Googlebucks

Do I hear $5? I hear $5, do I hear $10? Good for the market, but who knows how it will affect Google yet? Because they limit the number of right-side advertisers per page to eight, it creates scarcity and the price of an ad will fluctuate based on demand. Could be a windfall for Google as companies outbid each other for higher spots, but it could be a disaster as companies who list under esoteric keywords will pay significantly less than they currently do.

There's no reason, however, for users to get upset about this practice. I trust Google to keep the ads separate from the search results, because they'll lose impressions if they don't. They know their target audience and will do right by us. Long live Google!

February 20, 2002 - 09:13 AM