In this rapidly growing technological world, search engines play a vital role. We as humans cannot imagine our lives without the existence of search engines. Whenever the topic of search engines comes up, the first name to be taken is Google. With many search engines operating today, Google tops them all. The question here lies “how?” and the answer to this question is the uniqueness of Google. Google being the leading search engine with the highest market share has a number of competitive advantages. In this article we will capitalize our views on the three main competitive advantages of google.
Infrastructure
The first and the most important competitive advantage is its technological infrastructure. Google spends millions of dollars in the development and maintenance of its infrastructure but this investment helps Google to maintain its first position in the market. The massive infrastructure of Google ensures a fast and efficient search engine which does not allow users to switch to any other search engines. The technological infrastructure that Google possesses makes it difficult for the other search engines to compete with Google. Therefore it can be easily said that technological infrastructure is a sustainable competitive advantage for Google (Matthews, 2016).
Innovative Services
Innovative services that Google provides to its clients can also be considered a major competitive advantage for google. Despite from being the fastest search engine in the world google also offers many other services like Google Docs, Google Maps, Google Toolbar, Google Earth and many others. Google Toolbar enables users to carry out their research without leaving their work in progress. Another major service that is Google maps not only enables the user to identify the address but also fully guides the user to his destination with the route that takes minimum time. These are only few examples of the innovative services offered by Google, the list goes on. Google has also found a way to reach maximum number of users by creating mobile applications for android users. These business strategies allow google to stay at the top amongst many other search engines (Smart advantage, 2010).
Market Share
The third competitive advantage of Google is its market share. Google dominates the search engine market with a market share of over 60%. Google holds this position as a dominant search engine for quite some time now. The market share of google proves that the strategies used by this company are efficient and innovative. This market share can easily be considered one of the major competitive advantages of Google because this search engine is used by many in today’s world. It would not be wrong to say that Google is a part of every household these days. We hear people saying “let’s just Google it”. This indicates that Google has made a place in every individual’s life. People everywhere are using Google for as trivial search as looking up for a pizza delivery number. This attachment with Google does not allow consumers to switch to any other search engines (Tough Nickel, 2013).
The major competitive advantages discussed above prove that Google will get stronger with time, flourishing as a business and gaining success through maintaining its competitive advantages. There will be many other generations making use of the statement “I will Google it”.
References
Matthews, J. 2016. What are Google’s competitive advantage? [Online], Available at: https://turbofuture.com/internet/What-are-Googles-Competative-Advantages, [Accessed on: 14th January, 2018].
Smart advantage, 2010. How Google maintain its competitive advantage. [Online], Available at: https://smartadvantage.com/blog/how-google-maintains-its-competitive-advantage/, [Accessed on: 14th January, 2018].
Tough Nickel, 2013. Google’s competitive advantage and strategy. [Online], Available at: https://toughnickel.com/industries/Googles-Competitive-Advantage-Strategy, [Accessed on: 14th January, 2018].