Every time I look at Google’s earnings, P/E multiple and the products it continues to try to spawn from Google Labs, I always end up thinking the same thing. This is an amazing search company that created some really cool other products that have yet to make any real (ie: on the scale of PPC) money.
Then I start wondering…If search is only going to continue to go up in usage, why would Google divert energy and attention from search to create other products? As many a consultant has said: focus, focus, focus.
Then I ask, why not charge for natural/organic/SEO/insert term du jour listings? I actually believe we all might be better off for it – here’s why:
1) We’d actually find more of what we seek. There are too many results listings and it’s becoming too time consuming searching through them. Google’s algorithm rewards people that make Googlebots happy, not necessarily for meeting users’ true expectations. I know they’re meant to be the same, but frankly, they’re not. Nobody questions Google’s depth and breadth of results -- there’s, quite simply, nothing better. I will, however, pose the question of how often you find what you’re looking for in the top 5 listings. For me the answer is: not often enough.
2) Brands that matter will be represented. When I search for “running shoes”, I care about finding results for Nike, Adidas, Asics, New Balance and Reebok. Guess what -- none of those brands appear on page one. There are, however, plenty of small stores who pay nothing for the listings that do appear. Good for them, bad for me.
Now search for “jeans” and receive the exact opposite result: Levi, Diesel, Lucky, True Religion, 7 For All Mankind, Lee, Gap and Guess all appear in the page one organic results. Maybe there are no “jeans e-tailers” and there should be. More fittingly (pun acknowledged), the brands that should appear do. Brands shape our lives and they should in search as well.
3) Performance-based marketing will reach new heights, as infinitely more real estate will open up. Advertisers will measure these results just as they do with all efforts and the ones that have positive ROI will remain in the plan. Heat maps show that the golden triangle continues to shrink and paid advertising is more expensive and less effective on a strait ROI basis than it was years ago. Treat organic listings like physical real estate and domains – open them up the marketplace and allow capitalism to prevail.
By the way, Google makes oodles of money as a result. In the past, all roads leading in this direction have been followed – Google adheres to its mantra by “providing users what they want” while simultaneously meeting it’s public company mandate of creating greater shareholder value.
This viewpoint might not be popular (especially if you’ve achieved strong organic listings), but I can’t help but wonder when it will transpire. I’m not referring to a small-scale paid inclusion program ala Yahoo, I’m wondering when Google will open its waterfront real estate for bid.