The court was rapt and silent, the back-and-forth had us on the edge of our seats, the wait for the result was tense – though most of us thought we had the outcome predicted – and the judge’s verdict was a shock to many. I’m not talking about a surprise Olympic tennis win, but the result of Google’s recent antitrust trial.
Earlier this week, at the end of a trial lasting nearly a year, it was announced that Google was found guilty of illegal monopolising practices. Judge Amit Mehta put it in no uncertain terms: “Google is a monopolist”. It’s a damning statement, and Google has put in an immediate appeal.
From the perspective of search marketers, it’s unlikely we’ll see changes in the Google Ads space as a result of this, at least any time soon. One result we could see is Google Ads going the way of Google Shopping, where third-party comparison services are allowed into the auction.
What’s more interesting is the precedent this sets for other companies like Amazon and Apple. It will be interesting, also, to see how this filters into public consciousness. ‘Google Found Guilty…’ is enough to set alarm bells ringing in consumers’ heads. Safari was already taking advantage of Google’s privacy scandals in their marketing, placing themselves as an ‘actually private’ browser in an obvious jab. Could we see more users migrate to alternative search engines like Bing or other browsers such as Firefox, changing the landscape of online advertising?
Google are unlikely to lose their top spot on the podium as the largest competitor in the market, but we may well see others begin to close in on their world record – and their golden status is irrevocably tarnished.
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