I’m generally a big fan of Google’s small business product offerings. Not only because of their very reasonable price tags (i.e.: free or cheap) but because the services themselves are just plain good. See: Google Analytics and Google Apps as two great examples. So, naturally I was excited when Google announced their new Ad Manager (a free service which will allow website managers to track and rotate their sites’ ads). But Google is entering yet another market niche, which has the players in that niche just a little tense.
OpenX (previously OpenAds), developers of another popular free ad server, recently made their concerns known. But in doing so they cleverly painted a picture of Google as Big Brother…placing doubt in the minds of readers about Google’s master plan. Normally I shrug this kind of stuff off, but their point resonated with me. It is in Google’s best interest to determine what margins are being earned on their web publishers’ properties – and reduce that margin to the lowest the market will bear.
Did it stop me from signing up for a test drive of Google Ad Manager? No. But will I think twice before managing all my ads with a Google product? Absolutely.
Side note: As conversionrater.com accurately points out, free has its price, and some businesses are looking for more than just a low price point. And just as Google Analytics shook up the analytics world (didn’t kill it, like some expected), Ad Manager will probably do the same. Competition can be a very good thing.
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