Introduction
Companies change over time and introduce new products and services to the market to suit the needs of the target audience. This issue is especially evident in the media industry because it has experienced major changes within the last decades. These alterations are mainly facilitated by the increased popularity of resources on the Internet. This paper aims to examine Google, its creation and worth, as well as the meaning of the company in the context of media.
Establishment of Google
When it first began, the company’s main objective was to develop a way for efficiently searching through web pages and ranking them based on specific criteria, which would help users locate necessary information more easily. According to Google’s official website, its two co-founders decided to create a system that would rank web pages based on their importance (“From the Garage to the Googleplex”). This idea began as a project at Stanford University.
However, it was soon noticed by investors in Silicon Valley. Thus, a fascinating fact regarding Google’s primary goal is that the aim of this business has not changed since it was first started by Brin and Page, although the product range expanded significantly.
Officially, the organization was registered and began its operations in 1998 as Google; however, prior to this, its creators worked on developing a prototype for their search engine. Hosch and Hall argue that Google was created because Brin and Page “were intrigued with the idea of extracting meaning from the mass of data accumulating on the Internet.” The original product that helped begin this business was called Backrub.
It should be noted that although Google offered a remarkable solution for the market, it was not the only means that allowed users to search through web pages. The significant difference was the specific type of algorithm, and the criteria are considered. The company’s strategy permitted users to see websites that were cited or linked to by other resources on the Internet when other solutions were only considering the number of times a search phrase appeared on a page (Hosch and Hall).
The idea was that websites that are more valuable and contain essential information attractive to users would be referred to by other web pages. Therefore, the initial product that Google offered to its users was a search engine with an algorithm that allowed one to obtain valuable information within the Internet. The market that it was developed and sold in was technology.
Contemporary Google
Now, Google is part of the parent company – the Alphabet that incorporates a number of online services offered to users. Hosch and Hall state that “more than 70 percent of worldwide online search requests are handled by Google.” Examples of the products currently available to users email service Gmail, document application Google Docs, video hosting service YouTube, and others. Of course, the search engine remained to be the central emphasis for this business; however, currently, the focus of the business operations shifted. It is because Google now offers advertisers the ability to display their webpages above each search’s results.
Thus, currently, advertising and marketing services are an essential element of Google’s work. In addition, Hosch and Hall point out that this firm purchased a mobile phone manufacturer and is currently exploring this market. Therefore, since its initial establishment, Google was able to grow significantly and develop, adding a number of products and services to its portfolio.
The scope of work that Google currently has as well as its objectives changes since its initial creation. The mission that is now declared by the organization is to ensure access to information and make sure that it is organized and useful (“About Us”). As was previously mentioned, Brin and Page aimed to develop an algorithm that would allow finding meaningful content on the Internet where millions of articles and pages are posted daily.
One can argue that this target did not change over time, although now Google has a lot more impact as a multinational company and is able to execute its mission more cohesively. Hosch and Hall argue that the main industry that Google focuses on changed from technology to advertising because it brings the most revenue for the organization. Thus, currently, its primary clients are companies in any industry that want to promote their developments since the majority of products offered by Google are used by different groups of people all over the world.
The introduction of driverless cars and investments that Google makes in this innovation should be mentioned as well due to the significant difference of this development when compared to other services of Google. Together with smartphones and tablets, this becomes another element of offline business for the organization. With the prospects for the future that this novation has due to its ability to transform traditional approaches to transportation Google will be able to increase its revenue and impact on the global markets as well as use this opportunity for expanding its media business.
Because Google is one of the largest organizations in the global market, it is evident that the company in question generates significant revenue and can attract large-scale investments. Currently, this organization is evaluated at $739 billion with an income of over $60 billion (“Who Are Google’s Main Competitors?”). Thus, the worth of this organization increased significantly, considering that the initial investment offered to its establishers was $100,000, and it can be argued that the value of Google will continue to grow. One can say that the primary source of profits, which is ads, will remain unchanged.
Target Audience
As was previously discussed, Google targets all individuals using the Internet; however, the majority of revenue is obtained from advertising. This aspect signifies an exciting model that this organization developed because it is primary services attract a variety of different users that receive value free of charge. The target audience for the company’s main product is advertisers from various organizations, both small and international, that want to reach consumers and present their products.
Competitors
Within the industry of search engines, the primary competitors are Yahoo!
Additionally, the technology company AOL competes with the organization in question due to its popularity in the segment of news and media. Finally, from a technology perspective, Microsoft competes with Google in services such as documents and software. However, because Google has a large scope of business operations and works in different markets, one should appraise the rivals within the industry that generates the majority of revenue for this establishment. From this perspective, the primary organizations that provide similar services to those of AdSense are Yahoo! and AOL (“Who Are Google’s Main Competitors?”). However, this is not a complete list of Google’s rivals, as businesses such as Monster Worldwide, Expedia, Gannett Company, The Walt Disney Company, and eBay provide similar services to their clients.
The Direction in the Current Media Landscape
Unarguably, with the introduction and widespread application of the Internet, the media industry transformed significantly, and Google facilitated this change of direction. Hosch and Hall state that the budget for marketing attributed to offline sources has decreased over the last decade, and it “fell from a peak of $64 billion in 2000 to $20.7 billion in 2011.” Currently, this organization offers website owners to place advertisements on their pages in exchange for revenue through AdSense.
This direction that Google chooses for the media business was part of a carefully planned strategy because, since 2003, it has been investing in different startups that target online advertisement. Google purchased Applied Semantics, dMarc Broadcasting, DoubleClick, and AdMob to receive user databases and algorithms (Hosch and Hall). These acquisitions, together with Google’s most popular product, its search engine, allowed the organization to become the best place for advertising products and services.
This shift was facilitated by the changing consumer preferences as well since offline media sources became less popular. Hirshberg argues that the company’s algorithm affected the process of consumer contact with advertisements that altered the strategies of marketing overall since “the Internet changed the way we make and experience nearly all of the media.” One element of this is the fact that organizations are able to collect information about the preferences of individuals and tailor both their products and advertisements based on this data. Additionally, Hirshberg argues that the modern generation of people is unable to live without online media, which is also affecting this industry.
Google had a significant impact on these trends because the company facilitated the ability to access information quickly. Moreover, the specifics of the algorithm ensured that the web pages are useful to individuals searching. One can argue that both the fact that the search engine allowed easy access and the quality of content offered to users affected the perception of media on the Internet. Thus, nowadays, journals or magazines that do not have an online presence will struggle with obtaining revenue through advertisements.
Future of Google in the Media Industry
Based on the current direction and Google’s plans for the future, it can be argued that this organization will remain the top dog of the media industry. Firstly, it is due to the popularity of its leading service, which billions of individuals use every day. Secondly, the variety of products that Google offers allow them to incorporate different segments of consumers, which is beneficial for advertisers. Finally, even in case customer preferences and direction of development for the media industry changes over time, Google will have sufficient financial and human resources to address the changes.
Conclusion
Overall, this paper discussed Google and the development of the company and its products from its establishment until now. The first product offered by the company was a search engine, which remains to be its primary offering. However, the scope and target audience changed because currently, Google earns revenue from online advertisements. This signifies an essential change in the media industry in general since the majority of advertisers choose online sources over offline competitors.
Works Cited
“About Us.” Google, n.d. Web.
“From the Garage to the Googleplex.” Google. Web.
Hirshberg, Peter. “First the Media, Then Us: How the Internet Changed the Fundamental Nature of the Communication and Its Relationship with the Audience.” OpenMind. Web.
Hosch, William, and Mark Hall. “Google Inc.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Web.
“Who Are Google’s Main Competitors?.” Investopedia. 2018. Web.