Google S.W.O.T Analysis

Strength

1.    Brand reputation and customer loyalty

Google won worldwide reputation by its core business: Search Engine. Google provide very fast, free search engine, searching out information that exactly meet users’ demand. It matches result to your keywords perfectly. Customers love Google; they rely on this search engine to get daily information all around the world.

Based on the Google Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2012 Financial Results, Goodwill and Intangible assets is $17.98 billion. The brand value of Google is increasing all these years. Compare with many its competitors, as shown in the graph followed, Google lead the search engine competition all these years.

2.    Simple and Easy-access platform

Google’s philosophy is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. This enables users to Collects the most comprehensive information, sending and receiving information on Google easily. Google continues to progress user's search experience and present outstanding performance.

3.    Successful business model: AdWords and Adsense

In addition, Google provide new opportunity to entry the market and get your business online by AdWords and Adsense. Users and clients can advertise on Google and make money from your own site without spending high cost hiring professional advertisement consultants. This convention brings Google huge profit that over 90% of Google’s revenue generates from indirect online advertising for other websites.

4.    Experts technology, being innovated and creative

As a forerunner and pioneer of high-tech industries, Google elites present non-stop technological innovation within enterprises and deliver the most advanced technology to promote technological change. The recently launching fantastic Google glasses in June 2012, and Google Smart Gloves in August 2012 explains this well. Moreover, the legend Google X Lab is trying to combine brain networking with technology products in the latest experiment. 
BTW, you know what I love the most about Google? Go to the http://www.google.com/ig, I can customize and design my own Google pages, just like the way you design your personal Blog. Isn't that awesome? 

Being motivate and creative, desire to use technology innovation to break out limit made Google stand top position of this game.

5.    Multiple extended service that covers different market and customers’ need

By virtue of Google search engine’s loyalty customers and influence, Google presents a variety of extended service that covers different market and satisfies customers’ need. Moving forward and extending products line actually bring Google more opportunities, brand awareness, potential consumers, and user stickiness in long run.

For example, its e-mail software Gmail, social network Google+, web browser application Google Chrome, photo editing software Picasa, instant messaging application Google Talk and such. Remarkably, Google developed the smart phone operating system Android, having a number of users and fans all across the world, it really hit the market. Google owned several popular websites such as Youtube, blogger.com, and Orkut as well. All together with its dominating market position in search engine, Google is one of the most powerful brands in the world now.

6.    Value Added: Charming corporate culture

Who else treat their employees better than Google does? The human-caring atmosphere within Google no doubt would be added-value strength. It’s Conducive, enjoyable, relax, creative and a lovely place to work. Even someone doesn’t work for this industry admires its organizational culture, making the brand awesome and attractive.

Weakness

1.    Arbitrary content

Result from spam emails and AdSense trash station, the universally concerned "click fraud" has been continuously damaging Google's advertising system and reputation. Some AdSense ads publishers argue that they have lost hundreds of millions because of Google's algorithm on advertisement. If this trend continues, Google would be very risky and on the edge of losing customers.

2.   Privacy, copyright and patent issue

This is always the problem. The recent “Apple versus Samsung” lawsuit has been a hot topic. People are gossiping about whether Google, who is the developer of Samsung OS Android, would be prosecuting by Apple for patent plagiarize.

Another example is Google Buzz. Released in September 2010, Google Buzz was initially social networking and communication software integrated into Gmail. No more than one year, Google Buzz was shut down and criticized for poor privacy.

3.    Google is not at the dominate position in extended service areas

Except for the search engine, Google is not at the dominate position in extended service areas. One reason is because Google was originally doing search engine and enter other areas at a relatively late time. Take social networking as an example, based on recent research by Go-Gulf.com, user number of Google+ is ranked NO.3 within the top five popular social networking sites. Visit per month on Google+ was 61 million, compare with that on Facebook, which is more than 70 hundreds million.

But hopefully, Google is so brilliant that they did not solely depend on the traditional search business. Otherwise, rest on its laurels would lead to death. It is so easy to be replaced by many competitors in the market, not even mention about we are moving into the mobile and smart phone era.

Opportunities

1.    Growth in new usage and market share

According to ComScore, Google took 66.4% of the U.S. search market in February, up a bit from 66.2% in January. It was third month in a row that the dominant player in the market took additional share. The trend is not limited to the US, Google gained significantly increase market share especially in developing countries.

2.    Think global, Act local

Google is emerging this business concept on its Advertising and Branding strategy, it’s all about understand consumers to create value. Differentiate consumers using specific marketing strategy based on various culture backgrounds, social behavior.

Threat

1.    Competition within the industry

Primary competition especially comes from Microsoft and Yahoo. Compare with Google, Yahoo‘s market share stands at 13.8%, down again from 14.1% in January 2012 and 16.1% a year ago. Microsoft Bing had 15.3% of the market for the month, up from 15.2% in January, and continuing a steady upward trend. A year ago, Bing had 13.6% share.

Bing was launched by Microsoft few years ago, Microsoft spent one billion dollar on Bing research and development, attempting to prey search engine market. However, based on the fact that Google forced strong customer stickiness and consolidate consumer loyalty, Bing did gained contented market share at first. Nevertheless, Bing is trying to corporate with mobile devices and find out new platforms to bring in new consumers. If Bing can cooperate with iPhone, a number of iPhone users would use Bing search engine by then. Therefore, they can occupy market share easily and rapidly.

Actually, in the fast-changing Internet industry, any compelling search engine can seize the market share in such way. Once you have a large number of users, and be able to analysis data through consumer behavior, provide optimize search service and constantly improve the user experience is not a deal.

Thus, Google would face great threat and easy to lose advantages.

2.    Search platform Transform from Desktop to Mobil Device

People don’t search exclusively on computer nowadays, but turn to their mobile devices or smart phones. From two years ago, the Google recognize that 90% of their market is generated by desktop search. Living in the mobile era, Searching App specifically optimized for the mobile can be a big threat to Google. For example, people may turn to their personal voice assistant Apple Siri to search for information.

3.    Innovation do not really hit market sales and bring in money

Coming up with ideas and innovation is important and precious, but if you take the project too far without ensuring the business model would be risky for a company. Google’s Pioneer technology innovations were significance praised and sensation, Google Glass, Nexus Q, Google Now and such, but many of these products did not really hit the market. Two quarters after launching, Nexus Galaxy owns only 0.5% market share in the smart phone industry. 

Google new products released look amazing and fantastic. We are wondering that can these really fit into our daily life? It seems Google is not using R&D merely as development tools, but also as a way to promote their brand philosophy to consumers. But if the innovation doesn't bring in money when go to the market, Google is not launching effective business. 

Reference：

GOOGLE’S BUSINESS STRATEGY: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STRENGTHS; WEAKNESSES; OPPORTUNITIES; AND THREATS (SWOT) OF GOOGLE by KWAKU F. DARKWAH; FEB, 2010 http://addghana.com/component/content/article/2-latest-news/17-swot-analysis-of-google.html

Google SWOT; Alem Salleh http://www.scribd.com/doc/40043758/Google-SWOT

Google Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2012 Financial Results http://investor.google.com/earnings/2012/Q2_google_earnings.html