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Ballmer's Right: Google Owns Search

12 Years Ago Techwriter10 0 Tallied Votes 486 Views Share

Steve Ballmer, speaking at the Search Engine Marketing Expo this week, credited Google with being the first company to get internet search done right. Google certainly wasn't the first internet search engine. Yahoo!, InfoSeek, Excite and Alta Vista to name but a few, came along long before Google emerged in the late 90s. What Google did was provide relevant results in a way that no other search engine had done before. It simply had (and still has) an uncanny way of finding the information you need in the first few results.

Amidst all of the expansion at Google from search into applications, a browser, an OS, a phone OS and even a phone; it's easy to forget that Google has always been first and foremost, an internet search engine. It's what it did first and it still what it does best.

The Value of Incumbency

Ballmer could be a bit frustrated, a bit jealous and bit tired of Google's success. Specifically, he said, "The number one thing that Google benefits from in search is that they did it right, first. There's value to incumbency." Well, yes there is. As users we have a tendency to use a tool until we have a reason not to use it anymore. I've written before, that no matter how good Bing may be (or not be), it doesn't really matter to most users. Some will try the new thing because it's new, but unless there is a compelling reason to change, most will stick with what works. And let's face it. Google works.

The Downside of Being the Target

Google has learned recently that being number 1 has its downside. Suddenly (as I wrote in Anti-Google Sentiment Reaches a Tipping Point), it's a big target for naysayers, litigators and haters. As I wrote:

It's never easy being the top dog. It's human nature to want to see you taken down a notch. It's common in sports and business. People get tired of the same team/company winning...

And although Google may find itself under attack these days, it continues to innovate. Like many big companies with lots of resources, it throws a lot of stuff out there and sees what sticks. Not everything is a winner, but enough of the tools are that it keeps us coming back, and through it all, that search engine remains a steadfast and true core for the company.

Ballmer's Respect or Derision

Ballmer has to be pleased on one level that Bing has gained as much market share as it has, but it hasn't come cheaply. Microsoft has paid millions of dollars in ad money to buy that share, whereas Google almost never advertises and has grown its market more organically. Ballmer admits that it's unlikely that his company's search engine will ever be number one in the US. Sure he has high hopes for it, but he's also realistic when he says the short term goal is to gain a few points of market share and to keep moving forward.

Microsoft has done a decent job with Bing, but the fact is that world really doesn't need another search engine. The one most folks use is just fine right now and Ballmer's right. Google got it done first and there's no real reason for most to change, no matter how much money Microsoft throws at it. As they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

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About the Author
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Techwriter10 42 Practically a Posting Shark

I am a Freelance Technology Journalist, blogger, FierceContentManagement editor and Contributing Editor at EContent Magazine. I have been writing about technology since 1988 and publishing credits include InsideCRM, CIO.com, Streaming Media Magazine, eWeek, BusinessWeek SmallBiz and Network World. I have also written White Papers, documentation and training for a variety of corporate clients, big and small. I co-founded [url]www.socmedia101.com[/url] in 2009 and contributes regularly to its content. You can learn more by visiting my blog, by Ron Miller at [URL]http://byronmiller.typepad.com[/url].

I won an Apex Award for Publications Excellence in Feature Writing in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

You can subscribe to my DaniWeb blog with Feedburner by following this link: [url= http://feeds.feedburner.com/TechTreasures]My feedburner subscription link[/url]

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InsightsDigital 57 Posting Virtuoso
12 Years Ago

I agree with you. Google has risen from the back then crowded space of search engines to the King it is now. Why? because Google made search better for users.

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canadafred 220 SEO Alumni Team Colleague Featured Poster
12 Years Ago

I disagree with the two notions that "if it ain't broken don't fix it" and about not needing search competitors.

In many ways, Google is broken.

In many ways, search competition is an absolute requirement.

Edited 12 Years Ago by canadafred because: n/a
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yuri.debura 0 Newbie Poster
12 Years Ago

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3oltan 0 Junior Poster in Training
12 Years Ago

I'm in favor of ANYTHING that helps out the Lakeside basketball team, even if it means El Presidente from Microsoft tweeting the score. We were horrible when I was there.

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