Maybe Amazon Will Just Put Google Out Of Business Now, Because Why Not?

Boy, this wasn’t a great day for Google in terms of news.

Midway through the session, the Wall Street Journal reported that hundreds of thousands of users might have had their private Google+ data exposed. Once they (Google) figured that out, a decision was apparently made not to disclose it for fear of exacerbating regulatory concerns and damaging the company’s reputation.

Minutes later, Google announced they’ll be shuttering Google+ for consumers.

Needless to say, that doesn’t bode particularly well from a trust perspective at a time when America’s tech giants are under fire for data misuse and it also comes amid accusations that Google deliberately programs algos to bias search results against conservative media.

Later Monday, CNBC reported that advertisers are abandoning Google in droves in favor of Amazon. That, according to what the network says are the accounts of “execs at multiple media agencies”.

Specifically, CNBC’s reporting indicates that some advertisers are shifting “more than half” of their advertising budget to Amazon from Google.

There are of course all manner of caveats (obviously some brands are more amenable to Amazon than others) but it looks like the whispers CNBC is hearing do in fact reflect shifting preferences, even if Google doesn’t yet see an epochal shift. For instance, one unnamed Google ad sales manager is quoted as follows:

Leadership is definitely concerned but [it’s] not a huge threat right now.

The article is based on conversations with higher-ups at a half-dozen media agencies, all of which told a similar story about the extent to which Amazon offers a more straightforward experience. Consider this excerpt:

Another said clients appreciate Amazon is a seamless shopping experience. Using a Google search ad to lead to a purchase may require a person to set up an account and input their credit card information with a separate website. Especially for smaller brands, there’s not really an advantage between selling direct to the consumer versus selling through Amazon.