Despite Deep Recession, Google Plows Forward

Google Makes Money; No News There

Despite being embroiled in the middle of the worst global recession of our generation, internet giant Google continues to make money although not at the feverish pace of just a few years ago. Still, with its income up by 8% in the first quarter of the year, the company is in an enviable position.

As usual.

Once Again Google Performs Admirably

Analysts had been expecting Google to taper off, but the first quarter figures show that if any company can weather the current storm, then that would be Google.  Revenue did slip compare to the fourth quarter of 2008, but given that the worst of the recession didn’t settle in until after the first of the year, Google’s performance is admirable.

Google still makes a big bundle off of AdWords (advertisers) while not quite a few webmasters are still raking in big bucks with AdSense (publishers).  Google’s advantage is that the company basically owns web search which allows it to serve up ads to most everyone who logs on. Given that its algorithm is almost always spot on, Google remains an attractive and relatively cost effective way for businesses to get the word out.

Chairman Eric Schmidt Speaks

Relating to its most recently quarterly performance, Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt had this to say: “Google had a good quarter given the depth of the recession–while revenues were down quarter over quarter, they grew 6% year over year, thanks to continued strong query growth. These results underline both the resilience of our business model and the ongoing potential of the web as users and advertisers shift online. Going forward, our priority remains investing for the long term to drive future growth in our core and emerging businesses.”

Has Google’s Ad Income Peaked?

Some analysts fear that Google’s ad income may have peaked, but we’ve been hearing them say this for years. Clearly, advertising dollars are harder to come by, but given that newspaper advertising continues to dry up and internet traffic is still expanding, I’m sure that Google will find a way to keep moving forward. Should the economy begin to recover this year, then advertisers will come back, adding more fuel to the Google fire.

What About Twitter?

It is no secret that Google is interested in buying Twitter, given that site’s rapid growth and its threat as a search engine. Personally, I have found that using Twitter Search yields some amazing results, a great way to connect with people who are discussing topics of interest to you and in real time too.

Though I don’t use Twitter Search as much as Google Search, even an incremental shift by users can shift search traffic.

Google will pay handsomely for Twitter and they’ll figure out a way to monetize the site.   I could see Google incorporating the feature’s of Twitter Search into its own toolbar, but I also could see them leaving Twitter alone and running ads along the side of these results.  Maybe Google would do both.

Returning to Their Roots

As far as the rest of the web is concerned, the other internet giants will continue to work to make their business models more efficient. Now that EBay has sold StumbleUpon and has an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the works for its Skype internet telephony unit, they’ll be returning to their core business of managing online auctions and internet retailing.

I expect that other businesses will be doing the same thing — dumping unrelated subsidiaries to concentrate on what they do best. In this economy, returning to your core seems like the wisest (and safest) move to make.

Job Boards And Why Most Of Them Should Be Free

I know a thing or two about managing an online job board.

Back in 2002, I launched the Corporate Flight Attendant Community, a career resource site where business flight attendants could stop by, read articles, post to the forum and find work. At its peak it was the leading site of its kind, basically owning its niche year in and year out. In 2007 I sold the site to concentrate on other work including launching several new job sites.

Auto Trends Job Board Has Been Activated

Just this past week I revamped the jobs section on one of my automotive sites, by launching the Auto Trends Job Board. I’m only listing a few jobs from the start, but each position is available and companies are hiring, some for other jobs too.

But, just like every other job board I’ve managed I don’t charge visitors a fee. Not so much that I want to give everything away for free, but for the simple reason that most any job you come across online is posted somewhere else and usually at no charge.

The Origin Of My Job Boards

In 2004, I launched the Aviation Employment Board, a site that I initially had running on EZBoard, hence its name. EZBoard, if you recall the system, was faulty, quirky and prone to crash. In fact, one weekend several years ago the system was hacked, taking months for it to be brought back up online. You got it – the owners of what was once one of the most popular online communities didn’t regularly back everything up, exposing their business model and everyone’s communities to hackers.

The interesting thing about what I affectionately called the AEB is that it went up against several larger paid employment sites. Business aviation is notorious for charging fees for every service – heck, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) which represents people who own or manage private jets, hits members each year with a whopping $415 dues charge. This cost has to be borne by the lowliest worker including the struggling per diem flight attendant.

So, to do my part to level the playing field I decided to run the site and open it up to everyone – man ‘o man, were some people in business aviation angry with me!

May I Share A Secret With You?

Here is my little secret: every job site manager sourced most of the same information. When the occasional job didn’t find its way to my inbox, I was able to glean jobs by simply cutting and pasting a line or two from the free access preview page of the paid job sites into Google and finding where the full job summary was posted elsewhere for free. To get new members (I’ll call them victims) the paid sites would post just enough information about the opportunity to nonmembers, a move that they hoped would entice people to join.

That hook often worked, but it was a morsel that didn’t need to be taken. At least from the paid sites. Oh, by the way, I never joined those sites to copy and paste their information. That would have been illegal as well as unethical – entirely unnecessary too!

Of course, I managed my sites without the benefit of membership fees. Instead, I relied on Google advertising in the form of AdWords ad placement. As an AdSense publisher I was able to strategically place ads around my site, which encouraged people to click on them, resulting in a fee deposited into my AdSense account.

Google Paid Me Regularly, Sometimes Well

Each month I would receive a check from Google for all of those collective clicks which paid for my expenses and gave me something to live on. Not enough money to completely sustain me, but usually enough to cover several bills. While managing my job boards, I always kept my freelance work going (resume writing, website building, articles, etc.) and, when things got tight, I sold off the site.

Don’t think for a moment that I think everything in life should be free nor am I knocking anyone’s right to charge people for a service. However, in the case of aviation job sites – most jobs sites at that – the same information you are seeking can be found elsewhere and usually at no cost to you.

Of course, I want you to visit my automotive job board to see what I’m featuring there. Whether you visit an ad or not is up to you, but job information is posted for free. It isn’t a perfect business model, but it is something that works well for me.