Is Google losing it’s grip on the internet?

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For so many businesses, particularly those involved in e-commerce, a good Google ranking for their website is fundamental for maintaining a steady flow of visitors, and ultimately the success of their enterprise. Relying so heavily on one search engine to essentially keep your business afloat is an incredible amount of faith and trust to put in a company.

The significance of social media for businesses has grown substantially over the last few years as a way  to reach consumers, and another emerging area of the internet that could finally help to ease some the reliance of businesses on Google is the web coupon.  If web users start to search sites like Facebook and Twitter more for brands and businesses who are interacting and providing ‘fans’ or ‘followers’ with special deals, could Google start lose the vice-like grip it has on enterprises?

The advancement of the web coupon could reduce our reliance on Google

The barcodes included on web coupons offered by companies can contain huge amounts of customer specific information like Internet address, Facebook ID and even search terms that have been used to find the coupon in the first place (see Web Coupons Tell Stores More Than You Realize – NYTimes).  This is all information that businesses can collect and analyse to build their database and know just how well their marketing is working, and exactly where it’s working.

“Google allows its search advertisers to see reports on which keywords are working well as a whole but not on how each person is responding to each slogan.”

- Stephanie Clifford, New York Times

Companies like RevTrax are assisting businesses with connecting their digital media activities directly to their in-store sales by translating the information from a URL into a dynamically generated barcode or promo code on a printable or mobile coupon.

The power of linking online profiles to offline spending habits

Whenever you join the Facebook page of a business your Facebook ID is visible, meaning that they can insert that identifier into any coupon that they offer you, and then know exactly when, where and who redeems it.  Over time this tracking could lead to some extremely useful information regarding your spending habits and interests, and the behaviour of your demographic.

The ultimate business tool?

Enabling businesses to make different offers to different consumers, and essentially charge different people different amounts for services based on what they’re each likely to pay is a fascinating prospect.  If these sorts of targeted offers and customised pricing of products become more prevalent through social networks it would be a huge incentive for web users to change their search habits to focus on these social channels, rather than typical search engine sites like Google.