A company’s Market Share is the percentage of the market that is under the company’s control.

Market
Share can be calculated by finding out the company’s sales and then dividing it by the overall sales of the
industry in a specific period of time. This gives an idea about the Company’s size. The success of a
company is based on its Market Share and high Market Share also attracts investors

Google was founded by two students of Stanford University, Lawrence Edward Page (also known as
Larry Page) and Sergey Brin on September 4 1998. The first name that was given to Google was ‘Back
Rub’ but then it was renamed as Google. Google was first used in California but soon people from all
over the world started to use it. Today Google is synonymous with online search, and it answers over
one billion questions per day. It is the best known search engine in the world. It provides the Google
users with a quite alot of information. It arranges the information in a summarized way which is really
easy to access and convenient. “Do not be evil” is Google’s motto which means that its goal is to help
people find the required information and it wants to cause no harm. During the initial research it
became clear that, Google is one of the most successful company not only as a search engine but in
other fields too. This Research paper will talk about Google's declining market share.

Google’s Market Share is 63% and other search engines are not even anywhere near it. However,
Google’s current success does not mean that it will always be successful. Many factors, are discussed in
this extended essay that will help to identify the reasons for Google’s declining Market Share. Market
Share is important as in terms of success of a company. It is essential for Google to keep a track of its
Market Share in order to find out about its performance in comparison to its competitors. Market Share
will enable Google to find that how its strategic and tactical plans are going to affect the results of the
business. Market Share is significant for Google as it is an important indicator of market
competitiveness, market growth, customer demands and the market opportunity. A High Market Share
means that the company’s products meet the customer demands and expectations. Market share plays
a vital role for Google to identify its competitors and to maintain its dominance as a search engine.

Through the information gathered, it was found that Google’s High Market Share is gradually decreasing
because of the following reasons

Increased usage of mobile apps

Changing consumer demands

Tough competition.

In the latest smart phones more apps are being used instead of Google search engine which is negatively
affecting the shares of Google. Android is a leading operating system and is growing recently. Mobile
Apps such as Samsung internet browsers are new applications that are being used alot more than
google. Since last 5 years smart phones are emerging and because of this the usage of such Mobile Apps
has increased greatly. Now Users spend more than 60% of their time on Mobile phones out of which
they spend 52% time on Apps and 8% on browsers as compared to 40% on desktops. As mobile devices
are being introduced in the market, people are using more Apps for search purposes and the use of
personal computer (PC) for searches is declining rapidly.
Secondly, the consumer demands are changing as new technologies are being introduced and Google
has to fulfill these demands in order to remain a successful company. Now, everything that the user
might want is readily available to them and they can get it with no trouble. Therefore, if their demands
are not made easily available to them, they might not wait around and can switch to the substitutes of
that product. In this case the users might turn to the other search engine competitors of Google. The
customer demands today are higher than ever and Google has to meet them in order to maintain its
position in market.

Thirdly, there is a tough competition from other search engines like Bing and Yahoo. Yahoo and Bing
are also search engines like Google that provide users with search results. Yahoo was founded in 1995 in
California, United States and Bing was founded in 2009 by Microsoft Google’s market share is 63.2%
and Bing’s share is increasing to more than 23% and Yahoo’s Market Share is increasing to more than
11%. Their Market Share is increasing quite rapidly. This makes Bing and Yahoo a tough competitor of
Google.

However, this doesn’t affect Google much because it is already a successful company not only as a
search engine but in other fields too. However, looking at the above factors, there is still a possibility
that Google might lose its high Market Share and position as a market leader in the future.

SWOT is an analytical business tool that helps a company to identify it strengths, weaknesses, which are
internal and opportunities and threats which are external factors. It is a business tool.

Strengths.

Advantage of being the market leader in the search engine market with a high market share of over sixty
three percent.

Developing android which today is the most successful operating system.

Profits through partnerships and third party sites.

Investment in driverless cars, artificial intelligence etc

Analysis

One of Google’s strength is its position as the leader in the market as a search engine. Google currently
has over sixty three percent Market Share and its competitors are nowhere close to this.

Google developed android, which is an operating system. As the usage of mobile phone has increased
google saw this as a great opportunity to launch an operating system. Android slowly captured the
mobile market and defeated its competitors and became the market leader. Today android has over
eighty five percent Market Share with users ranging from low income groups to high income groups and
it is currently working in many phones including HTC, Samsung and many others.

Google is investing in other Business ventures like Virtual Reality, driverless cars, and projects in health
and energy
Through partnerships and third party sites Google generates great profits and because of this the
company is in good position. Approximately, eight five percent of the revenues are generated through
this

Weaknesses

Accusations of being secretive.

Dependence on advertisements.

Little success in social networking sites.

Analysis

Many companies have accused google of being impenetrable and secret because Google does not reveal
its algorithm or basic formula for internet searches. Nonetheless, google has tried to tackle this problem
by giving a basic version of its search engine algorithm.

An organization has to spend a lot on advertising. The expenses of the advertisement rely heavily on the
financial situation, the buying styles and the budgeting of the company. Therefore, if anything effects
the financial status of a company it also indirectly affects the advertisements. However, Google’s eighty
five percent sales are generated through advertisement but these revenues have greatly decreased in
recent past which had a negative effect on the company’s profits. The two major reasons for this are
competitors and global market slowdown.

Social networking sites are greatly used and highly successful nowadays. However, Google’s success in
social networks is relatively less and it has faced many setbacks. Its competitors such as Facebook
have outshined it.

Opportunities

Tap more mobile users.

Expansion of Google Fiber.

Analysis

Recently, as users are shifting to mobile phones instead of desktops. Google can use this as an
opportunity and introduce mobile friendly products such as a mobile friendly search engine.

Secondly, Google fiber is a fiber-optic internet connection offered by Google that can provide high speed
internet connection of up to 16gbps (Stroud, n.d.). This is another opportunity for the company as high
speed internet connection has become a need for everyone. The google fiber coverage can be enlarged
and the company can make humungous profits through this.

Threats
Tough Competition.

Number of users is decreasing due to shifting from desktops to mobile phones.

Copies of Google products being produced.

Analysis

One major threat that Google can face is from its competitor Facebook as it can give it a tough
competition is the field of advertising. Google has been a giant in offering advertising facilities for years
but recently Facebook has offered these facilities and is becoming a threat for Google.

User have been shifting to other applications for search purpose which is a threat to Google as the
number of users are decreasing and the advertisers are also moving to other applications that the users
are now shifting to.

Steeple Analysis

STEEPLE is a strategic analytical tool and the acronym stands for Social, Technological, Economic, Ethical,
Political, Legal, and Ecological factors. STEEPLE analysis is important in providing an understanding about
the external factors of a company’s environment. Using this business tool Google can get information
about the problems and success factors, be it internal or external it can face in the near future and it can
use this tool to formulate company’s strategy. Two Factors, Social and Technological, from the STEEPLE
will be used for this research.

Factors that affect Google.

Technological Factors

Technological factors are the technical factors that effect a company and may work as opportunities or
threats.

More use of mobile phones then desktops.

Availability of internet access.

Analysis

Technological Factors have a great effect on Google’s current success and future. The Technological
analysis examines that how the technological factors can have an impact on Google’s success. The two
main technological factors that affect Google are increased usage of smart phones globally and the
increasing availability of internet access. These are some opportunities which can benefit Google.
Another technological factor is online marketing which can bring greater advertising revenues to Google
as more markets are becoming connected online. By taking an advantage of the increased mobile usage
Google can make its products more mobile-friendly.
Social Factors

Social or sociocultural external factors affect the way customers respond to Google’s products.

Increased usage of social networking sites.

Diversity of users.

Analysis

Social analysis examines that how the customer’s response affect Google and how the social factors can
be a problem or be a success factor for Google. The two important factors are the increased usage of
social networking sites and the increasing variance of users. As the usage of social networking sites
increases, it improves the position of Facebook and similar companies as these social websites are also
used for online advertising. Thus, creating a threat for Google. Greater diversity of users means Google
has an opportunity to improve its services and meet its consumer’s demands and expectations.

Fish Bone analysis

It can be determined through fishbone diagram that mobile usage has increased a lot in recent years.
Since 2014, more consumers are using more Mobile Apps instead of Desktops. There are 6-7% more
mobile users then desktop users. Google, almost two years ago announced that more searches occur on
mobiles than desktops and mobile phones are becoming a main way for searching.

Secondly, Google is facing a tough competition from other search engines like Bing, whose Market Share
is nearly 23% and Yahoo whose Market Share is 12%. People, now, are using these other search engines
more and more instead of Google.

Consumer preferences are also changing rapidly everything is becoming more easily accessible to them.
Consumers expect much more from Google and it has to meet these expectations. Google employees
are complaining that the hiring processes take really long. They have to wait for really long before
Google gets back to them.

Another reason is that the use of Google is banned in some countries like China, North Korea, Cuba and
Iran due to some safety reasons as Google is considered as a spying tool.

Google is blamed for hiring Public officials in order to maintain good relationship with the government.
Over 65 government officials have been hired from the European Union since 2005.

These are some reasons due to which Google is losing its Market Share rapidly. However, the main
reason identified during this research by using the Fish Bone business tool was the increased usage of
Apps as consumers are shifting to mobile devices instead of desktops. Google was initially developed for
desktop usage and with the decreased use of desktops and increased use of mobile phones, the search
engine needs to be more mobile friendly.

The marketing mix

The marketing mix is the combination of various elements needed to successfully market a product.
There are usually 4 or 7Ps that make up the marketing mix. In this research paper, the 7Ps (Product,
Price, Promotion, Place, Packaging, Positioning and People) will be used. Google’s Market Mix plays a
major role in its over-all success. It tells how strategies that are carefully designed can contribute to the
success of an online Business. Google has a range of products and services which include Google Fiber,
Google Glass, and Google search. It is no longer an online or web based business, instead it has
diversified into many fields like providing nexus smart phones and Chromecast media players.

Products

One of the seven Ps is Product. Different products of Google are a part of its growth and expansion
strategy. The main product of Google is its search engine. It is one of the most used search engine
globally. It is the main reason for its high Market Share. The search engine helps customers find
whatever they want to find. Google’s search engine is known as the best search engine with the fastest
results within milliseconds. Munia khan says “In old days, instead of asking a teacher, people looked at
the dictionary to know the complete definition of teacher. Now Google becomes our teacher and to
know about Google, people Google it”. There are various options in the search engine like Videos,
Images, News, and more. This gives the customers whatever they are searching for in the form of
pictures videos etc. and also a variety of options to choose from. The search relevance and options
attract customers and help Google increase its Market Share.

Price

The users have started to prefer mobile usage over PC. PC search ads contribute to 35 percent of
Google’s stock value. However, this can decline as more and more users are switching to mobile apps for
search purposes. Even advertisers are keen to invest in mobile ads instead of PC search ads because
users are preferring mobile instead of PC. They are also willing to put in more dollars for mobile ads and
because of this there could be a decline in Google’s Revenue per Share (RPS). The decrease PC search
division metrics will negatively affect Google’s stock price even if it is successful in keeping up its mobile
search division status

Promotion

Google being one of the largest companies, does not require much promotion. The google search engine
does not have its own advertising, however, viral advertising is a way it is promoted and advertised.
Viral marketing is any marketing technique that induces websites or users to pass on a marketing
message to other sites or users, creating a potentially exponential growth in the message's visibility and
effect. Through Viral marketing Google’s users use other social networking sites like Facebook to
promote Google. This helps in increasing the awareness. The customers share their experience of using
the Google search engine with the people around them and this increases Google’s customer base.

Place

Google was started in California and it slowly spread to almost all over the world. Today Google is used
all around the world except some countries like China, Cuba, North Korea and Iran. Baidu, Bing and
yahoo are the main search engine used in these country. The main benefit is that Google search engine
can be used anywhere anytime, the only requirement is internet connectivity.

Packaging

Google has a unique and simple packaging. Its home page is unique and has no extra structuring. The
Google’s homepage is really easy to understand and the new users can easily know it. Google’s logo is
also really unique and has a range of bright colors that attracts the viewers. Google constantly changes
its logo according to its user’s demands.

Positioning

Positioning is the how to increase or promote the position of a company in a market. Google is on the
top of the market right now and plans to stay at the top. Google’s main focus is its search engine and it
search engine’s positioning. The more people use Google the better it will be, so for this Google is
continuously bringing change in its website. Also, it is trying to be more user friendly. It is so widely
spread that people don’t even remember how their life was before Google. This shows how easy Google
has made its users lives.

People

People are the customers and Employees of a company. Google always keeps its employees and
customers at the top. The employees enjoy many Benefits like on site Gym, First Class dining, on site
rock climbing, breaks, holiday packages and a lot more. Google recognizes that everyone has different
wants and needs and serves its employees individually. Google even benefits its customers by the more
than thousands of search results and fast speed.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Google is successful company and a Market Leader since 1997 till today. It has been the most preferable
Search Engine since the time it was launched. It dominates its rivals in not only the Search Engine
market, but in its other products as well. However, after a lot of research and investigation, it is evident
that Google has been rapidly losing its Market Value since some past years and due to which it might
also lose its position as a market leader. The outcomes from the Business tools used in this research
paper, which are SWOT, STEEPLE and Fish bone, it can be concluded that Google has been facing some
problems recently that might affect its market position in the future. However, there are ways through
which Google can tackle with these problems.

Thus from the research, it can be concluded that Google can fulfill the demands of its customers and
meet their expectations by making improvements in its search engine. Now that user’s preferences are
changing and they are switching to portables instead of desktops, Google should make its search engine
more mobile friendly. Secondly, Google’s rivals, Bing and Yahoo have been giving a tough competition to
it, therefore Google must bring in new features to its search engine which differentiate it from them.
This will give Google a competitive advantage. Thirdly, social networking sites are taking over and this is
a great opportunity for Google to save its position.

Recommendations

After studying Google’s STEEPLE analysis it can be concluded that Google has a lot of opportunities in
the market. The company needs to use this opportunities in order to have an advantage. If Google is
able to exploit these opportunities it will have greater influence in the market.

Secondly, even though Google’s search engine is the best and most reliable as compared to others, and
gives thousands of results. However, sometimes the search results are irrelevant and unimportant.
Searching for the relevant search results among all the results that Google has provided it becomes
really tough to find the required result. Thus Google should show the most relevant search results on
the first page and then the less relevant results so that the users can easily find whatever they are
looking for.

Thirdly, Google has little or no promotion for its search engine. Google also has minimal physical
presence like physical stores. It should emphasize more on its competitors. By addressing these factors
Google can protect its market position.

Fourthly, Google should constantly look out for its changing consumer demands and cope up with them.
Consumers expect more and more from Google and it needs to achieve them.

Corporate Social Responsibility is one of most important things that can attract customers. Google
needs to fulfill these responsibilities in order to give back to the society.