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0) Executive Summary This study advances prior work by demonstrating the current market behavior in the internet services industry. The research provides insights by understanding the customers, company and its external environment to build a competitive advantage through marketing. Using a quantitative approach, 55 usable responses were analyzed. Findings allow market segments to be created. This would facilitate the process in understanding of customers, and then, drafting of a marketing strategy. This research extends beyond the obvious and revelas sbtle yet essential aspects that a company should emphasize on. This has led us to infer that Google should enhance its brand through various channels.

2.0) Introduction With Google I'm starting to burn out on knowing the answer to everything. People in the year 2020 are going to be nostalgic for the sensation of feeling clueless, quoted Doug Coupland. Such description has pictured Google as a portal to the rich resources of the internet and the impact of the internet service provider on our current and future generations. Google Inc. was founded by Stamford University PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. The companys mission statement is to organize the worlds information and make it universally accessible and useful. The company has achieved great heights through its distinctive competences in different aspects, like technology and organizational structure. However, the company which is only 14 years old has to exhibit its capabilities in becoming a strong competitor among other companies, like Apple and Facebook. One of the limitations of research would be text comprehension whereby the respondents did not fully understand the content of the questionnaire. This resulted in lack of available data as some respondents did not complete the questionnaire. Such issues inhibited the team to understand the current issues and acquire useful information from the respondents in understanding the whole industry as well as the organisation.

3.0) Marketing Research This survey is conducted online from 3/11/12 till 6/11/12. A total of 55 respondents have been collected. The questions in the survey were drafted to accordingly to understand the perceptions, satisfaction and expectations of Internet and Google users. We have highlighted a few issues which would be further discussed in the following section 3.1) Perceptions

Has the Internet substitued these products?

50 40 30 20 10 0 Printed media Broadcasting media Face-to-face communication Phone calls 45 19 Yes 37 13 36 14 32 18 No

The results show that the internet is a powerful tool that has integrated into peoples daily lifestyle activities. The development of technology has outgrown the pace of various products and channels. Printed media includes newspapers and magazines that purport to deliver information in an economic way. The advancement of the internet which lowered the cost of internet usage has caused people to switch to this medium. Broadcasting media perhaps is similar to the Internet, but the Internet allows users to choose the content without being disrupted by advertisements. Internet has reduced face-to-face communication among people and tend to spend more time on social media websites, like Google+. Finally,products like Google Talk and Skype has allowed people to communicate without much charge as compared to the phone.

Most important organisational aspect

15% 8% 15% 49% 13% Purpose Process Management & leadership Corporate culture Resources

Majority of the respondents (49%) reflected that Googles most important organizational aspect would be its process. This includes aspects like technology and innovation and the effectiveness in implementing it. Management and leadership as well as the companys resources are the second most essential aspects which serve as the backbone of the organization. Googles distinctive leadership model (triumvirate structure) has manage to deliver growth to the company. Resources in terms of finance, for example is also very important in funding various projects. The purpose is closely aligned with Googles mission statement to organize the worlds information and make it universally accessible and useful. Despite this, Google has developed with products related to productivity. Lastly, Googles corporate culture, like peer-review and the 20% rule is ranked lowest among other aspects.

Users' preference of search engine

Yahoo! 2% Ask.com 0% Bing 0%

Google 98%

Google holds the dominant position in the search engine market, followed by Yahoo! (2%). This is probably due to the relevance of search results and performance of the search engines. This results is on par with the Googles global market share of 88%.
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3.2) Satisfaction

Users' satisfaction
100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 11 30 39 22 36 34 26 22 16 9 24 25 Extremely satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Exteremely dissatisfied

The above products are chosen to assess the satisfaction level of users. Google search engine is ranked first, followed by Google Chrome and YouTube. Google Chrome is claimed as the fastest internet browser compared to its competitors, while YouTube has a stable and large base of audience. 3.3) Expectations

Changes to improve Google

4% 14% 11% Design Performance Interactivity Variety 71%

Google needs to improve its performance in terms of speed and relevance of search results. The increase in variety of Googles products could attract and retain users by facilitating them in their intended tasks. Googles clean and simple platform design which has been the same since its establishment may make its users lose enthusiasm. The respondents reflected that Googles interactivity need not much attention to pay on. This is probably Googles automated system in handling enquiries and feedback.

4.0) Reviews and Analyses This section aims in analyzing the current situations in the organization, the industry and beyond the industry.

4.1) Market Segments Internet users spend their time on various activities through various products and services. We have identified 4 main categories, which are ranked as below: 4.1.1) Information and Research Internet is preferred by people as a mean of obtaining information nowadays. Search Engine, such as Google and Yahoo has evolved and gives fast, accurate results in seconds (0.12 to 0.06 seconds), which allows users to gather huge amount of information in the shortest time possible. Users can get the most recent information through searching the right sites. For instance, users that demand for financial news can go for Forbes and Wall Street Journal. The presence of substantial collections of scholarly articles have contributed in the sharing economy which is built upon exchange and some cannot be defined in terms of money.(Lessig, 2008 p 146).

4.1.2.) Entertainment As the demand for entertainment modes increases, internet is able to fulfil this needs in various forms. People can stream or download movie and music of their choice from the internet. As the internet is widely accessible, people are opting for songs and movies in soft copies, rather than visiting DVD and music stores. Another factor of such trend would be personalisation, whereby consumers prefer to arrange their songs to suit their taste, instead of buying a whole DVD. Apple has built the biggest music library, iTunes. Internet users can also enjoy others experiences through their blogs or videos from sites such as YouTube and DailyMotion. Also, there are plenty of games available on the internet,that could also involve participation of other online players.

4.1.3) Business The emergence of internet has made internet jobs and businesses possible. There are people now who make a living through creating blogs and earn money through advertisement with Google Adwords. Certain model of businesses can now run fully on the internet, without requiring an office and by a person only. People can also discuss and find required data for work through the internet. Generally, internet offers great flexibility for businesses.

4.1.4.) Social Networking Nowadays, social networking is becoming a trend in the society. People in any corner of the world can communicate with each other despite the distance using internet. e media industry was one of the first to understand this, adding sharing options to content, which led to more page views and better status in search results (Armano 2012). The introduction of gadgets (tablets and smart phones etc.) facilitated in technology mobility and the internet-using experience. This makes these gadgets an ideal platform for communication. Popular websites for social networking are Facebook, Twitter and Skype.

4.2) PESTEL Analysis 4.2.1) Political Factors Political influences do not significantly affect Googles operations. For a long time, Google maintains its commitment to open and free use of internet and resists censoring content. However, due to the vast amount of data that is posted on Googles website, especially YouTube, it is inevitable that there are sensitive materials among it. Hence, Google has been receiving requests from government regularly to censor and remove contents from the website. As a U.S based companies, Google complies with the law and censors materials such as child pornography. At the beginning of the year, Google adheres to Chinas policy of censoring to return to the worlds biggest internet market. Google has been collecting data of internet users through the various tools and services they provided. Naturally, government has asked Google to pass on its private data. Statistics show that in the second half of 2011, it receives 6321 requests from the U.S government for data and 12000 requests from foreign countries. In 2011, Google abandons it street view project, a technology used in the Google maps in Germany due to objections from officials and a couple of lawsuits that arose from the project. 4.2.2) Economical Factors Although the world economy is in a state of recession due to the crisis in Euro and U.S, Googles online advertising is barely affected. In fact, Google benefits from the depression in economy. Revenue from online advertising has increased by 29% in 2011. The economic crisis at hand forces company to seek more economical ways to market their products. The huge and still growing community causes companies to turn their focus from traditional advertising, which are time consuming and costly, to online advertising, a cheaper and more efficient means of marketing. For example, Procter & Gamble, the largest marketer in the world is laying off 1600 employees to reduce the companys staggering annual advertisement budget of 10 billion as it doesnt pay off as expected. Instead, it is going to focus on advertising on websites such as Google and Facebook. Online advertising provides a two-way-communication and has more immediate results. Furthermore, it allows easier tracking on the return on investment, as internet is widely accessible.

4.2.3) Social Factors The invention of smart phone and 3G technology resulted in people becoming more mobile. The time people spend online is increasing. Internet plays an important role in peoples life in this era. No matter in work or study, internet is the mode chosen by many to retrieve information, as well as in other activities. It is shown that Google dominates the search engine market with a market share of 88% globally. As the market leader, it is no doubt that companies will approach Google for its online advertising. Furthermore, Googles Android Operating System (OS) owns 75% of the smart phone market share. Android is widely used by technology companies, such as Samsung and HTC. The booming market of smart phones and mobile devices is projected to benefit Google.

4.2.4) Technological Factors The advancement of technology, such as the introduction of smart phones and development of internet contributes in Google becoming the market leader of both the search engine and OS market. However, Google faces intense rivalry from Yahoo and Microsoft in the search engine market, and Apple, Blackberry in the smart phone OS market. Hence, it is crucial that Google keeps on improving its services and products to fend off the competition. For instance, Google offers a variety of services in its search engine, such as Google analytics, Google Docs (an online version of Microsoft Office), Google Translate and Google Chrome (its own internet browser). For Android, it includes Google Maps (its own mapping system), which include functions like street maps and route planner. This helps to attract audiences and maintain their stand as the market leader. On the other hand, Google is also venturing into other sectors to open up new possibilities and chances. In 2011, they bought over Motorola Mobility, a producer of Smartphone. It also releases its own tablet, the Google Nexus to compete in the new market. Recently, Google introduced its own laptop, otherwise Chromebook, which includes all the functions and services of Google.

4.2.5) Environmental Factors These days, environmental consciousness among people is increasing. Issues such as global warming, greenhouse effect have raised the awareness of citizens. Energy saving has become a concern for Google. For once, Google is complained for its server that consumes large amount of energy. In order to reduce its carbon footprint, Google has made efforts to harness renewable energy. In 2007, Google installed the largest solar panel of its kind at its headquarters in California, which can produce 1.7 MW. Furthermore, it has signed 2 20 years contract to purchase wind energy for its data centres at Iowa and Oklahoma. Google also opens a new subsidiary, Google Energy. In 2010, Google Energy invested 38.8 million in two wind farms at North Dakota, which can generate electricity enough for 55000 homes. Google invested more than $915 million in various projects related to renewable energy and its efforts are recognized by the United States Environment Protection Agency (EPA).

4.2.6) Legal Factors Just like any other technology company, Google is often involved with lawsuits. One that is common is copyright violation. In 2010, Googles subsidiary, You Tube was sued by Viacom, the owner of popular channels such as Nickelodeon and MTV. Viacom claimed that You Tube and Google did nothing although ten thousands of its copyrighted works are posted on the website. Although Google managed to settle the dispute that time, the case is now reinstated and opens again. Google Books, one of Googles services has also been attracting lawsuits. The services allowed users to search the full text of books and magazines which were scanned and stored in its database. This ended up with Google entering a settlement agreement in 2008 with publishers and until now the problem is yet to be resolved. Google also faces problems from click fraud. Click fraud utilises Googles system of pay-perclick, when a person, automated script or computer program imitates a legitimate web user clicking on an ad, which drives up the advertisement budget of the respective company. Click fraud activities usually run in rings and the group receives benefits of their activities. Although Google has launched efforts to combat it, the activity becomes more sophisticated and keeps evolving to overwhelm the defences and barriers that are put up.
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Furthermore, Google is entering into patent wars with companies such as Apple and Microsoft. Googles OS, Android has been the major rival of Apples iOS and Nokias phone which runs on Windows OS. Apple has been trying to withdraw the support of Googles services in its products. Following Apples victory against Samsung in the patent lawsuit, Googles newly-owned Motorola Mobility and its hardware partners are expected to face legal hurdles against the technology giant. In order to tackle political and legal issues, Google, Facebook, eBay and other technology companies has formed a lobbying group called The Internet Association. The alliance will lobby on visas and privacy issues and try to influence regulations pertaining revenue repatriation, cyber security and sales tax.

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4.3) Channels: The Google Value Chain There have been different approaches in analyzing Googles value chain. However, most of them resemble the structure of the typical value chain, which consists of the primary and supporting activities. 4.3.1) Primary Activities Advertising and content creation (Inbound logistics) AdSense and AdWords allow advertisers to market their products more efficiently. Rather than implementing the standard payment structure via cost-per-click, Google had implemented the AdWord bidding system. The advertisers would bid for a keyword, and the sale is made to the advertiser with the highest bid (Girard, p. 35). Well-chosen keywords result in more clicks, more visitors to advertiser websites, and more revenue for Google (Girard p 36). This bidding system enables smooth transaction between Google and the advertisers, as the price is determined by the market rather than Google itself. In 2003, Google bought over Blogger, a web-log publishing service from PyraLabs. Blogs have been well received a vast majority of internet users, as it is perceived as a platform in enhancing communication and expressing thoughts. And using the facilities of a free digital network, anyone can share that content with anyone (Lessig, p 69). Packaging (Operation) Apart from confidence and privacy concerns, the respondents revealed that the reliability of websites and irrelevant search results are the aspects that require improvement. In the Time magazine, McCracken (2011) wrote [Google] has every reason to do whatever it takes to preserve its algorithms long-standing reputation for excellence. If consumers start to regard it as anything less than good, it wont be good for anybodyexcept other search engines. This reflects Googles necessity to return only the most relevant results at the top of the page, sparing people from combing through the less relevant results below (Google 2012). This had been achieved via PageRank in 1998 followed by various revisions till the recent Panda update to improve the user experience by catching and demoting low-quality sites that did not provide useful original content or otherwise add much value (Google 2012).

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Distribution (Outbound logistics): Internet The Oxford dictionary describes the Internet as a global computer network providing a variety of information and communication facilities. The World Wide Web (WWW) created by Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee, is a major component of the Internet, which serves as a platform - a flexible technology where many different ideas and forms of data can be connected for creativity or invention (Berners-Lee, BBC). This allows the content of a publisher, as well as advertisements to be delivered to the users via user interfaces. Through the Internet, people are able to publish their articles and content in many forms, for instance, videos and articles. Lessig (2008, p 128) argues that practically everything Google offers help Google build an extraordinary database of knowledge about what people want, and how those wants relate to the Web. User Interface (Sales and marketing) The user interface could be simply defined as the way a person interacts with a computer or electronic device (PCmag 2010). Such example ranges from software applications (browsers etc.) to hardware components (computers and mobile devices). The huge numbers of computer users and the rapid growth of mobile devices, like the cell phones have. For example, in June, 2012, there were 2,405,510,036 internet users (IWS, 2012). Despite the presence of Google Chrome web browser in computers and other mobile devices and its reputation as the fastest browser (Mediati, 2009), Google Chrome has only managed to seize 18.55% of the market share, lagging behind Microsofts Internet Explorer (54.13%) and Mozilla Firefox (19.99%).Microsofts lead is expected to continue with the addition of Internet Explorer 10, which comes preloaded with Windows 8 (Mediati 2009). The emergence of Android operating system (developed by Google) in smart phones and tablet computers has contributed significantly in the users accessibility to the internet. End User (Services) According to BusinessDictionary.com, a user is an entity that has authority to use an

application, equipment, facility, process, or system, or one who consumes or employs a good or service to obtain a benefit or to solve a problem, and who may or may not be the actual purchaser of the item. In other words, they are the people making the ultimate decision regarding a product. Indirectly, Google has managed to understand the users behavior through their browsing history, hence adapting their search results to the users preferences and location.
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4.3.2) Supporting Activities Procurement This activity is closely related to the supply chain management, which aims in optimizing the activities of businesses working together to produce goods and services. Since Google has two markets, which are the advertisers and the users, it has to satisfy both markets. As costs are incurred throughout the stages in the value chain, the costs of equipments used in each activity should be lowered. Technology development plays a crucial role in enhancing performance and lowering costs, both involving hardware devices (wires, servers etc.) and software applications (search engines, browsers etc.). Google development of the prediction application program interface enables business to plug in data into an algorithm that can accurately predict solutions (Scarpati 2011). As a result, advertisers spend more on Google than any other search engine because it offers them the best results (Girard, 2009 p. 109). Google has to establish and expand a strong network with the advertisers, hence increasing its revenue. Human Resource Management In the year 2012, Google was reported by Fortune Magazine as the best company to work for. Employees enjoy a vast variety of benefits, as reported by CNN Money that employees rave about their mission, the culture, and the famous perks of the Plex: bocce courts, a bowling alley, eyebrow shaping (for a fee). The Plex (or Googleplex) is the corporate headquarter of the company located in California, U.S. On the other hand, the company leverages these benefits through its expectations of employees. Only the best are recruited to join the company, and beforehand, the candidates have to go through as many as 8 interviews (Girard p 52, 59). Sullivan. Googles recruiter specialisation strategy considers recruitment as a major function and is the best-funded recruiting function in any product-driven corporation (Sullivan 2006). Technology It is clearly visible that Googles consistent effort in innovating new products has been the backbone of the success of the organization. By adopting the similar framework from 3M Company, Google came up with the 20% Rule, which the employees devote 20% of their time in their own project, aligned with the companys goals and the rest on their core tasks. Furthermore, the companys peer review policy allows other co-workers to give their opinions on a particular product and suggestions on how to improve it.
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To understand the customers expectations, Google often release its products in Beta versions, which are open-source software that allow users to modify to improve them. This is a form of gift economy which purpose is to do better and achieve wealth through contribution, to create more things for the purpose of achieving status and benefitting our community and society in general (Matzan, 2004). Firm Infrastructure Over the past ten years, Googles triumvirate management authority has steered the company towards becoming a leviathan of the internet and technology industry. Authority is divided between the co-founders (Larry Page and Sergey Brin) and the CEO Eric Schmidt in performing what they do best developing technology and management respectively. Such structure is different as compared to other companies, like Microsoft and Apple which adopts the single-leader-centred model. The triumvirate structure assists in decision making as multiple perspectives could be supplied. However, the pressure of emerging and existing competitors like Facebook and Microsoft, particularly in the similar field, has led Google in coming up with a decision that Eric Schmidt handing over his CEO role to Larry Page. The Economist stated that the triumvirate structure has shown its limit (time-consuming decision making process) and believes that Mr. Page is clearly ready and eager to run the show again (Page was the CEO before the arrival of Schmidt).

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4.4) Product Review 4.4.1) Google Search Engine In 2011, 96% of Google's revenue derived from its advertising programs. For the 2006 fiscal year, the company reported $10.492 billion in total advertising revenues and only $112 million in licensing and other revenues. Google has implemented various innovations in the online advertising market that helped make it one of the biggest brokers in the market. Using technology from the company DoubleClick, Google can determine user interests and target advertisements so they are relevant to their context and the user that is viewing them. Google Analytics allows website owners to track where and how people use their website, for example by examining click rates for all the links on a page. 4.4.2) Advertising Google advertisements can be placed on third-party websites in a two-part program. Google's AdWords allows advertisers to display their advertisements in the Google content network, through either a cost-per-click or cost-per-view scheme. The sister service, Google AdSense, allows website owners to display (host) these advertisements on their website, and earn money every time advertisement are clicked, which about 30%. However there are Stratten (2010) had identified a few disadvantages on using AdSense. You cant do the open a new window trick when users click, which would open the site from the advertisement in another window, leaving your site open, as this violates the Google AdWords terms of service (Stratten 2010). 4.4.3) YouTube Youtube is essentially the most dominant video streaming website with a worldwide market share. YouTube encounters many hurdles with piracy issues. YouTube delivered almost 44% of the 201 billion videos viewed globally, nearly 20 times as much as China's Youku, which was in second place with 2.3%. Since the global market is fragmented, YouTube may have greater market share than the top 100 video sites combined.

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4.5) Porters Five Forces (online advertising industry and the search engine industry) 4.5.1) Potential New Entrants: Low The barriers to enter the search market are high. Potential new entrants have to take the resources available into consideration. First, a huge amount of capital is required to build a complete and sophisticated network, both in infrastructure and contacts. This could be seen when Sun co-founder, Andy Bechtolsheim writes a check for USD 100,000 to Larry Page and Sergey Brin in establishing Google Inc. With regards to this, Google has one of the largest distributed computing/grid systems in the world (Carr, 2006). Furthermore, Google is a well established company. In 2011, Google is ranked 4th (worth over USD 55,317) in Interbrands assessment of top global brands. Also, the intense competition in both the online advertising industry and the search engine industry (fortified by the introduction of various tools and applications) reflects that the market is relatively saturated. Despite low switching costs, potential new entrants have to display distinctive competences in order to attract users. 4.5.2) Bargaining Power of Customers: High As the switching cost is low, Google comes up with a variety of products that has managed to attract users and feed their expectations and intended tasks, as ex-Vice President of Search Products and User Experience, Marissa Mayer thinks that Google should be like a Swiss army knife: clean, simple, the tool you want to take everywhere. Most of the products require customers to sign up for an account, which explains Googles ability to understand customers behavior based on their browsing history has enhanced its performance to provide more relevant and reliable search results. This creates customer satisfaction is a vital part of creating loyal customers for a specific brand (Weisbein, 2009). 4.5.3) Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Low Googles ad system is a reliable source of income because both the ad-making partner and ad-receiving individual are both customers of Googles (Morrow, 2008). In 2011, Google earned revenue of USD 37.9 billion, which its 96% came from online advertising. The finance and insurance industry was the largest portion of advertisers, spending over USD 4 billion. The AdWord bidding system eliminates rare negotiations between advertisers and Google salesperson as well as concerns about price increases, and it makes billing simple and more transparent (Girard, 2009).

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Advertisers say they have no bargaining power because Google controls so much Internet search ad real estatemore than 70%, according to the U.S. Justice Department (Orey, 2009). Advertisers bid for keywords for the website which their advertisement is placed. However, the bid that advertisers place on Google is confidential as well as the process in calculating the placement and ranking of the advertisement. Googles approach of such lack transparency may affect advertisers credibility. 4.5.4) Rivalry: High The internet services industry consists of a number of products developed by several competitors. Investors hope Google keeps finding new opportunities to grow, somewhat like Apple has done by moving into new markets with new solutions (Hartung, 2011). Throughout the years, Google has been developing its product range, and in 2010, launched the Android operating system in smart phones. Despite the spectacular ramp-up in Android smart phone sales, Google hasnt yet successfully monetized that platform (Hartung, 2011). However, Google is still the leading internet search provider, with a market share of 66.7% in September (Lardinois, 2012). Its closest competitor, Microsofts Bing (with a market share of 15.9%), is so far behind in both market share and revenue that Google has become, effectively, a monopoly (Katz, 2012). In the meantime, Yahoo!s market share continues to decline, while the new CEO Marissa Meyer (which left Google for the position) focuses on the Process, Bureaucracy and Jam (PB&J) initiative to execute faster, hire top talent, and make Yahoo the absolute best place to work. PB&J is Google-like and quintessentially Mayer - data driven, democratic, and fun (Sellers, 2012). 4.5.5) Potential Substitutes: Low Currently, there is no suitable substitute for the internet search engine. In fact, internet has been an alternative mode for other media. This is probably due to the lack of accessibility to the internet and user interfaces, like computers. The growth rate of online advertising has been increasing tremendously. Online advertising, in terms of expenditure by advertisers, is projected to overtake printed media by 2012 (Mitra, 2012). To convey their message, advertisers nowadays have focused on the internet because of its number of audience and users. Animated advertisement and videos have also contributed in the growth of this industry.

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4.6) Competitors Analysis: Each of the following companies distributes their own distinctive characteristics. The impacts of these companies have driven Google to strive harder to position itself as a strong organization. 4.6.1) Facebook Inc. Social media sites have been emerging progressively in the internet for purpose of socializing. Rather than the typical word-to-mouth interaction, advertising modes could be expanded via feedback satisfied customer and referral by a trusted source (Stratten, 2010). Having emphasizing on social media sites, Stratten (2010) also stated that if you are aiming for the bottom hierarchy of buying, then Google AdWords is a great tool. But I would rather aim higher. Facebook is currently the largest social media site having over one billion monthly active users as of October 2012 (Facebook, 2012). In 2011, Nielsen, a media research company revealed that Americans spend 23% of their online time of media social sites, while only 4% on search engines. This affects Google in two main aspects, which are advertising and Google socializing products. Social media sites like MySpace and Facebook offer advertisers highly targeted placements because they have extensive and precise information on their users age, gender, location and interests (Girard, 2009 p. 170). On the other hand, Google is only able to do so when the user logs into his account. Also, Facebook allows users to organize their own activity log. In this case, Facebook is able to provide advertisers with more accurate analysis of the users, thus narrowing the advertising target. There are also increasing numbers of businesses setting up fan pages in Facebook, in order to market their products and increase their sales revenue. Google Plus (Google+) was launched in June 2011 and currently has over 100 million (monthly) active users. This shows that Google+ needs to exploit Facebooks weakest link and show that it will outpace Facebook at it for a long time (Catacchio, 2012). Nonetheless, both socializing services are distinctive in their own way. Foxnewss 2012 review on both products showed that Google+ tends to have better performance in mobile devices, messaging, following people, media sharing, and design, while Facebook is ideal in managing friends and for entertainment. To compete with Facebook, Google must integrate Google+ with its other killer services so tightly that leaving the Google property you're in and going to Facebook becomes a hassle (Sullivan, 2012).

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4.6.2) Yahoo! Yahoo! Currently possess only 2.8% of the total search engine market share. After a series of incidents and changes to the organizational structure, Yahoo! Has yet to perform better in the future. In 2008, Microsofts takeover bid for Yahoo! of USD 44.6 billion was turned down by Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang. Yangs controversial action affected Yahoo!s share price, which he finally gave in to his critics as he announced his decision to step down as the company's chief executive (Johnson 2008 Guardian). Ever since then, Yahoo! Struggles to find a suitable successor after the departure of Carol Bartz, Scott Thompson, Ross Levinsohn. The troubled company has turned into a vexing brain-twister as its financial performance has steadily deteriorated even though it still boasts one of the Internet's biggest audiences and best-known brands (Liedtke, 2012). Last July, Marissa Mayer, who was Googles Vice President left for the CEO post in Yahoo!. There have been different perceptions on whether Mayers decision. The Internet in general lambasted the executives choice, claiming that Yahoo was an inferior company and Mayer was making a fools bargain to choose Yahoo over Google (ODell, 2012). Furthermore, Mayer was pregnant when she accepted the CEO post. It may take time for Yahoo! to reform, but Google would be affected by such incident. First, Google has lost one of their most valued employees. Worse still, Google lost Mayer to its competitor. In April, 2011, Larry Page stepped up as Googles new CEO. He launched a major renovation of the companys structure and priorities and Mayer was bruised in that reshuffling (Miller, 2012). From being in charge of Googles search core products, Mayer was stuck with Googles local products, like maps and restaurant recommendation (Miller, 2012 ). For someone as ambitious as Mayer clearly is, not moving forward was not an option; staying at a company where she could not advance was not part of her game plan (ODell, 2012). Mayer mentioned that running Yahoo is a job tailor-made for me. Mayer has profound knowledge on internet tools and applications, which has contributed in deeper understanding in Yahoo!s users. Mayer has displayed the direction in following into Googles strategy and culture. Swisher (2012 All Things D) described that it will be just like Google, from whence she came. Mayer has been following Googles footsteps into the mobile market when she announced that Yahoo hasnt capitalized on the mobile opportunity. Our top priority is a focused, coherent mobile strategy. Another aspect would be Mayers Process, Bureaucracy & Jam (PB&J) program, which aims in fostering a new culture. The PB&J program was

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described as Google-like and quintessentially Mayer - data driven, democratic, and fun (Sellers 2012 CNN). 4.6.3) Apple Inc. Googles Android operating system (OS) managed to seize over 75% of the mobile market share. This is due to the Android OSs presence in various brands, like Samsung, HTC and Motorola. Apple, however is only limited to its self-developed products, like the iPhone and iPad. Apples late CEO, This proves that Google and Apple have different perspectives on their products, which are opened and closed respectively. Apples model is end-to-end control over the iPhone process, from hardware to software to the mobile applications that it must approve for sale in the App Store (Gustin, 2012). Google, on the other hand, succeeded in developing its Android OS for free in mobile devices. Steve Jobs expressed his frustration in his biography, stating that "I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this." As a result, both companies have been firing each other over patent infringement claims. The New York Times (Duhigg, 2012) reported that he marketplace for new ideas have been corrupted by software patents used as destructive weapons. Now, with the CEOs that initiated such severe competition, both Google and Apples CEOs are Google chief executive Larry Page and Apple CEO Tim Cook have been conducting behind-the-scenes talks about a range of intellectual property matters, including the mobile patent disputes between the companies (Reuters 2012). In each launching of new products and updates, these companies never failed to innovate. For example, Apple stepped onto Google's Web search turf by launching Siri, a voice-activated search feature on its latest iPhone (Efrati, 2012). In October, Google released its voice-search application. Reviews by Forbes (Kosner, 2012) said that the Google app responded almost immediately and returned a search page with very appropriate results. Another Apples attempt in reducing Googles competitiveness could be seen through its launching of mapping services. Our mobile monetization per query is already a significant fraction compared to desktop. As we transition from one screen to multiple screens, Google has enormous opportunity to innovate and drive ever higher monetization just like search in 2000, said Larry Page, cofounder of Google. Google Android OS is slowly gaining pace in strengthening its revenue through advertising and transaction fee for each application sold (Yippin, 2011). In 2011, Apple's App Store has earned about $4.9 billion in gross revenue for paid apps, while the
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Android Marketplace is estimated to have earned just $330 million in that market (Investopedia, 2012).

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4.7) SWOT Analysis 4.7.1) Strength Google is recognized as one of the most important invention for the internet. Invented in 1998, Google has a solid and established brand name. Google is the most popular search engine, known for its reliable and fast search result. It dominates 85% of the search engine market. Google also earns a dominant position in the paid search advertising market, having a 78.7% pie of the click traffics, yet lower cost per click compared to Yahoo-Bing Network, which is $0.46. Google is innovative and offers a wide range of services and products compared to its rivals and keep them in tabs beside its search engine for easiness. One that is popular is the Google Maps, which is available on pc or mobile. Google also provides translation services through Google Translate. Google has a good relationship with employees. Googles employees receive a lot of benefits. For example, Google provides a wonderful working environment, equipped with facilities such as bowling alley, climbing wall and etc. Furthermore, when one of Googles employees passed away, the partner will receive 50% of his/her salary for a decade. Not only does this increase employees loyalty, but also receives a substantial amount of publicity. Google is ranked first by CareerBliss for its employee happiness. 4.7.2) Weakness Although Google has shown steady growth in its revenue, it is much obvious that Google relies too much on its advertisement business for revenue. Statistics shown that advertisement accounts more than 90% of Googles revenue. Although Googles rivals have not posed much threat to its market stand now, yet it may cause trouble for Google if Google does not seek alternative source of income as rivalry increases. Googles search engine has a couple of weakness which makes it open to attacks. The Pagerank system that Google employs can easily be abused by activities such as Google Bowling and Google Bombing. Google Bomb involves manipulating search engines contextual methodologies to cause a certain search phrase to point to an unexpected page, whereas Google Bowling makes use of Googles actions which punishes Google Bomb, where a company intentionally bomb its competitors website, causing the respective company rank to fall.

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4.7.3) Opportunities The revolution of the internet offers opportunities for Google to grow. Internet has become an essential part of peoples life. The increasing commonness of internet means that Google could capture more traffic, expanding its advertisement business. The advancement of technology, for precise the introduction of Smartphone also provides chances for Google. People are going mobile and the market contains huge potential. Google can compete in the booming market with its newly-acquired Motorola Mobility, Google Nexus, its tablet, and the Android operating system. Companies now are focusing on digital marketing instead of traditional marketing. Not only that internet is much cheaper, but it is proven to be more efficient and gives a higher return on investment. As the market leader in the online advertising market, Google will benefit from this change. 4.7.4) Threats Google is facing trouble in copyright violation. Its website YouTube was sued by Viacom for copyright infringement. Google Books, which copy millions of books a year without permission is also brought to court for copyright violation. Losing in either lawsuit would greatly damage Googles brand name and reputation, at the same time putting a dent in Googles finances. As the patent war in the phone market rages, Google, which acquired Motorola Mobility may be involved in the battle. Following Apples victory with Samsung, Apple is in an advantageous position and embracing the most valuable company in the world can put Google in a tough position. Google often receives requests from government for private data and removal of contents. This is clashing with Googles policy for privacy and freedom and may cause reputational damage to Google.

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5.0) Marketing Strategy: Image Enhancement Through positioning, Google is able to give users and advertisers the impression of it being a strong brand. With regard to Googles brand and its slogan of dont be evil, it should be more of being understood on the underlying meaning of such phrase. The survey conducted reflected that over half of the respondents think that it is not relevant, as the phrase is vague. Google should be able to provide itself a clearer direction which suits users expectations.

Is Google's slogan relevant?

51%

49%

Yes No

Google should continue to implement the bootstrapping strategy via its Beta version products and Android OS. This allows Google to gain more control on a particular market because users and customers would be tied to the existing Google products before other brands could. The strategy also would raise the barrier for entry for competitors. Taking the mobile market for example, Nokias Windows Phones are currently is facing difficulties in regaining its market share. Emphasis should be placed on users, rather than advertisers. As Google occupies a doublesided market, advertisers are attracted when there are audiences (not the opposite). This means that Google should enhance its search engine and other productivity tools. Issues identified, like Click Fraud, bugs, Google Bombing, users confidence and privacy should be tackled on time. Such immediate responses might reflect Googles efficiency in satisfying customers expectations and gaining trusts among advertisers. Updates that do not affect previous versions should be taken into consideration as well. This has been a concern among users as they are afraid that their data would be gone if an update is being performed. Besides, Google should also focus on its investment in technologies. For instance, its data servers and infrastructure should be well maintained.
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Googles active involvement in corporate social responsibility should be able to promote its brand in order to gain confidence among its competitors. Google should portray itself as a professional corporation in providing and facilitating internet services. The Internet Association that consists of several other businesses should co-operate and foster relationships rather than competing aggressively. The patent wars between Google and Apple, has resulted in excessive expenditure in lawsuits, rather than investing the funds available in research and development (R&D). Some universities and institutions are relatively active in R&D programs. Google could participate as well in such program or having volunteers helping around. This could reduce overhead costs while contributing in both education and technology industries. Wall Street Journal once reported that the online advertising market is matured. If this were to be true, Googles revenue will be greatly affected, as most of its revenue comes from advertising. Google should not overuse its space for advertisement. Leverage between the customers expectations and advertisement should be created. The user should be comfortable of what he or she is seeing through the website. Google should look into other alternatives as well. The mobile market perhaps is the best alternative available. In this case, Google could try to expand the online advertisement business into the mobile market. Google then should figure out a way that the advertisement would not obstructive, whereby the screen size of mobile devices tend to be smaller. This would be another emphasis on users comfort.

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