Alphabet Inc (GOOG)

[SeriousMoney]

Google's Sticky Little Fingers
By Rick Aristotle Munarriz (TMFBreakerRick)
May 11, 2006

Don't you ever go thinking that Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) is content with its primo position in search. After recent public announcements by Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) proclaiming their progress in paid search and search engine technology, the top dog is ready to bite back. On Wednesday afternoon, the company that already controls 49% of the domestic search market introduced three new technologies to keep its rivals in check.

First, Google Co-Op allows participants to single out relevant Web pages in specialized areas. Users can then subscribe to specific taggers to receive their tailored site suggestions. With the recent popularity of tagging sites aiding in democratizing the Internet, this ramps up the personality aspect by allowing surfers to pick specific sources that they may trust to lead them somewhere useful.

Second, we have Google Notebook, which rolls out next week. This is a browser tool that allows users to clip chunks of other pages and preserve the clipping to view later.

And finally, there's Google Desktop 4, the latest incarnation of the company's suite of desktop-based applications. Those who download the software can incorporate plug-in gadgets like weather globes, Google Calendar, and other apps to launch from their desktop screen.

Clearly, items like Notebook and Desktop are aiming right at Inside Value pick Microsoft's jugular. Google's success in monetizing searches has the company coming up with as many ways as possible to pry deeper into the computing experience and create even more ad-serving opportunities.

Google's been busy. It has also introduced Google Trends, where visitors can gauge the popularity of any search term over the past two years and cities or regions that are searching for those keywords the most often.

Not all of the new offerings are unique to Google, but they all bear checking out because of the huge Internet audience that the search king commands. The company doesn't need all of the introductions to be hits, either. If just one or two prove to be sticky successes, it will push the Google experience further into the online realm.

Yep. Just when you thought that Google couldn't get any bigger, it grows a few more appendages.

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