by Hernani Cerqueira

Created on: July 13, 2009   Last Updated: July 20, 2009

The World Wide Web is a relatively new concept. It was invented in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee, becoming publicly available in the middle of 1991. If it was a person, it would barely have the legal age to vote. Google's market is the Web, and although it's probably the number one player and the one with the strongest word about the future of the World Wide Web, we cannot say that Google controls the internet, merely because it is still growing and evolving every day. And that is the greatest requirement for someone to have a monopoly over something; it has to be able to control it.

Google dominancy has several motives, which are slightly out of scope for this article, but that can be summarized in one sentence: Google provides better search results than the competition. People started using Google just because they wanted to. Software companies started providing Google as the default search engine in browsers, just because it adds more value to their products. Advertisers started using Google Adwords, because it reaches millions of people and it can be directed toward a specific audience.

But none of these facts were imposed. Like a small town with just three or four restaurants, we cannot blame the one with greater variety, bigger space and better employees to have the most customers. But one day, someone in the town opens a new restaurant. He builds a very nice space, hires very good servants and chefs, and offers a quality menu. It would take time, because people are used to the old restaurant, but eventually the new one will conquer its position in the market, maybe never surpassing the preceding, but probably equaling it. As stated above, Google does not own or control the web. Serious competition may appear with no warning, and just like the restaurants, it can take time, but eventually they'll conquer their own share in the market.

Google is a company; they have investors and employees to be fed, and huge facilities to maintain. Their earnings come almost exclusively from advertising, the Adwords program, which are those little ads we see on almost every website. A quick look at internet marketers' discussion boards or blogs reveals that most of them are starting to be unpleased with Adwords campaigns. High prices and low conversion rates are pushing marketers out of Adwords and into new ways of advertising. What if Google cannot deal with that?

Google sits at the top position in the market. They sit there comfortably, without the perspective of losing it in the near future. But one thing is for sure, Google is not a monopoly, at least for now. But they can became one, just as easily as they can lose the number one spot.

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