ResearchTalk

Mainak Mazumdar, VP of Measurement Services at Nielsen//NetRatings, probably sums it up best: every time, he notes, someone steps on a Google property, Google gets a bit more insight into their behaviour and, as a result, a bit smarter.

And as attention continues to shift online, and Google solidifies its position as a dominant destination, it is clearly becoming more adept at understanding not only consumer behaviour but also intention – i.e., when you enter a search query, you’re telling Google what you want to see, read, buy, do etc. And Google takes advantage of that to give you ever more relevant results.

So could this understanding one day trounce what MR has to offer?

Google vs. MR
The short answer is probably not. Note the use of the qualifier ‘probably’.

That’s because having canvassed a variety of folks in the sector, none believes Google to be a direct threat to MR.

For example, Gian Fulgoni, chairman and co-founder of online measurement provider comScore, says that Google is more client than competitor, because that’s the only way it can get that all-important demographic profile of its audience.

Plus, Max Kalehoff, VP of marketing for Nielsen BuzzMetrics and a widely respected marketing blogger, believes ultimately that the biggest brake on any Google ambition to know everything about everyone will be a natural distrust of large institutions: “While I admire and trust the many Google people I’ve met over the years, I don’t fully trust the big institution. In fact, there are very few big institutions I trust, though Google does rank pretty high… you just can’t be a true infomediary without unequivocal trust.”

And that’s something that does not work against MR firms because they are many, many times smaller than Google. In fact, 2007 was yet another milestone for Google’s growth. Having floated on the stock exchange in 2004 at $85, it is now well over $600 with a market value of over $200billion. That’s bigger than the next four largest media companies combined. And now temptingly close to it’s arch nemesis, Microsoft.

In Google We’d Like To Trust
To its credit, Google realised the importance of trust early on. And it’s something CEO Dr. Eric Schmidt mentions on a regular basis at events and during Q&A sessions. Along with the ‘don’t be evil’ moniker it proudly displays as it’s informal motto, Google seems to have worked hard to maintain user trust.

When you look under the hood, you soon realise that Google’s ethical and ‘be good’ stance is more than skin deep. But as with any profit-making organisation, there are times when the economic motive conflicts with the desire to do right by the user and society.

Take the controversy over its email product, Gmail. A product that automatically reads the content of user messages to display relevant advertising. Privacy groups had a field day when it launched. Google’s attempts at reassurance were not well received (it emphasised that computers, and not humans, read the emails). The Gmail product lives on and it’s interesting how its popularity is undiminished by the privacy issue: it’s almost as if users are prepared to trade some privacy for utility.

Increasing Footprint
The reality is that Google’s online presence and influence shows no sign of abating. When Mazumdar talks about people stepping onto Google property, many still largely think of Google the search engine. But Google’s portfolio of services has grown rapidly and it’s becoming very difficult to avoid the plethora of highly regarded and largely free services, many the result of acquisitions over the last 12-18 months.

Services such as the number one video platform YouTube; the number one feed syndication platform, Feedburner; Microsoft Office competitor Google Docs (online word processing, spreadsheet, presentation) – all totally free. And the biggest acquisition to date, display advertising provider DoubleClick, is currently awaiting regulatory approval as a result of Google’s perceived dominance of the online advertising market.

And then there’s Google foray into arguably the biggest online phenomenon of the time, social networks. But Google’s Orkut is not perceived as big a success as its other products since it’s only really popular in Brazil. And it’s recent attempt to tie up with the wunderkind Facebook was snubbed.