Introduction
Google Company has emerged as one of the most popular companies in the 21st century. It is a global technology company that focuses on improving the generation and sharing of information in the world. Advertising is the largest contributor to the money generated by the organisation. By 2011, the company’s core business was primarily based on such areas as advertising, internet searching, internet operating systems, and online enterprise.
The company has adopted various strategies and programs in efforts to promote its products in a competitive global market. Ad word program is one of the programs used by businesses in the contemporary global market to promote their products and services through advertising. There is also Ad sense program, which is mainly used to deliver relevant advertisements that help to generate more revenue for the company.
Google Company has launched various websites in its efforts to reach out to the global consumer. Such websites include Google+, Zagat, Motorola Mobility Holdings, Push Life, Virus Total, and Nik Software. The company has revolutionalised the world’s online business in many ways. It has made it possible for retailers to list their products through the Google shopping search engine.
The current paper addresses some of the issues surrounding this company. In the paper, the author will address the various reasons why the Google Company is considered as one of the best companies in the world. The author will also address some of the secrets revolving around this international company.
The Factors behind the Success of Google Company
The adoption of an innovative business model has helped the company overcome competition in the market. The company has achieved tremendous success in such areas as the marketing of computer hardware and software, publishing, advertising, entertainment, telecoms, and creation of market capitalisation strategies for the clients.
The management has established a working relationship with the employees, which has enhanced the credibility and reliability of its products. Google controls a large market share compared to its competitors. For example, 57% of internet searches in the world are conducted using the company’s search engine (Google 2012). The company’s competitors include such companies as Yahoo and Microsoft.
The large market share enables Google to improve search results, attracting more customers from the online community. One of the company’s competitors, Yahoo, controls 23% of the market share. Microsoft comes a distant third with11% of the total market share (Bhatia & Deep 2012). Figure 1 vividly illustrates the market share of the various companies operating in this industry.
Google Company: Current Firm Level Strategy
Google Company has adopted three major diversification strategies, which has helped it remain relevant in the market. The three include the establishment of start-ups, acquisition of existing companies, and alliances with other players in the industry. In the case of start-ups, the company’s employees are given the opportunity to work on other projects besides those falling under their normal job description.
The petty projects create room for innovation and diversification in areas with untapped business opportunities. At the same time, the projects enhance the competencies of the employees. Both Gmail and Google News are known to have started as petty projects.
Acquisitions have also helped the company diversify in the market. It is through such strategies that the company has effectively exploited You Tube, Docs, and Google Earth. The three products have expanded the reach of Google brand in the market. Consumers who had deserted the company have trooped back as a result of some of these products. Double Click is another product that has contributed to the expansion of Google’s advertising business, leading to increased revenues.
Initially, Google and Yahoo had formed an advertising alliance. The alliance was aimed at expanding the advertising industry. The deal, however, was short-lived as federal judges highlighted the antitrust between the two companies, making Google to back out of the alliance (Attributor Corporation 2012).
Both Google and Yahoo have a close relationship. As of the year 2000, Google used to provide all the results for internet searches conducted using Yahoo search engine. An example of Google’s existing alliance is Open Social program. The program allows developers to create applications that are used on all member websites. Another alliance created by Google involves the Open Handset program. The platform is aimed at promoting the usage of the company’s open source Android operating system.
The alliance establishes a balance between the capabilities of both independent developers and phone manufacturing firms. The balance helps the company to compete with other players in the industry, such as RIM’s Blackberry, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile platform, and Apple’s iPhone. Google Company has a strong base in market exploration, which is aimed at reducing both production and advertising costs.
Google values its international operations. As a result, the company enhances its profitability by reducing the risks associated with its activities. In 2008, the company’s international revenue was estimated at $2.7 billion. The success was attributed to the alliances the company had created in the market (Bhatia & Deep 2012).
Google Company: Current Business Level Strategy
Google has embraced a broad diversification and differentiation strategy for its complementary products. Complementary products are aimed at increasing brand awareness and market demand. Several strategies are used to promote complementary products in the market. The complementary products include Spreadsheets Productivity Suite, Google Maps, Google Earth, and Picasa. The latter is the company’s image organising and editing program.
The strategies alluded to above are vital in promoting the company’s advertising business. They help in expanding the reach of the various brands associated with the company. Most of the products have the company’s name printed on one side to reinforce the identity of the brand in the market (Bhatia & Deep 2012).
Business Strategies Adopted by Google’s Main Competitors
Yahoo and Microsoft are some of Google’s main competitors. The competition posed by the two companies has affected Google’s working strategy. The three companies compete mainly for advertising and marketing their products. The three companies offer a variety of services on their websites to keep their customers engaged for long durations. By doing so, they are able to outdo each other and maximise on their market outreach (Bhatia & Deep 2012).
Google Company: Current Marketing Strategy
Viral marketing is the core strategy used by Google Company. The company uses social media networks to access a large number of customers through emails and blog spots. According to Bhatia & Deep (2012), the company continues to enjoy its dominance in the marketing industry as a result of this strategy.
Google: Production and Purchasing Strategies
Google is currently conducting trials on a new advertising program that will compensate site owners primarily on a Cost-Per-Click model. The program was revealed in an e-mail invitation to various website owners from Google’s Ad Sense team. The company is investing in state-of-the-art technologies in efforts to meet the ever-changing prospects and needs of its users.
Google’s high IT potential enhances the establishment and launch of high-performance models, which are cost effective and capable of scaling-up high workloads. Such a strategic ‘advantage’ has captured the attention of many analysts in this industry. For example, Stephen Arnold, an IT consultant, argues that Google has a cost-related advantage over its competitors, such as Amazon, Yahoo, Microsoft, and eBay (Graaf & Washida 2006).
Leadership and Cultural Structure Adopted by Google
Google administration is characterised by various managerial positions headed by chain heads. The various managerial positions are further divided into several units to cater for the company’s divergent operations. The first aspect that makes Google Company one of the best in the world is its corporate culture.
The company’s leadership grants equal opportunities to all employees, making them feel appreciated. The core mission of the leadership is to have a company that leads from all perspectives, with other companies following its lead (Scott 2008). Creativity and innovative corporate culture helps Google employees to thrive in the market. Employees work hard to come up with the best technological innovations that suit the demand in the market (Graaf & Washida 2006).
Perks for Google Employees
The company’s employees enjoy such benefits as medical cover, transport allowance, free breakfast, lunch, and free washing facilities. Other benefits enjoyed by the employees include the ability to further their education, grow professionally, and travel the world. The company’s policy emphasises treating people with respect at the expense of making money.
The company has an Education Leave Program targeted at those employees willing to further their education on a part-time or full-time basis. The education leave program can run for a period of 5 years. The total reimbursement for the program can go up to $160,000 (Scott 2008).
Economic Growth
Google plays a key role in economic growth. Many people use Google to earn a living through search and advertising programs. Businesses can attract customers, while publishers can get paid for their content. Customers are funnelled to businesses through Google search results and links to other websites. By using Ad word program, businesses are able to create short text advertisements and place bids on online auctions.
Google’s Ad sense is a source of income for many publishers. The reason for this is that by using the content searched for, the consumer can access additional related information (Grosse 2000). For instance, by acquiring Android developer software, the company was able to expand its business in the market. The acquisition inspired the firm to play a significant role in the mobile phone market. Motorola Mobility Holdings was acquired in 2005, giving Google more than 18000 patent rights, which were legally protected.
The Motorola deal was a significant boost in mobile computing. It helped the company fight stiff competition in the mobile phone market from Apple. Google has shaped the mobile phone industry by pressurising mobile phone carriers to open up their sources of network. The Motorola deal is acknowledged as an innovative path for smart phones and tablets (Google 2012).
Other Technologies
Google has enhanced its search results by embracing technology commonly associated with semantic web. Semantic web is a concept used in making web pages for ‘under-stable’ computers. The semantic web was primarily designed to deliver information with little prodding from the human user. The web has significantly improved search results. Google’s impact in the technological world has encouraged companies that are quality-conscious to adapt the programs (Kangas 2003).
Google and Improved Livelihoods
Google has carried out research on various fields to improve the livelihoods of its employees. One such example is the current plans of installing high-tech sky lights in the company’s premises. The technology involves the use of sky cells and optics to manage the flow of light.
The technology is implemented with the collaboration of Enfocus Engineering, a start-up company. Google Company is acting as a test-site for this technology. Using the project, Google aims at improving the quality of lighting for its engineers. NASA Research Centre is another project initiated by Google to improve the space technology (Google 2012).
Product Diversification
Google’s various products have made a huge impact on the way people communicate, access information, and locate things on the internet. The products offered by the company include Google Earth, Chrome, Sketch-up, Gmail, Google Mobilize, and Google Talk. Diversity makes the company one of the most visited search engines in the world. Google has adopted such technologies as You Tube, Double Click, and Grand Central to sustain its business concept in the market (Google 2012).
Google Company: The Secrets
Google Company maintains a high level of secrecy because of its positive impact in the world of technology. Secrets are maintained for continued credibility and reliability among its users. One of the company’s secrets involves the failure to disclose the environmental impact of its internet usage.
Scientists have documented the environmental impact of a simple Google search. They are of the view that the activity emits a large volume of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Google users log into the company’s website without taking into consideration such implications.
Google Company has also remained silent about its energy consumption and the location of its data centre. With an estimated 20 million internet searches on a daily basis, energy consumption and emission of green house gases from computers is raising concerns among environmentalists (Graaf & Washida 2006).
The company operates a top secret idea lab known as Google X. The location of Google X remains unknown to many people, including most of employees in the company. Top-notch research is done in this lab. The current research being carried out in this lab involves the development of a refrigerator that can connect directly to the internet. Others include a dinner plate that can post what someone is eating.
Further, the company is researching on a new social network and a robot capable of performing diverse duties (Bhatia & Deep 2012). Google maintains secrets to get patent rights for any successful research that comes out of the idea lab. By doing so, it becomes hard for the competitors to imitate the company’s technology (Google 2012).
Conclusion
Google Company has remained relevant in the business and technological world in spite of stiff competition from Apples, IPad, and Microsoft. It is due to effective strategies and trade secrets that the company has enhanced its credibility in the market. Other companies must adapt Google strategies to encourage innovation, motivate their workers, and maintain high levels of secrecy to advance technologically.
References
Attributor Corporation 2012, Get your fair share of the ad network pie. Web.
Bhatia, A & Deep, G 2012, ‘Strategic analysis of search engine giant: a case study of Google Inc.’, International Journal of Computing & Business Research, vol. 26, no. 4, pp.67-69, via Researchmanuscripts database.
Google 2012, ‘Company overview’, International Journal of Computing & Business Research, vol. 3 no. 5, pp. 54-55.
Graaf, S & Washida, N 2006, Information communication technologies and emerging business strategies, Idea Group Inc., Hershey.
Grosse, R 2000, Thunderbird on global business strategy, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken.
Kangas, K 2003, Business strategies for information technology management, Idea Group Inc.: Hershey.
Scott, V 2008, Google Corporations that changed the world, Greenwood Publishing Group, Westport.