Follow the Leader

Google is the Internet's top marketer. Its young brand is now more valuable than any other. Google earns $8 billion in profits yearly on revenue exceeding $20 billion, with $25 billion in cash. Its mission is clear: "Organize all the world's information, and make it universally accessible and useful." Here are 20 "Googley" lessons to enhance your company's marketing:

1. "Relevance rules “Google is successful because its search results are relevant to its customers, helping them make decisions. Your company should focus on being relevant to your customers, solving their problems, and helping them make better decisions. Apple is a great example of this. They created their filter ('Apple is cool') and used it for all their marketing. What's your company's filter?"
2. œTap the wisdom of crowds “It looks at how popular a page is among internet users. The more links a page has, and the better the quality of those links, the higher it ranks. This is called tapping into the wisdom of crowds. Your brand is like your own stage online. Get people involved and work together for your company. Encourage them to help each other out. Think of them as a community, not just customers. Let them help themselves, and watch your brand grow."
3. "Keep it simple stupid"- is Google's motto, evident in its straightforward homepage design. Apply this approach to your business, including your brand and marketing, which should focus on a clear unique selling point. Keep your website clean and easy to navigate. Use Google's Website Optimizer for help.
4. "Mindset matters" “ Market to people when they're ready to buy, often when they're searching for products or suppliers. Blend informative content with sales messages.
5. "Don't interrupt" “ People don't like ads that interrupt their online activities. They're more receptive when they're actively searching for something. Target ads using keywords that your desired audience might use, even if those keywords don't directly relate to your products.
6. "Act like content" “ If your website is too focused on selling without providing useful information, Google won't rank it well. To attract more visitors, offer meaningful content. The more specific your content is to what people are searching for, the better. Look at Funny or Die, which makes funny videos for advertisers. Their series for Absolut vodka got half a million views.
7. "Test everything" “ Google tests everything it puts online, from its logo to its "AdWords reporting interface" and toolbar colors. Check all your important online parts, like keywords, ads, and landing pages. Bryan Eisenberg, who wrote Always Be Testing, says, "In marketing, you test or fail."
8. "Track everything" “ Google's tools like AdWords, DoubleClick, and Google Analytics can show if your ads are working with solid data. Understand this data well, and you'll get good results. You can track many things, like "exposure, interaction," and "conversion." Other tech, like Kenshoo, Atlas, and Omniture, also tracks your online ad results. Google watches ad tracking closely with its Quality Score, which rates how relevant ads are to users. This way, Google shows only the most relevant ads to searchers.
9. "Let data decide" - At Google, decisions are driven by data. Google is known for its search engine and media savvy, but it's fundamentally an engineering company. Engineers value hard facts, which Google respects. In the 1960s, ad agencies didn't focus on research, but now, with vast online advertising data, smart advertisers rely on data, not just their opinions or experience, to make decisions.
10. "Brands can be the answer" - Google values brands. According to Google's Eric Schmidt, brand affinity is ingrained in human nature, representing trust, authority, and reputation. When people search, they seek solutions: "What movie to watch? What restaurant to visit? What car to buy?" Strong brands offer these solutions. To make your brand the answer, create search ads within Google's 95-character limit. Jon Raj, former VP of advertising at Visa, notes, "While brands want to be the answer, it depends on the question."
11. œYour unique selling proposition (USP) is critical “ Google's AdWords slogan, "It's all about results," nails it in just four words. It tells you everything great about Google for online ads: accountability, performance, and ROI. Other catchy slogans like Alka Seltzer's "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is!" or BMW's "The ultimate driving machine" stick in your head. Your USP should make people want to buy, be timeless, and always be relevant.
12. œYour competition is broader than you think “Google™s competition includes Yahoo, Microsoft, Apple, and surprisingly, Adobe, which offers similar Web analytics products. AT&T competes with Google in directory assistance, while Kodak offers online photo sharing and Rand McNally provides mapping services. Google also competes with numerous other firms in various areas. Before you create your advertising and choose your media mix, carefully consider all your competitors in each market segment. Use research firms like comScore to evaluate your rivals. Visit their websites to learn about their daily visits, customer purchases, and how they impact your market share.
13. œYou can learn a lot from a query “Since 2005, Google has offered "Personalized Search," tailoring search results based on your past searches. This feature also considers your location, either from your computer's IP address or your preferred location on Google Maps. Google also provides instant search suggestions as you type. You can use this data for marketing purposes, targeting your main audience, and gaining insights into your competitors.
14. œSex sells “The Internet has always been a popular place for pornography. Studies show that 4 out of 10 visits online involve porn sites. Google research reveals that 1 out of 5 mobile searches is about sex. In February 2010, a search for "sex" on Google would have returned 574 billion results. For the past five years, GoDaddy has aired Super Bowl ads featuring scantily clad women, spending millions each time. According to TiVo, these ads are highly effective. If you plan to use sexy ads, consider how your main audience will react and gather data before starting such a campaign.
15. œAltruism sells “ Google's famous motto is 'Do no evil,' reflecting its commitment to being a positive force. This approach, known as altruism, has become a popular strategy for companies, leading to the rise of green marketing. Does your company also do good deeds? And do people know about them?
16. œShow off your assets “Google's mission is to be the world's go-to source for information. To achieve this, Google has scanned 10 million books for users to search. Since 2006, Google has been scanning US streets using cars equipped with cameras. In 2007, it began scanning telephone messages and acquired Imaging America for aerial photos. Follow Google's lead and digitize your company's information assets. Share them widely to benefit others and promote your firm.
17. œThe more shelf space, the better “Having more options on the shelf is always better, right? Imagine going to the cereal aisle and finding only Cheerios. That would be boring! Just like how Google wants to make sure you find what you're looking for when you search, they also want their ads to be helpful, not overwhelming. That's why Google only allows one ad from each company for each keyword. To work around this, companies can buy different keywords for their ads. This way, everyone gets a fair chance to be seen.
18. œMake your company a great story “two Stanford PhD students created the PageRank search system, initially called "Backrub." In just a few years, their company became the most successful search engine on the Internet. Soon after, Google grew into a hugely popular company with nearly 20,000 full-time employees. They love sharing this story, and it's great PR. Have you documented your company's story? Are you sharing your growth and audience achievements? You should”it's great PR.
19. œDon™t rely on search engine marketing alone “Google doesn't rely only on search engine marketing (SEM). It also uses traditional advertising, for example, buying ad space for Super Bowl commercials. Research shows that nearly 7 out of 10 people search online because of seeing ads on TV or other traditional media. If Google, the internet advertising leader, uses both traditional and online ads, your company should too.
20. "Future-Proofing" - Google is known for its search capabilities, but in the future, using information will matter more than just finding it. Apps will play a crucial role here: they'll find the information you need and then help you use it effectively. As apps become more common, your intention”what you want to do with the information”will be more important than the information itself. Gord Hotchkiss, from Enquiro Search Solution, explains this idea: "Imagine an app that understands your main goal, knows your preferences and gathers information for you." Google could support this by providing the search tools apps need. However, Google might not want to be in the background of an app's activities. Alternatively, Google could focus on being a platform for apps, helping users find information based on their intentions.

Devices Communicating Automatically.

Future advancements in technology will likely include the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) in various aspects of daily life, such as in œproducts, belongings, pets, and even people, making them easily locatable. There are also plans to incorporate miniature, invisible computers into different items, œblurring the line between information and physical objects.

According to information architect Peter Morville, objects will start to "consume their metadata." This means that your car, refrigerator, and other devices could potentially communicate with each other independently. This shift towards an "application programming interface" (API) economy will bring about significant changes.

Google, being a forward-thinking organization, will likely adapt to these changes and find ways to benefit from them. It's essential to be prepared to do the same.