The blogs have been buzzing about a recent phenomenon, namely agency clients that are being contacted Directly by Google reps to sell them on Paid Search opportunities. This is something even we at GDMI have experienced, with clients we have had Long Term Relationships and for whom we are even managing Google campaigns being contacted directly by Google reps. Does this represent a challenge? Not really, I see it as more of an opportunity.

But let's back up a second, why is Google risking relationships with agencies and value added resellers to go directly to the clients? Isn't that a very short term view, chasing a few short term dollars at the risk of losing out on long term relationships? In my opinion, that is precisely the point. With the continuing fragmentation of the media, Google has recognised the fact that the shelf life for their product offering (which, let us not forget, unlike Yahoo! and MSN is based solely on advertising revenues) is rapidly shortening. This means that the need to focus on a short term strategy is more pressing than ever.

What evidence is there to support this? Well, aside from the fact that Google is pursuing a short term sales strategy in going directly after the agency clients, what about Google's reported $1.6 Billion bid this week for You Tube? The Web 2.0 phenomenon, with its opportunities to target market according to behavioral characteristics represents the potential end to Google's dominance of this marketing space.

What are the agencies to do in the face of this challenge? The answer is simple - don't be lazy. Any agency that is still out selling paid search as a stand alone product are in danger of having their product offering commoditized, in which case they are not adding any value to the service. The focus must shift from selling a commodity service, to a higher value focus on the client's sales strategy. Let Google try to squeeze every advertising dollar out of their clients (and make no mistake, that is Google's focus). Let us focus on the one thing that really matters to the client, namely the bottom line.