Well, when I say the mother, the other Search engines are dwarfed in comparison. The leading data gathering services all seem to vary by a few percentage points on the companies’ market share, but the end result is unanimous.
In the infographic Google looks a bit like a Pac-Man about to eat up the competition – and they could do based on their performance over the past few years.
With over 100 mergers and acquisitions under its belt, and an annual net income in excess of $10 billion, it’s hard to see how anyone else is going to have the resources to compete.
Google and SEO
In one way, it makes thing easier just having one Search Engine to concentrate on, but it can be a double edged sword.
Not that many years ago, the market was split quite evenly between several players. If one changed its algorithm, the impact on your site traffic would be lessened by the others. These days, when Google changes its mind about how to rate sites, the results can be dramatic (as recently happened with its Penguin update).
Google’s power on your business
I hate analogies, but “having all your eggs in one basket” fits in this case. And so if your web design / SEO company has taken on aggressive and slightly dodgy approach, you could be riding high one month, and then disappear completely. All it takes is one change to their algorithm.
The answer is balance and consistency across all your search engine optimization strategies.
Hard work, developing good content and interactivity through developing links and social networks will always win – because Google Search’s prime directive will always be against spammers who go for the quick and easy fix.
