Is Google Losing Its Mojo?
Maybe a better question is has Google lost it’s magic?
A Confluence of Actors
Picture this: it’s the early 2000s, and a startup out of Stanford is about to become the behemoth that cataloged the world’s information. Google went from being a noun to a verb in the dictionary, from a search engine to a global tech superpower. But are its best days behind it? Let’s break it down.
I reflect on the Galloway book, The Four, about the The Big Four. For years, Google sat comfortably alongside Apple, Amazon, and Facebook as the “Big Four” of tech. Their moats seemed impenetrable. But every empire, be it Rome or Blockbuster, faces decline. The cracks are beginning to show.
Then, there’s the commoditization of search. Search was once Google’s secret sauce. Today? We have voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and even smart fridges answering our every query. The very act of “Googling” something is becoming more distributed and less centralized.
This all is happening as Google is caught in a Regulatory Noose. Europe’s been after Google for years with antitrust fines. And now the US is joining the party. The legal and regulatory pressures are becoming a constant hum in the background — a costly distraction, both financially and in terms of management bandwidth. Combining this with the privacy pendulum. Thanks to a growing global conversation about data privacy, spurred by scandals and an increasing awareness of surveillance capitalism, cookie-less browsers and data protection laws are on the rise. Google’s ad-dependent model feels more exposed than ever.
Mix with these elements that we are experiencing the rise of vertical search.
Remember when we “Googled” every product before buying?
Now, more and more consumers start their product search on Amazon. Real estate? Zillow. Job hunting? LinkedIn. Specialized platforms are chipping away at Google’s universal search dominance. Maybe this is best seen in Gen Z, the demographic behemoth, are proving less loyal to the Google suite. They’re as likely to ask TikTok for recommendations or use Snapchat’s discover feature as they are to do a traditional Google search. Brand loyalty is not a given with these digital natives.
Innovation or Desperation?
Google Glass. Project Loon. Many of Google’s ambitious “moonshots” have failed to achieve orbit. While some see these efforts as markers of innovation, skeptics might call them expensive distractions from the core business. Where’s the next Android or Chrome?
It seems that Google is betting everything to catch up in the AI arms race.
Enter Bard.
And enter an era SEO will change BIG TIME. There’s just no getting away from it.
Many in the SEO industry may not want the change to happen, and have buried their heads in the sand like the proverbial ostrich, but folks, be warned. Modern-day SEO as we know it will soon be gone. Dead. Halted in its track by a machine.
Somewhere down the line it may not even be called SEO because optimization for a search engine itself will be re-defined. That book of SEO is out the window, and a new one’s being written.
Why do I say this? Let’s quickly try to understand what online search is about. It has two players/users: those seeking answers, and those providing them. Which means, end-users, and companies/brands/marketer/organizations. The search engine is the middleman.
Basic search is of two types: those wanting information, and those seeking knowledge. Wisdom is still in the sole purview of humans.
For all of this and more, there’s content and SEO. The unfortunate truth of the digital era is that you may be the author of some of the most educative, illustrative, authoritative work ever, but unless it is SEO-treated, it will never be discovered/read by the target audience. No search engine rank, no audience. That’s the quintessential online search industry for you.
Now, some folks at Microsoft (and Google) have added the AI chatbot to the search engine. It’s another dimension. Different from the standard online querying that we all were familiar with so far.
The Future Of Google
The Valley’s talent once flocked to Google for the free meals and the chance to change the world. But with new startups offering equally compelling missions, and other giants like Tesla or SpaceX luring top-tier talent, Google’s once undeniable pull is, well, deniable.
Does all of this mean we’re witnessing the last gasp of Google? Not necessarily. But it does indicate a transition. Perhaps from a growth-oriented behemoth to a more mature, dividend-paying titan. Maybe Google becomes less of a tech firm and more of a holding company for a range of ventures.
In a world of constant disruption, resting on your laurels, no matter how shiny they once were, is dangerous. Google isn’t going anywhere tomorrow, but its unassailable position as the king of search is under siege.
The key for any business, especially giants like Google, is to recognize the impermanence of what you do, and reinvent yourself before the marketplace does it for you. Time will tell if the search giant heeds this advice.
Brian Fink is the author of Talk Tech To Me. He takes on the stress and strain of complex technology concepts and simplifies them for the modern recruiter. Fink’s impassioned wit and humor tackle the highs and lows of technical recruiting with a unique perspective — a perspective intended to help you find, engage, and partner with professionals.