If Google Died Tomorrow...

[Dale King]

I'm a member of several different forums, and I've noticed that a lot of businesses have made a fatal mistake by putting all of their eggs into one basket when it comes to marketing. In other words, they're going to sink or swim with Google.

Here's my question: If Google ceased to exist tomorrow, would you be able to adapt and stay afloat financially? If so, how? Do you have a contigency plan?

Dale King

[rogercbryan]

Dale, if Google ceased to exist tomorrow I would wake up next to my bon fire, grab my bow and arrow and go hunting. I would then take a bath in the river and proceed to do a little fishing. Why would I do this? Because, the world had ended and there was no more electricity or need for computers.

There are many things in business you need to plan for, Google disappearing is not one of them.

I do agree that too many companies rely to heavily on Google. I think a better question would be, “what is the proper diversification for my internet based marketing funds?”

I usually tell clients based on their industry to do a spread similar to that of each search provider’s market share. This is a great way to get started. You need to make sure you have the proper analytics in place so that you can track your success and make changes as necessary.

comScore Media Metrix Search Engine Ratings - Search Engine Watch

Above is a link to comScore Market Share Data.

[Dale King]

Dale, if Google ceased to exist tomorrow I would wake up next to my bon fire, grab my bow and arrow and go hunting. I would then take a bath in the river and proceed to do a little fishing. Why would I do this? Because, the world had ended and there was no more electricity or need for computers.

There are many things in business you need to plan for, Google disappearing is not one of them.

Roger, that kind of apathetic thinking and pervasive smugness is why I started this thread in the first place. I agree that the chances of Google going out of business are miniscule. However, it's NOT impossible. While Google hasn't come close to going out of business, it did devastate thousands of businesses back in November, 2003. Remember Florida?

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat past mistakes!"

Dale King

[manzanar101]

There are definitely a lot of businesses who solely rely on the great google, and if they went away it would cause trouble.

I'll be in honest and say it would hurt my company quite a bit as far as search engine traffic, considering that a good 80% of our search engine traffic comes from google - I would hate to lose that!

[gofrugal]

My business will die for sure. I have ad on yahoo and MSN as well but 95% traffic I get from google.

[paul2145r]

I think google collapsing is a definite possibility. There is a looong list of businesses that people thought would be around forever. Perfect example- Enron! (I know it's overused, but it works, people)

More recently, Google has been spending cash left and right. My sources in the telecom industry have said that google is looking into purchasing two or more of the biggest players in the U.S. cellular market. As we all know, that will run into the billions of dollars. That is a rather hefty bill, even for Google.

In addition to the cellular providers themselves, there have been a number of reports detailing a mobile operating system being developed by google to compete with Microsoft's Mobile platform. Again, even more cash getting put into a technology that could soon become obsolete.

According to my sources, Microsoft is beginning to shift away from standard cellular service. The next major technology on the horizon is WiMax. It is already implemented in a number of cities, but will be spreading throughout the nation and into Europe within the next 2-5 years. For those of you unfamiliar with the technology, WiMax is like WiFi, but on Anabolic Steroids and Testosterone Boosters. WiMax is long-range, and when implemented correctly, provides a large wireless pipeline for stationary and mobile uses. Bill Gates himself is looking into working with a company out of California by the name of Clearwire. They are quickly becoming one of the fastest growing WiMax-based ISP's in the country, and have shifted into using the technology for Voice-based tech similar to wireless VOIP.

The eye of Google has also passed over this technology. According to an article in the Washington Post, the Masterminds have teamed up with Sprint to get the technology going. What is funny, however, is that Sprint is also in cahoots with Clearwire to take care of the backend of the installation. The thought of Bill Gates, Sprint-Nextel, and Google working together on a project puts chill bumps down my back. What's next? Apple teaming up with Blackberry to offer iOverPricedMobileOfficeGadgetThingies? ... Hmm, that would actually be rather interesting. Anyways, the point of this long (and seemingly pointless) tirade is to show that Google is potentially overextending itself. Because the majority of the company is tied into the same group of entities, a drastic implosion would affect most, if not all divisions of the company. One dirty accountant working with a scheming executive could (theoretically) bring down the whole shebang.

I think that it is a bad idea to put all of your eggs in one basket. Yes, Google may be a goliath and a money-maker, but when push comes to shove, it has it's faults. My recommendation? Always keep your eye open for the next 'big thing', but never forget to establish and maintain a strong (diverse) foundation.

[aliendropper]

Everything changes

[dfveteran]

Everything changes

If Google disapeared I wont have proplems. I use one picture ad from them now. I could easily replace it with something else.

Great post Dale, you rock!

[Nick R]

If google was to suddenly disappear tomorrow then the simple answer would be another search engine like Yahoo would become more popular, it might be take a week but it would happen relatively quickly.

[Dale King]

If Google disapeared I wont have proplems. I use one picture ad from them now. I could easily replace it with something else.

Great post Dale, you rock!

Good for you, Lisa! You don't have all of your eggs in one basket. That's the kind of answer I was looking for. Thank you!

Dale King

[Dale King]

I'll be in honest and say it would hurt my company quite a bit as far as search engine traffic, considering that a good 80% of our search engine traffic comes from google - I would hate to lose that!

So what are you going to do to protect and insulate your business sans Google?

Dale King

[Dale King]

My business will die for sure. I have ad on yahoo and MSN as well but 95% traffic I get from google.

That's exactly why I started this thread to get people to think. So what are you going to do to insulate your business?

Dale King

[Dale King]

I think google collapsing is a definite possibility. There is a looong list of businesses that people thought would be around forever. Perfect example- Enron! (I know it's overused, but it works, people)

Always keep your eye open for the next 'big thing', but never forget to establish and maintain a strong (diverse) foundation.

Exactly. Well said, Paul.

Dale King

[Dale King]

If google was to suddenly disappear tomorrow then the simple answer would be another search engine like Yahoo would become more popular, it might be take a week but it would happen relatively quickly.

A week? Are you kidding? If you really believe that, then you're in for a rude awakening. If Google were to suddenly disappear tomorrow, there would be catastrophic repercussions and business casulaties all over the world. These problems would not be solved in a week. The simple answer would be don't put all of your eggs into one basket. Period. Insulate and protect your business today. Diversify!

Dale King

[Dale King]

Everything changes

Exactly.

Dale King