It’s hard to browse the internet without encountering Google at some point or another, and it’s become one of the world’s most powerful companies, raking in countless billions every year. The secret to the company’s success lies in the world of advertising, one that has been streamlined and modernised to make as much money as possible without being quite as invasive as the ads that we encounter on television.
Google is currently the king of advertising online, and they have used their vast wealth to create en entire ecosystem designed to both server their users and to generate date for better ads. Here we will explore Google’s ad empire and how it works.
Data Generation
This is a topic that Google has been in a lot of hot water for, but there’s no denying just how well it works. When someone makes use of a Google product or service, such as their search engine, they are consenting to the company collecting information about them. This information is then put through complex algorithms and used to generate personalised adverts that are then displayed to the user. The success of this model is simply without equal, but it;s also a big part of the reason that many people hebe become concerned with their online privacy.
Privacy vs Personalisation
Privacy has become the latest buzzword in the online world, and it’s in big part due to the data capture processes used by Bit Tech companies like Google and Facebook. While Facebook’s past has been nothing but sketchy to says the least, Google has at least gone to great lengths to ensure that the data they collect is locked behind the latest online security measures. This data can include a wide range of different, personal facts about a person, from basic information like their name and birthday, to the kinds of things that they like to search for through the internet, such as animal videos or amazing bets online. All of this data is used for personalised advertisement, which is what we see when we search for things on their engine or the ads that are displayed before the start of a YouTube video.
Extra Services
While the vast majority of the money that Google generates comes from ads, they also have a few other products that make big money. One of these is their Google Drive offering, a computer cloud storage service that comes with 15GB free, but can be upgraded for $1.99 a month, making it one of the cheapest in the industry. This ties in closely with their G-Suite product, now known as Workspace, that allows work groups to collaborate in real time through the cloud. Google Fi is another service that has gained a reputation in recent years, allowing people to access the internet in over 200 countries around the world.
Hardware
Lastly, Google sells a vast array of smart devices. These include the Pixel range of smartphones, Chromebooks, as well as their smart home devices, all of which can be unified under a single account. Their market share is currently without equal, and it’s all part of why Alphabet, Google’s parent company, made a massive $46 billion in revenue for 2019.