We all know that times are tough at the moment. It would seem that this would even apply to well established, strongly rooted and highly influential businesses also. Google’s parent company Alphabet have recently released their revenue reports for the third quarter of 2022, and this has caused some to voice their concern about what the figures may suggest. Our latest article will take a closer look at this, and what it could mean.
The figures
Alphabet reported a weaker than expected quarter three across the board. Many have commented that this was down to just how tough everyone is finding things in the world at the moment, but also from an increase in competition from other brands such as TikTok. Perhaps the biggest surprise was a fall in revenue for the YouTube platform – down 2%, when it had been predicted that there could be a rise of 3%!
What could be behind these figures?
Part of it is the obvious, but many analysts believe it is far more than this. As people scale back their campaigns and budgets, there is less money and thus revenue streams will take a hit as a consequence. One of the biggest problems is around the concept of uncertainty. No business can really flourish as long as uncertainty hangs over it – it can perhaps survive if strong enough, but not much more. There is no doubt that Google and its family of brands would be in the ‘survivor category’ because of the size and scale of it, but this report really does show that even the biggest companies with the greatest assets are not immune to downturns and weaker times.
The bigger problem?
The current economic problems are only half the story where this drop in revenue is concerned. The other is the rise and foothold competitors seem to be getting in the industry. This is arguably more of a problem and worry for Google. Everyone understands that there are good and bad times in business – sometimes you are forward, sometimes a little back, and everyone accepts the ebb and flow of this. What is harder to digest and perhaps deal with is a rise in competitors, because there is nothing cycle like about it, and this could produce a real headache for strategy if other brands or companies are taking your business away from you.
What could it mean for me?
In theory not much difference. If you have a PPC campaign and willing to spend budget for example, Google will be all too happy to take your cash in revenue and earnings. The rise of rivals however does produce an interesting scenario, and this is where differences could come to the ordinary person later down the pipeline. Everyone has always thought of Google as having a monopoly on anything digital related. If that looks like it is changing because of non-economic, non-circular circumstances, it has the potential to change the way the digital marketing industry develops, and the very people that interact and engage with it. As far as that is concerned, this report could say more about the future of digital marketing options than you actually think!
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