I was asked an interesting question last night that I wanted to share.
To frame it, we had been talking about ‘vertical search,’ or a specialized search engine that filters content from a limited number of sources. For example, a programmer might go to one vertical search engine to learn about different advancements in PHP, but a chemistry major might check out a completely different site for their information.
Anyway, I was asked if I thought whether or not Google was the ‘end all’ of search engines. My answer was no. I think that better search engines will take Google’s place, but by then search won’t be Google’s primary focus.
Google will continue to build out their advertising network because that is where they make their money. They just released the secret ad network which is by invite only and targets large corporate websites. They are signing exclusive deals with web properties like Myspace. Additionally, they will continue to enter all of the different territories on the internet, like Google Maps, Google Books, etc. But their primary mission will no longer be the search engine itself.
Because they are traveling into the software as a service fields with Docs and Spreadsheets and hammering away at their ad network, I see them maintaining a strong presence online. Yesterday though, Google stock fell after Barron’s newspaper said the stock was overvalued. Furthermore, scripting.com published an article saying that when the stock crashed, Web 2.0 would be at its end.
So where is Google headed? They will maintain dominance in whatever they choose. They have some of the world’s most brilliant minds. They have cash and assets. But ultimately, they have brand awareness. By the time a major competitor comes into focus, they will already be moving out of the search sector and onto something totally new.
