Google Builds Anti-Microsoft War Chest, Expect Ads To Keep Booming & Yahoo The Stealth Search Warrior
Three business items I’m throwing into one post, Google explaining it has
built up cash to fend of an unnamed big competitor, Google expecting online ad
sales to keep booming and Yahoo as the missing third player in the
Google-Microsoft battle.
Google Builds Up `Defensive War Chest’ from Bloomberg looks at Google’s
chief financial officer George Reyes saying that Google’s recent stock sale was
meant to build a "war chest" to fend off attacks by an unnamed major competitor
(obviously Microsoft). So what’s the war chest being spent on? He didn’t
specify. They did say they’re hiring a bunch of key workers.
Meanwhile, Google advertising sales vice president Tim Armstrong tells
Reuters in
Google sees advertisers devote more budget online that the good times will
keep rolling along, declaring 2005 as the year online advertising has become
part of traditional media budgets and expecting spending to rise next year. He
touches on expansion of ads into print, which the article cites as that and
other moves as "part of Google’s long-term strategy to offer relevant
advertising wherever possible."
Offering relevant advertising everywhere, such as is print, isn’t part of
Google’s stated mission to
organize the world’s information. But you gotta pay for that war chest and all
those Googlers someway.
Meanwhile, Wharton says in
Yahoo’s Strategy: Stay Out of Microsoft’s Crosshairs? that by accident or
intent, Yahoo’s managing to avoid Microsoft’s ire. Sure, given that it is Google
rather than Yahoo’s that’s been seen as the wunderkind of search over the past
few years.
Unfortunately, Yahoo might benefit from being in those crosshairs. Too many
of the great things it does don’t get enough attention, because people want a
two player battle between Google and Microsoft. Yahoo is a starring player, but
too often it gets cast as a supporting actor.
I’ve written before that in search, we’re looking at a Google – Yahoo –
Microsoft battle, and Microsoft remains really still in third place, as they
themselves have said in the past.