Google's monopoly hurts small business - DOJ lawsuit

[youngdisciple1]

Have you heard about the doj lawsuit accusing Google of creating a monopoly?

They say Google uses profit from advertisers to pay phone companies for browser preference among other things.

If you don't about it, this video breaks everything down.

Do you think you're at a disadvantage on Google's platform and would benefit from other options?

 

[mooneypn]

@youngdisciple1 Any monopoly results in concentration of wealth and opportunities in the hands of few or one.

 

[youngdisciple1]

@mooneypn Not only opportunities, but power. The ability to control the flow of information.

 

[awexundoh]

@youngdisciple1 Google has always used its ad profits to pay for their entire business. New bets like self driving cars, better infrastructure, growing their cloud business, buying YouTube, etc. There is nothing inherently wrong with using a profitable business line to grow a new business line. This is basic business strategy.

You can debate the aspect of a monopolies impact on small business but that's entirely orthogonal with how they use ads profits. Frankly, I think Amazon using it's cloud business to subsidize low cost online goods sales is far more dangerous to small businesses as it directly competes and undercuts their business. Most of Google's services (e.g.maps, search) directly drive traffic to small businesses.

 

[youngdisciple1]

@awexundoh That's a good point about Amazon.

Google does continue to expand ads, for example, the local service ads, can't remember exactly what they're called. Local businesses are going to have to keep spending more money to get more visibility as organic spots keep getting pushed down. Might get even worse with sge.

That's just what the doj lawsuit is alleging.

 

[winning]

@youngdisciple1 You’re correct, and I use the free Google local business listings. Recently there has been a big reduction in the amount of business generated from the free listings. I am going to try out a paid listing next week.

 

[ivans]

@youngdisciple1 Invariably any thriving business has a marketing budget. I think this is a nothingburger. Google got in early on the SE & digital ad markets and they've done well. That doesn't make them a monopoly.

Do they have some serious problems with their ad platform? Absolutely. Calling it a monopoly distracts from the real argument here, though.

 

[youngdisciple1]

@ivans I can feel that. They basically created a moat.

They point to tying agreements and other legalities in the lawsuit.

What's the real argument?

 

[jessicalovesjesus1829]

@awexundoh The problem with Google isn’t that they use ad money to grow horizontally and vertically organically. The two main problem is that:

1. Being the de facto search engine, consumers (ad buyers like small business) have little options and must be subject to whims of Google and/or compete at a disadvantage with big business in the same industry on Google’s ad platform who might have a special relationship with Google due to their size.
2. Having a large cash reserve means that Google can buy out any company that happens to compete in the same field as Google wants to expand in. Instead of more innovation, Google sucks up these companies which could result in a new p&s or kill it due to whatever reason Google has that the original owner might not have choose. Innovation and competition comes when several parties are working to solve a similar problem. Monopoly or oligopoly lacks innovation and competition b/c they have controlled the market and made it difficult for new entrants.

As for the problem with Amazon, these guys are straight up copying successful products on their platforms and making a slightly cheaper version to sale. Since it’s Amazon’s platform, Amazon products are always top search which is often the page that most consumers click through to purchase too.

So if you made an innovative or popular but somewhat technologically simple product, prepare Amazon to copy it and sell almost an identical product, but with Amazon branding which always happen to be top search result. That’s how Amazon is killing small business on their platform, they steal your product, sell it cheaper b/c they have less cost per product than you do selling on their own platform.

Amazon also has access to consumer purchasing trends and analytics that you the business consumer don’t. B&M malls aren’t competing against the stores in the malls, they are only providing a platform for stores and consumers to connect. Amazon is both the mall and the biggest competitor to every store owner trying to sell on Amazon

 

[albatro55]

@youngdisciple1 I’ve seen them charge over $1,000 CPM for clients to show ads on their own brand names. It’s ridiculous. For reference, most keywords are under $20 CPM.

Just absolutely disgusting. I hope they are sued. Id testify if I ever got the chance.

 

[youngdisciple1]

@albatro55 Yea, I've seen almost $200 cpc for clients.

Im curious to see how it plays out, but not expecting anything.

 

[joshuawithmartin]

@youngdisciple1 If there were more major search companies to advertise with, maybe they would get more competitive on pricing or improve it in otherways.

 

[youngdisciple1]

@joshuawithmartin Exactly. Seems like everyone wants to argue against me for some reason. But this is the truth.

 

[awexundoh]

@youngdisciple1 It's because your points are largely rambling and incoherent and it just sounds like you have an axe to grind. Take this post here, Microsoft Bing has existed for many years and comes preinstalled as default on every Windows machine in the world. That's a very large install base. Duck Duck Go has made inroads on the privacy front.

I agree monopolies are generally not good for small businesses but that's not really what you're articulating. As a small business owner, Google services are simply far more helpful (and mostly free) relative to something like Amazon or even Walmart that unfairly and directly competes.

 

[youngdisciple1]

@awexundoh Why would I have an axe to grind? Just pointing out the news.

The doj pointed to phone manufacturers, so there's no windows phones that I know of.

The person I was replying to just said they're gonna end up spending more for paid ads, which im seeing happen a lot because Google keeps pushing organic down.

I've also seen companies basically fail because Google changed the search intent for certain keywords in organic.

Just pointing out the news. Not trying to argue with yall. I still use google, I still optimize for Google because that's pretty much the only option with 94% market share.

 

[revincentiii]

@joshuawithmartin There are other search engines. You can't force consumers to use them by a lawsuit.

 

[joshuawithmartin]

@revincentiii The lawsuit would be about the enormous amount of money google pays to make it the default on various platforms and other such practices. If it was less the default option, then it might give some other search engines a bit more of a fighting chance.

It's kinda like if the big company paid all the other companies not to do business with the small company starting out.

Also, you might say Google is the best, why use something else? That's a perception they have built with marketing and not allowing anyone to invest as much into it. They would not be buying their place as the default engine if it didn't work.

 

[brayden]

@youngdisciple1 Google is completely ruining consumer experience in my opinion.

It is impossible to find the “diamond in a rough” businesses that aren’t whoring themselves to Google for SEO & Ad preference.
I think it fundamentally shifts the focus of businesses from providing exceptional customer experience and value to that being the byproduct of what has in essence become a popularity content with Google being the judge.

 

[youngdisciple1]

@brayden Yea, many people have that issue because preference takes budget.

shifts the focus of businesses from providing exceptional customer experience and value to that being the byproduct

Facts. Website content is created to rank first.

 

[researchertony]

@youngdisciple1 How else would you like them to rank search results?