Marketing Pilgrim

When referring to the Google – Yahoo! – Microsoft triangle, one thing is certain: there will always be complaints: people complain about Google’s domination, about Yahoo!’s services, about Microsoft’s business practices and the list could go on and on. And, while everyone has the right to complain, one thing needs to be mentioned: these companies don’t have to be fair!

So Google is dominating the search industry? So they are giving people a hard time when it comes to SEO? So they will most likely be rewarding the big players with great rankings even more in the future? Well, guess what: it’s their company and they can do whatever they see fit.

The same thing goes for Yahoo!, Microsoft and any other company which is offering something for free. Some of their decisions may not exactly be what one would call fair, but that’s simply the way things stand. As a customer, nobody can force you to use a certain product.

There’s no need to beat around the bush: what do you, as an Internet user, think about when someone mentions the word “search”? You most likely think about Google and, why not, Yahoo! may also be on your mind.

Microsoft’s Live Search has started out as something they considered extremely promising but, unfortunately, things didn’t exactly turn out the way these folks would have liked them to. Let’s face it: as far as search is concerned, Live Search doesn’t represent anything, especially if you were to compare it to the big G.

Under such circumstances, we have the following scenario: a company with a lot of money on their hands (Microsoft) sees that one of its projects is as close to becoming a flop as it gets. And, with all of the possibilities out there, they choose to go with what clearly represents a pathetic attempt at bribery.

No matter what your attitude towards the Google-Yahoo-Microsoft triangle may be, such a title definitely makes you ask yourself a few questions. “The Real Google Killer”, no question mark? Nope, not this time. Yes, the real Google killer is out there and it’s only a matter of time until the inevitable occurs.

Am I referring to Microsoft? Even if they’d be willing to invest a pretty penny in order to make that happen, they don’t have what it takes at this point. What about Yahoo!? Given the way things stand financially as far as this company is concerned, they are hardly in such a position. Maybe Ask.com? You’ve got to be kidding me!

Up until this point, we know which companies we can exclude from the list of potential Google Killers. It’s not Microsoft, it’s not Yahoo! and it most definitely isn’t Ask.com. I’ve said this on numerous occasions here on MarketingPilgrim and this Fortune magazine article makes everything as clear as it gets: the Google killer will be (drum roll please) … Google!

I’m sure it comes as no surprise that everyone and their dog is talking about the fact that Microsoft is “officially” not interested in Yahoo! but it this actually a scenario people believe? Given the way things have unfolded up until this point, I’d definitely say that it is not the case.

Basically, we have two big companies playing cat & mouse and that’s about it. As I’ve mentioned on one of my previous guest posts here on MarketingPilgrim, we have two companies, one willing to buy at the right price and one willing to sell at the right price. And, since they seem to be unable to reach an agreement as far as that price is concerned, guess what they will do?

A recent article here on MarketingPilgrim, which referred to an interview with Eric Schmidt, where he basically saw Microsoft as the “evil” company the knight in shining armor (since Google’s CEO was being interviewed, I’m sure it’s clear who he sees as the “knight in shining armor”) needs to protect us from gave me the idea for today’s post

Obviously, the opinion in question is anything but objective, but it does make us wonder: who exactly is the bad guy? Given the fact that Google and Microsoft don’t exactly have a stainless track record, it’s definitely hard to tell.

On the one hand, we have Google as the biggest player in search, a company which is basically dominating the Web and, as a result, it should come as no surprise that most folks see this as something extremely dangerous. The fact that they are also in quite a shopping spree also contributes to the “bad guy” image Google has.

The Microsoft and Yahoo! Q1 earnings reports represent important variables which need to be taken into consideration, so that analyzing them for a moment is definitely a must. It’s only natural that these earnings reports as well as the reactions of the two companies leave a lot of room for interpretation and, once again, we can indeed say that the week was anything but boring.

The folks over at Yahoo! do seem to have an edge thanks to their Q1 report which, let’s face it, is not bad at all. In fact, it may just represent the missing ingredient which could, why not, convince Microsoft to raise the bid. In fact, Jerry Yang’s reaction (“Our board and management team continue to be open to any and all alternatives, including a Microsoft deal”) definitely makes it clear that Yahoo! sees this Q1 report as an opportunity to obtain a far more tempting offer.

An extremely interesting weekly highlight definitely has to be the Google – comScore drama and, given the way things have unfolded, it’s clearly something worth looking into, as it illustrates how everything can (and, in most cases, will) backfire if you “dare” to mess with the big G.

Everything started with comScore’s 1.8% paid click growth for the first quarter announcement, which has naturally generated quite a bit of buzz. Is this the beginning of the end for this giant? Is this an early sign that Google is beginning to collapse under its own weight (and, given the fact that the competition isn’t exactly fierce, that’s the most dangerous scenario as far as the big G is concerned)? Are they starting to pay the price for all of their controversial decisions? Nope!

Nope, it’s not something which helps you stay in shape: I am, of course, referring to the Google-Yahoo!-Microsoft triangle which dominates everything which has to do with news and it definitely seems that things are not about to change.

I liked the way Andy has analyzed the similarities between the GYM triangle and soap operas. After all, soap operas are all about illustrating how people can go from hating each other to becoming close friends, from enemies to lovers, right? Let’s analyze a few important events and see if the same principle applies as far as the GYM triangle is concerned.

First of all, Microsoft’s initial bid was seen by many as the beginning of a partnership which could have even threatened Google’s position as the biggest player. But let’s just say that the folks over at Yahoo! were not exactly thrilled about their offer, so that Microsoft’s attitude has changed accordingly, with a hostile takeover being something which wouldn’t come as that much of a surprise given the way things have developed.