Google Inc: Swot Analysis

Google Inc. : SWOT analysis Introduction: Google was started as a research project by two Stanford PhD students named Sergey Brin and Larry page. They registered the domain name google. com in the year 1997 and in September 1998, it became a privately owned incorporate Google Inc. With its extensive research on search algorithms and use of state of the art technology, Google successfully established its brand name in internet search engines market. By the year 2004, Google came up covering over 75% of US web search market. Though Google is a dominating player in internet searching market, it has to compete with its rivals in this field where there is no long time entry barrier. Google can expand / change its business model to survive in this best search engine race. SWOT Analysis:* Strengths:* †¢ Google – Already number one search engine has established a brand name, in which its users trust. It’s dependable, reliable and fast. †¢ Google needs very little end user marketing as the name itself is getting word by mouth publicity. Google has a simple interface and it gives comprehensive results without confusing its users. †¢ Google has low operation cost as it uses low cost UNIX web servers for indexing millions of web pages across internet. †¢ Google has hired PhDs who are continuously working hard in order to enhance search algorithms and make searching faster, efficient and relevant. †¢ By 2003, Google has already powered over 75% of the 300 million searches cond ucted daily in the U. S. and 300 million plus outside the U. S. Google provides an interface to 88 languages to make it comfortable to search for its users in different countries. †¢ Google uses state of the art search technology to index pages regularly in order to give most updated results to its users. †¢ Google also weights the votes and ranks web pages with its PageRank technology to give its user access to most important pages first. †¢ Google is not biased towards advertisers. It clearly separates relevant advertisements and actual results by giving â€Å"Sponsored Links† tag to sponsored results when user searches to get information with some keyword. Moreover, it also ranks sponsored links to keep most relevant sponsored links on the top. †¢ Google offers localized search called â€Å"search by location† where users can get results showing vendors, products and services nearby their areas. †¢ Google also has a range of innovative additional services like Images, Groups, Directory, and News. Google didn’t complicate its website by making itself a portal; rather it kept tabs for these services on its homepage so users can easily navigate and that also keeps the website as simple as it was earlier. Google has also come up with solutions for wireless handheld devices, personalized toolbars, catalogues which are added essence strengths. †¢ Google quickly routes the user to the webpage and doesn’t linger for ad revenue. *Weaknesses:* †¢ Many spammers manipulate Google’s ranking technology by creating dummy sites with thousands of links to pages that they wanted Google to rank highly. â₠¬ ¢ Google’s link based ranking did not employ actual traffic analysis. Google’s Cost Per Click advertising charging and ranking policy is confusing and makes it difficult for marketers to predict where their ads would be positioned and how much they would cost. †¢ Google’s contextual advertising was perceived by marketers to be less effective in generating sales because visitors to web pages showing editorial content were less likely than searchers to be ready to buy. †¢ Contextual search algorithms are not 100% perfect and many times make mistakes. Google’s localized search algorithms too sometimes result in errors due to automated indexing. †¢ Google’s business model is complex, depending upon both google. com and mass market portals for its revenue. †¢ Although Google is a dominating player among search engine websites, only 50% to 65% of web search queries are answered accurately by it. †¢ Google doesn’t have â €Å"sticky† like Yahoo! And MSN have which can attract users. †¢ Google doesn’t have highly personalized search by which it could charge users with switching cost if they decide to leave Google’s services.