When it comes to search, Google is king. This year, its ad revenues will total over $137 billion, representing a whopping 56.1% of total search ad spending.
Unfortunately, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. In the third quarter, Google’s advertising business grew only 2.5% year over year, compared to last year’s 43% growth.
One of the reasons for the downturn is Google’s struggle to modernize its search capabilities.
“Google is going to have to think about what its point of differentiation will be,” said our analyst Max Willens on a recent “Behind the Numbers” podcast. “I don’t think there’s worry about Gen Z and millennials cutting Google out of their lives, it’s more thinking about what role it can play going forward.”
3. But Amazon’s on the come up