October 13, 2008 | Monday
Google - An integrated future
By Robert Weatherhead – Digital Media Manager in Display |Events |Marketing |News |Online Sales |PPC |Search Engines |Google |Yahoo |Microsoft |Search Technology |SEO |Social Media
Most of the talk in the world of search engine marketing surrounds Google’s monopoly of the search marketplace and questions about who is going to be the first to mount a true challenge to their dominance. This is what prompts all the talk about mergers and acquisitions; everyone knows that it would take something monumental for Yahoo or MSN to challenge Google on their own, but together they might just stand a chance.
But reading between the lines, who actually wants to be JUST a search engine? OK there is a fair bit of money involved in it, but for how long? Agencies and clients alike are now looking for integrated digital marketing solutions to meet their expanding need for engagement throughout the buying cycle. The large publishers have woken up to this and are changing their focus from individual advertising channels to integrated solutions, with the latest challenge to become an advertising platform, an effective tool for reaching multiple channels through a single platform.
Google have effectively been an advertising platform for a while, they just haven’t really pushed it. Through the Adwords platform you can manage your PPC campaign, content advertising, mobile campaign, display advertising, maps listings and track it all through Google Analytics. However, they haven’t really pushed this because aside from search, most of their other products would certainly have been classed as second tier products. Their display network was limited, maps received few visitors, and the less said about mobile the better. But now they are starting to push these products anything could happen.
At the Google – Above and Beyond conference in Dublin last week the theme was “above and beyond search”, a clear indication of their intent to distinguish themselves as more than just a search engine. With seminars on maps, mobile and display they were keen to push the message of engagement through the buying cycle (whilst still spouting Atlas’ rapidly ageing stat of a 22% uplift in conversion when utilising display as well as search).
However, Google aren’t the only ones fighting to become the leading advertising platform. AOL launched “Platform A” recently which integrates a whole host of channels including affiliate marketing, Microsoft have access to multiple channels and are already integrating Live search and Facebook, and Yahoo offer numerous options through their search marketing and AMP platforms.
Below is a list of what each provider can offer but with agencies and advertisers all looking for integrated solutions for future campaigns we could well be talking about overall share of advertising spend rather than just the search market when we discuss Google in the future. Also with online display advertising spend in H1 2008 at £333.8 million, affiliate marketing growing and mobile actually showing some signs of being a viable channel, Google’s dominance might not be as strong in the new, integrated digital market place.
The challengers and their available channels:
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