Google changes the game again

Don’t pooh in your own nest. This is effectively the message that media giants Fairfax and News Corporation have sent to Google as they grow increasingly annoyed at Google for going into competition against them.

In fact a showdown is on the cards. But does Google care? I think not. And here is why.

To recap: Google’s main business is to sell ads against internet search queries. But Google has now decided to enter the real estate listings market. It is now sourcing listings from real estate aggregators and allowing real estate agents to list their properties free on Google Maps.

Of course this has caused a huge upset at large media clients including Fairfax and News. They spend vast sums of money buying key search terms on Google. Neilsen states that half a million people visit websites every day with Fairfax and News sites attracting most of those people. And as The Age points out this morning, almost a third of the traffic comes from Google, which as we know completely dominates the search advertising market.

Entrepreneur Simon Baker who ran the News controlled realestate.com.au makes a very good point. Google is now becoming a property portal. So when people do a search on Google, they will end up on the Google portal. So why would you go to any other site and why would competitors like News and Fairfax pay Google money?

But it won’t stop there. Now Google has shown its hand by moving into property, what is to stop it building portals in other niches? In every industry? Across every category? Imagine the Google future. You want a job? Do a search and you will be taken to a Google portal. Want a car? Ditto.

Rupert Murdoch woke up to the power of Google earlier this year as he at last understood that Google was effectively in the content business: aggregating news and selling ads against it. Now Google is taking the rivers of gold and directing them to portals, on which, of course, it will sell ads.

Fairfax and News understandably are very stroppy. In typical fashion they are threatening to pull their millions of dollars of revenue.

Baker says Google is confusing its business model and would struggle to get more than half the agents listing their properties on Google maps.

So? That’s still a good start for a new entrant into the lucrative property listings market, especially when they control the way people search.

And what is Google’s response to all their rockets being fired? The site has received great feedback, a spokeswoman says and they would love to take Fairfax and News property listings. “We are partners and would like to discuss this issue,” she says.

Stay tuned. The way this plays out could have an impact on your industry.

One last thing, when I am asked who SmartCompany’s competitors are I always say “search”.

In the future, I will say “Google”.