.
13
Malik, Om. “Free Wi-Fi? Get Ready for GoogleNet.” Business 2.0, September 2005.
<http://www.business2.com/b2/web/articles/print/0,17925,1093558,00.html>
12
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countrywide Wi-Fi network. Moreover, it is currently seeking experts in radio frequency
identification (RFID), which is used as a wireless monitoring and authentication
technology. In addition, to secure and reinforce its project, the company has already hired
Vint Cerf, “Father of the Internet”14.
GoogleNet will work as a concentrated interconnected network which will be
capable of effectively enhancing the functions of Google Local, in particular, its new
voice-over-Internet service, Google Talk, at a lower cost. On the other hand, GoogleNet
is also an attractive offer to the Google Talk users, by bringing them convenience at no
cost, while it facilitates many broadband services and applications. As a result, it was
theorized that GoogleNet could bring about a massive digital video database, on-demand
television (IPTV) system, or free ad-based WiFi network15.
Although the company may seem to be literally offering the wireless broadband
network at gratis -as generous an offer as that would be for users- GoogleNet will
actually come as a big stream of revenue for Google, in some way, at the expenses of the
users. Setting up the whole wireless network across North America is not at all an
inexpensive project, but the company will be able to harvest enormously when it
succeeds in becoming the biggest internet provider in the country.
By being able to determine the precise locations and activities of internet users
through GoogleNet, the company will be able provide advertising that maps based on
real-time data to company clients, who will be the main source of revenue to cover the
Auchard, Eric. “Google hires 'father of the Internet' Vinton Cerf” CIOL, September 2005.
<http://www.ciol.com/content/news/2005/105090912.asp>
15
Block, Ryan. “GoogleNet—massive Google WiFi in the works?” Engadgate, August 2005.
<http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000853054453>
14
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expenses of GoogleNet16. Nevertheless, in this way, the company might be at risk of
interfering with the privacy of its users. Not only will Google become a giant and
powerful ad-seller, the company will also be strategically cutting cost on middlemen;
Google has been paying as much as $60 per megabit per second per month in IP transit
fees to wholesalers like AboveNet in order to bridge with the company with small ISPs5.
3.
Strategic Objectives
3.1
The Answer for Advertisers
Studies show that major American advertisers tend to spend as much on their
campaigns as they earn on their brands.17 Unfortunately, these efforts are not rewarded
by phenomenal brand awareness nor are they rewarded by increases in market share, as
intended. For years now, companies have been trying to reconnect with their advertisers
to improve the quality of their campaigns and ensure the most profitable, yet appropriate,
segement is being targeting. Soon, GoogleNet may be the answer to their long lasting
problem.
As reviewed previously, GoogleNet’s main attractive feature is its ability to
obtain premium information on its users. It is true that Google already does this through
the likes of GMail, but now this information will be much more specific, hence more
useful.
With GoogleNet, Google will help bridge the gap between companies and
advertisers by providing them with the information needed to catalyze strategic thinking
and proper (re)positioning. Having not just more user data, but more relevant user data,
Malik, Om. “Free Wi-Fi? Get Ready for GoogleNet.” Business 2.0, September 2005.
<http://www.business2.com/b2/web/articles/print/0,17925,1093558,00.html>
17
Jones, John Phillip. “The Mismanagement of Advertising.” Harvard Business Review: Jan-Feb 2000.
16
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will likely increase ad performance and decrease the funds wasted by customers on pretests annually, thereby enhancing Google’s handle on customer relationship management.
3.2
Launching GoogleNet
Google can approach launching GoogleNet is one of two ways. First, it can decide
to use its collection of user knowledge to help improve its physical positioning of ads and
search results for its customers.
This thereby improves Google’s customer service
through improving the product Google is offering.
Second, Google could sell the information gathered to customers (advertisers).
This would allow customers to apply this user information to online ads, print, TV, and
various other sorts of media. This approach could potentially offer Google more revenue;
however, it could also create a problem with customer retention. Google could risk
having customers purchase information only once and use it for their purposes and end
the relationship there. Customers may feel as though they were able to purchase from
Google all that Google was doing for them before and thus consider it cheaper to pay a
one time price and have all the information at their disposal to apply to which ever
medium of advertising they please. A solution to this would be to create customer
contracts on the basis of constantly evolving user needs/actions, proving to customers the
necessary service Google is providing them, essentially keeping them on board for the
future.
In consideration of the above-mentioned approaches, one can see the difference in
what GoogleNet will have to offer, both the customer and the user. The former approach
deals with Google’s current core: the search engine. Through GoogleNet, Google will
still be functioning on the same basis as before: it will apply its user knowledge to offer
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better ad/search positioning to its customers. In essence, GoogleNet will offer better
results to companies through better resources. This approach keeps Google from straying
out of its territory.
On the other hand, the latter approach requires a bit of a stretch for Google. One
can consider it as somewhat of a new business venture where Google will sell, not use as
it previously did, user information to its customers. This makes Google a kind of
consultant in that it provides a product [user information] that will aid in forming the
direction a company/brand will take in attracting its target through various means.
Selling the data can in fact be seen as offering a better proposition to the customer, yet it
can be dangerous in that Google would essentially be saying that it’s alright to stray from
e-marketing and use the information as customers see most profitable, potentially
harming GoogleNet’s future. Although this is unlikely because the benefits of real-time
targeting that GoogleNet offers cannot be currently surpassed by any other medium as
low-cost and equally attractive, it is important to keep this threat in mind.
3.3
GoogleNet’s Potential: It All Starts With The User
Through implementing either approach, Google will seek to secure a reputation as
a gateway to better understanding the user. In order to accomplish this, Google must
further solidify its relationship with the user. It needs to keep its popularity among
searchers and obtain a trusting bond so that if users do actually read the online contract
that we assume GoogleNet will have in place as with GMail, before clicking “I Accept” which is rare!- they will not feel as though their privacy is being violated. By developing
and maintaining these user relationships, Google will enable itself to own the user which
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will dampen the efforts of other companies to follow in Google’s footsteps and steal
market share.
Unfortunately, some drawbacks do exist if GoogleNet were to attempt user
ownership. Most importantly, by following Microsoft’s strategy in an attempt to own the
user interface, Google could potentially dominate developing high-tech areas such as
Vocie over IP and Television IP, stifling innovation. This could cause negative press for
Google as it has for Microsoft on issues of monopolistic power.
On the positive side, GoogleNet would be free for users. This characteristic is
very important as it gives a perceived philanthropic image of GoogleNet to users. For
example, free broadband for everyone improves education and commerce; it would also
open up access to poorer communities, thus helping them to develop and feel less
isolated.
Overall, companies/advertisers are the financial backbone for GoogleNet to build
and maintain operations; hence, these customers present the best value proposition to
Google through revenue potential. These are the customers that Google will need to
attract in order to be able to prove the necessity of GoogleNet in today’s high-tech age.
However, search engine usage demographics play a big role in this relationship with
Google’s customers.
A study compiled in May 2004 showed that while the majority of men favour
Google Search, only 45% of women choose it over MSN search on a regular basis. Also,
it was found that women tend to find paid ads more relevant than men did when
searching; professional males who performed searches in areas such as news, media and
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education tended to prefer organic ads, with lesser intent to purchase.18
Although
seemingly a problem, this could prove to be beneficial for Google in capturing the best of
both worlds.
GoogleNet would be a free service for users, thus allowing for the main male
users to be virtually unaffected. On the other hand, the females who tend to prefer MSN
and are less payment-sensitive would be most attracted to the idea of customization.
Women would be won over based on the relevancy aspect, potentially searching more
frequently and purchasing more than usual. By controlling the environment, GoogleNet
would be able to give more benefit to its customers by capturing a variety of users. This
is necessary for Google if it wants to attract new customers and gain others from
competitors. It would be interesting to see what the survey results with respect to user
preferences would be like about a year or so after the debut of GoogleNet.
It is evident, then, that Google does not solely need to get companies on board,
but users as well. Without people willing to use GoogleNet, Google would not have the
resources to use/sell to its customers. GoogleNet users, in this case, are ultimately the
suppliers. They are providing information to GoogleNet, consequently helping Google
and its customers to co-produce ads/seaches potentially leading to multi-channelling, for
the benefit of customization for the user.19 Therefore, looking to Dussart, it is true in
Google’s example that a well-managed e-Business is comprised of activities that enable
organizations to derive maximum value from each interaction and to constantly be
Gold, Kevin. “Demographic targeting for PPC Conversions.” 09 November 2004.
<http://content.websitegear.com/article/ppc_demographic_targeting_2.htm>.
18
19
Buderi, Robert. “E-Commerce Gets Smarter.” Technology Review, April 2005, pp. 54, 56-59.
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improving customer expectations.20 And in the case of GoogleNet this would be twofold: first, meeting user expectations; then, once users are using GoogleNet and are
satisfied, meet customer expectations through the dematerialization of information from a
variety of sources.
4.
Conclusion
It is clear from its actions that Google is taking intiative to succeed in the
extremely competitive high-tech industry. However, in attempting to own the user and
data-mine individuals to improve the product which it offers to its customers (companies,
advertisers), Google will have to be increasingly cautious.
First and foremost, privacy issues come to mind. Users may be weary of trying
GoogleNet, as internet fraud (i.e. credit card fraud, identity theft) is still quite a major
concern. Google would have to ensure to dispell these fears by attributing them to the
internet as a whole- fears that should neither increase nor decrease with the introduction
of GoogleNet and the ability to triangulate and identify user locations. People still make
use of the internet today so why would they not use GoogleNet if it carried the same
disadvantages but, on the posititve side, a lot more advantages as discussed previously?
We feel that the length of time Google is taking with launching GoogleNet may be
related to not simply issues of a financial & infrastructural nature, but also public
reaction.
With internet word of mouth so prevelant these days, it could mean either good or
bad news for GoogleNet. This is why it is important to anticipate and be pro-active when
Dussart, Christian. “Transformative Power of e-Business Over Consumer Brands.” European
Management Journal, Vol. 19, No. 6, pp. 629-637, December 2001.
20
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it comes to dealing with the introduction and maintainence of GoogleNet. This is a
strong point for Google as we have seen in the fact that the company encourages its
engineers to pursue independant projects.
Clearly, Google realizes the importance
maintaing a fresh outlook and sharp analytical mind.
Regarding the customer aspect of GoogleNet, Google will be aiding to bridge the
gap between companies and advertisers by providing them with the information needed
to catalyze strategic thinking and proper (re)positioning. Having more relevant user data
at its disposal, Google will likely increase ad performance and decrease the funds wasted,
in turn enhancing Google’s handle on CRM. Google is spearheading the industry and
becoming a leader in innovative thinking- to the benefit of not only itself, but its
customers, and its users. We feel that, despite the disadvantages, with the right approach,
Google’s GoogleNet will succeed and triumph as a poineer in its field, improving the
way we search for many years to come.
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Work Cited
1. Auchard, Eric. “Google hires 'father of the Internet' Vinton Cerf” CIOL,
September 2005. http://www.ciol.com/content/news/2005/105090912.asp
2. Block, Ryan. “GoogleNet—massive Google WiFi in the works?”
Engadgate, August 2005.
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000853054453
3. Buckley, Ciaran “Who’s affraid of the big bad Google?”,
ElectricNews.net, 9th sept. 2005
http://www.enn.ie/ffocus.html?code=9637034
4. Buderi, Robert. “E-Commerce Gets Smarter.” Technology Review, April
2005, pp. 54, 56-59.
5. Dukcevich, Davide “Google Vs. Yahoo”, Forbers, 30th Oct 2005
http://www.forbes.com/ebusiness/2004/04/26/cx_dd_0426mondaymatchup.
html
6. Dussart, Christian. “Transformative Power of e-Business Over Consumer
Brands.” European Management Journal, Vol. 19, No. 6, pp. 629-637,
December 2001.
7. Fox, Lynn and Laura Lewis, News release, “NASA Takes Google on
Journey into Space”, 28th Sept. 2005
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/releases/2005/05_50AR.html
8. Gold, Kevin. “Demographic targeting for PPC Conversions.” 09 November
2004.
http://content.websitegear.com/article/ppc_demographic_targeting_2.htm.
9. “Google Corporate Information: Business Model.”
http://www.google.ca/corporate/facts.html
10. Hogan, Mike. “GoogleNet, Echoes of Orwell.” Blog Spot. 18 August 2005.
<http://thinklocal.blogspot.com>.
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11. Internet Life “Yahoo CEO Slams Google's Recent Expansion Efforts”,
newsfactor, 1st Oct 2005
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=01300000AQJS
12. Jones, John Phillip. “The Mismanagement of Advertising.” Harvard
Business Review: Jan-Feb 2000.
13. Kawamoto, Dawn, “Google plans big new stock sale”, CENT News.com,
18th Aug. 2005,
http://beta.news.com.com/Google+plans+big+new+stock+sale/21001038_3-5838065.html
14. Malik, Om. “Free Wi-Fi? Get Ready for GoogleNet.” Business 2.0,
September 2005.
http://www.business2.com/b2/web/articles/print/0,17925,1093558,00.html
15. Press release Keynote Systems, Yahoo! Search and MSN Search Close the
Gap with Google, 13th Jan. 2005
http://www.keynote.com/news_events/releases_2005/05jan13.html
16. Vogelstein, Fred “Gates VS Google: Search and Destroy”, Fortune, 1st Oct
2005
http://www.fortune.com/fortune/technology/articles/0,15114,10500656,00.html
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Google’s Business Model
Appendix A
Business Model
Google generates revenue primarily through two programs: highly targeted advertising and online
search services.
Google AdWords for Advertisers
Google offers a highly effective advertising program that is widely recognized as one of the
Web's most efficient advertising vehicles.
• Pricing
Auction based pricing based on the value (cost-per-click or CPC) an
advertiser assigns to particular keywords. An ad's position on the
page is determined by a combination of the CPC and the clickthrough rate (number of times the ad is clicked on by users) so that
the most relevant ads are displayed more prominently. The cost of
creating an account is $5 and there is no minimum ad spend required.
• Technology
Prices for some clicks are adjusted based on their expected value to
help ensure better performance for advertisers and an automated
discounter keeps the cost of each click at the lowest amount possible
in order to hold its position above a competitor's ad. ad targeting by
location, and numerous tools for optimizing accounts, including a
keyword suggestion tool and daily budget management.
• Format
Messages appear adjacent to web search results on Google.com and
partner sites. Labeled as "sponsored links.” May appear on targeted
content pages across the web.
• Targeting
Based on advertiser selected keywords or sophisticated content
analysis algorithms, so ads always appear in context with other
information on the page.
• Support
Two options: Advertisers sign up online and manage their own
accounts, which are activated with a credit card. For our larger
advertisers, our full service account team sets up accounts, designs
campaigns based on the advertiser's defined metrics and then
monitors creative and click-through rates to continuously optimize
those campaigns.
• Customers
Recent advertisers include: Sony, Cisco, Alamo Car Rental,
Ameritrade, Amazon.com, Canon, Disney, General Motors, L.L. Bean,
Nordstrom, Sears, Smith & Hawken, Sprint, Volvo and Xerox.
Google AdSense and Web Site Services
Google AdSense serves relevant ads on search result and content pages .
•
Technology
Innovations include the ability to target relevant advertising based on
keywords provided by a searcher or to dynamically analyze content
and select relevant ads to display on a page.
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• Support
•
Customers
Two options: Publishers can manage their own accounts, which are
activated through an online application process and implemented by
simply cutting and pasting some HTML onto their web pages. A
dedicated sales team customizes programs for sites receiving more
than 20 million page views per month.
USATODAY.com, ABC.com, Forbes.com and 60% of the comScore
Media Metrix top 100 sites, as well as thousands of other specialty
content sites.
Google Search Services enable publishers to provide Google web and site search on their
own pages – results that can be used to generate revenue with the AdSense for Search
program.
• Technology
Google search is based on a continuously evolving set of
technologies that offer innovations in every aspect of information
retrieval and provide users with the most relevant results.
• Support
Hosted by Google, with results customized to customer's
specifications. Results available via HTTP and can be formatted in
XML or Google's proprietary protocol.
• Updates
Conducted on a regular basis to ensure fresh content.
• Reporting
Reports on daily number of traffic, top queries, top keywords
searched, and other information.
• Indexing
Billions of pages, the largest index on the web.
• Features
Searches can be narrowed to a specific domain/subdomain or a
specific language. Google also supports OR operators, keyword
exclusion and phrase searching if quotation marks are used.
• Customers
Washingtonpost.com, AOL/Netscape, Palm, Fujitsu NIFTY (Japan),
NEC BIGLOBE (Japan), NetEase (China),Yam.com (Taiwan),
Vodafone Global Platform and Internet Services Group (U.K.),
Retivision (Spain), Sapo (Portugal), and Virgilio (Italy).
The Google Search Appliance, a scalable and secure device that provides Google quality
search across an individual website or intranet.
• Technology
Google search is based on a continuously evolving set of
technologies that offer innovations in every aspect of information
retrieval and provide users with the most relevant results.
• Delivery
Hosted at the customer's location on the Google Search Appliance,
with results customized to customer's specifications. Three models
offer search across any size collection up to 15 million documents.
• Updates
Crawls available on a schedule set by the customer. Password
protected or secure pages can be indexed in most cases. Google's
caching technology makes it possible for users to access pages even
if the hosting server is busy or down.
• Reporting
Reports on daily number of traffic, top queries, top keywords
searched, and other information.
• Indexing
Customers can elect to offer different segments of their index to
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different users (e.g., by language, country, etc.)
• Features
Searches can be narrowed to a specific domain/subdomain or a
specific language. International language support enables search
over documents in the following languages: Chinese (Simplified),
Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian,
Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic,
Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish,
Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish. Google also
supports OR operators, keyword exclusion and phrase searching if
quotation marks are used. Partners can set a specific URL or set of
URLs to be returned at the top of a list of returned queries.
• Support
24/7 technical support
• Customers
PBS, The World Bank, Procter & Gamble, Cisco Systems, Boeing,
Stanford University , Nextel and Kaiser Permanente
Google Wireless Services deliver Google search results via PDAs, wireless phones and
other mobile devices powered by many of the world's leading wireless service providers.
• Technology
Google's proprietary on-the-fly conversion system translates
web pages into a language understood by handheld devices,
so users can access the world's largest index of web pages.
Google Wireless Search supports WML, HDML, HTML, and imode and J-Sky compatible HTML mobile internet standards.
• Delivery
Hosted by Google, with results customized to customer's
specifications. Results available via HTTP and can be
formatted in XML or Google's proprietary protocol.
• Updates
Crawls available daily or weekly. Password protected or
secure pages can be indexed in most cases. Google's cache
makes it possible for users to access pages even if the
hosting server is busy or down.
• Reporting
Reports on daily number of traffic, top queries, top keywords
searched, and other information.
• Revenue Opportunities Targeted keyword advertising that can be sold by customer.
• Indexing
Billions of pages, the largest index on the web. Customers
can elect to offer different segments of their index to different
users (e.g., by language, country, etc.)
• Features
Google Number Search (GNS): One-tap technology to
facilitate text entry on web-ready phones. Example: Enter the
numbers 466453 for Google instead of 4666666455533.
Search results offered in 35 languages. Search by specific
language, by topic, by customized URLs submitted to
Google, safe search of English HTML pages.
• Support
24/7 technical support.
• Customers
Sprint, Cingular, Qwest, Nextel, Bell Mobility (Canada),
Vizzavi, Sprint PCS, Nextel, Palm, Handspring and Omnisky.
Google AdSense for domains serves ads on dormant domain pages.
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