Hal Varian argues in the latest post from Google's main blog that "if you look at Google's business, the competition is only a click away. Users can trivially switch search."
While it may seem easy to change your search engine, the reality is that it's difficult. Google is the default search engine in Firefox, Opera, Safari and it becomes the default search engine if you install any Google software and stick with the default options. Google is the default search engine in many people's minds and it's also a name synonymous with searching on the web. Google is the default homepage in Firefox and many people choose it because it loads fast. Google replaces the address bar and it's no longer a web site, it's part of the browser.
Because it's deceivingly simple, people don't treat Google as any other web site. Google is a core feature of their browsers and don't realize they could change it. Even when they find out that Google could be replaced with Yahoo, Live Search, Ask.com, people don't change it because they've already created a connection with Google, learned its tricks and accepted its flaws.
You first accept Google as a browser feature, start to rely on it for things that are important to you. When you learn about possible replacements, you'll start to judge them using Google as a standard and they'll mostly likely fail.
Google camouflaged into a browser feature, into a word, into the default gateway to to the web.
I think you touched the exact reason Google continues to dominate: most users have learned how to use *Google*, not Ask, Live, or Yahoo!. Each has its own niceties and ways to craft better search strings, but most have learned to only successfully search on Google or Google-powered search engines. So when they try to search "Google-style" on Ask or Yahoo!, they don't get nearly the quality of results they'd get if they put the exact same thing into Google, so they go back to Google and don't switch at all.
ReplyDeleteAnd absolutely - as Google continues to become a core "feature" of the browser, more and more will learn to use Google instead of the others.
Not realizing that something can be changed is not the same as being unable to change it - which would be a genuine lock-in.
ReplyDeleteI think that Google dominates search because it's by far the best product, not because people are unaware of alternatives.
"Google is default search engine if you install any Google software"
ReplyDeleteHow is this any different from software from other search providers? Why would a search provider create a software package with one of their competitors as the default search engine?
You wouldn't expect Yahoo's toolbar to default to searching through MSN, so why make a deal out of Google defaulting to their own product.
Furthermore, Google is only the default search engine in most Western countries. Localized browser installs for (for instance) Asian countries such as China don't default to Google.
Google isn't just the default search engine. It features many online apps that the more people use the more they become involved in using google. Gmail is a good example
ReplyDeleteI understand the point, but it's not universally true. I switched to Google from another search engine (AltaVista) and I think a lot of other people did too. I also sample other engines when I'm not satisfied with Google's results -- it's easy to do because other engines are in Firefox's search bar. That can't be uncommon.
ReplyDeleteGoogle got popular by offering better search results. Sure they can coast a bit, but they're right to recognize that switching search engines is pretty simple. Browser suppliers could choose a different default.
Ha...the post above strikes me as funny because the same exact post could have been written about IE during the Antitrust suit.
ReplyDeleteyet, since it's darling google and not big bad MS, no one cares.
The more things change....
There are other search engines?
ReplyDeleteEvery body at Yahoo or MS knows that Google is your default search engine..
ReplyDeleteWhen was the last time.. A tool bar software was injected while installing Messengers or other software from Yahoo or MSN.
That's what they want. Capture the market share back from Google.. Unsuccessful so far..
Yes, Google IS the default - despite Windows and IE's dominance. In fact, Google's default status probably happened as a direct response to the previous lack of choice.
ReplyDeletePeople CHOOSE Firefox and Opera to get away from MS, just as they CHOOSE to make Google their default if they stick with IE.
Yes, it's dominance - but nothing antitrust about it.
Good grief folks...it's called "Brand Awareness"... for anyone who used to Yahoo it, or Alta Vista it, or Webspider it, or Mamma.com it (or whatever I used to use). Seriously, they've just done that good of a job creating the best search engine with the most relevant results, and then marketing the bejeebus out of it. You aren't stuck with it...if you think you are, maybe you don't need to be using a computer, or you don't need to be so uptight about what search engine you use.
ReplyDeleteMore people visit the Google website than use the built-in search box in the browser. And at least in Firefox' case Google became the default engine for the search box _after_ it was clear that it was wildly popular with its users. So I don't think either of those points is particularly strong evidence that most of Google's users are "locked in" in any way. Part of the rest of your post touched on the same point Varian made -- users can go to other search engines, but they don't get the same experience, whether that be result quality, page load speed, or whatever other metric they care about. That's not lock-in. That's called "execution".
ReplyDeleteOpen Search
ReplyDeleteWith "lock-in", I think the point is that while it may be a little tedious to change your default search engine, it's not that hard and you don't lose files because they're in incompatible formats, find yourself unable to run your old software or suddenly not be able to interoperate with everyone else. Since the effort to switch is so much less, Google would have to annoy you far less to get you to switch than (say) Windows would, and moreover it's a lot easier for someone to enter the market with a better search engine and take market share than it would be to do so with another OS.
ReplyDeleteThe surfers prefer Google to other search engines due to a hidden cause: the Information Retrieval system, and the ranking algorithm (Pagerank), that are different from those used by Ask.com (for example). Comparing the listings of the two search engines for the same query, the surfer notices some differences and due to the Google popularity (the psychological effect) he is convinced that
ReplyDeletethe Google's list is what he is looking for.
I don't agree. Google is simply the best search engine. That is why I switched to google years ago. Before Google I used a Dutch Search Engine.
ReplyDeleteAnd the first time I tried Google I didn't like it, but after a couple of times I noticed the results where simply better, and I started using Google instead.
So I think the switch to a different search engine isn't that hard to make. If another SE is better, people will use it.
As we said in France about our scientists, we can find search engines that search results but if you want to find search engines that find result then go to Google.
ReplyDeleteGoogle is the best, that's why people use it! Not because it's default and they get used to it. For some reason it was picked to be the default search engine for some browsers, simply it's the best. there is not even close competition.
ReplyDeleteI had to buy and finalize a computer for a friend of mine. It came with pre-installed Windows Vista, Firefox and almost every Google software that is available, since the vendor had a deal with them.
ReplyDeleteIt really took me hours to get rid of all this Google software. Try to deinstall the Google toolbar from Firefox and Internet Explorer and you learn some really weired logic...
I know for sure that no normal user could have ever removed all this Google software again from such a computer. That much about "lock-in".
What's wrong? Is Lock-in evil?
ReplyDeleteI am not sure, and I don't mind much, as most existing business models in today capitalism worlds are just trying to lock customers in.
As long as I can be free technically and legally, I don't really mind being locked in a product or a company. I have choices, and this is my choice.
The real problem with search engines is that if you try to look up something that isn't found, then you get responses like Buy it now at Amazon. That's stupid. If it isn't found, why return anything like that?
ReplyDeletePeople who are most concerned (and shocked) with anything being their default engine are users who have little experience with computers, and probably can't change it themselves anyway.
They will grow up to be activists, and of little use to other users in the community. :^)
A good test of this would be to look at the users of non-default browsers (that is not safari on macs or explorer on PC's). And see what search engine they use.
ReplyDeleteIf someone is able and willing to change their default browser, they are just as skilled to change their default search engine, if they want to.
I suspect that you'd find that such people tend to stick with google because it does the job of search well, and nobody provides a great alternative worth switching to.
Bing.com !
ReplyDeleteI just had to go through a hour of trying to get rid of Bing that got installed as part of a windows internet explorer update.
ReplyDeleteA pain in the A**
I would love to see a way us FireFox/google users could LOCK in what we want so that these other search engine could NOT change our preference without our permission.
I totally HATE any site that makes any changes to my computer without my permission by tricks or stealth.
I also KNOW Bing will be back and install again with out my permission