Google's Advertising Monopoly

Advertising has become a big business for Big Tech—and it keeps getting bigger. Google now controls a whopping 91 percent of the search advertising market. The tech giant’s monopoly means it’s almost impossible for businesses not to advertise with Google. That’s especially true if you’re a company that exists entirely online, like the ride-sharing app Lyft, or mattress brand Tuft & Needle. Lyft, for example, spent 92 million dollars on ads placed with Google last year. As a recent article in Bloomberg notes, that’s about 10 percent of Lyft’s 2018 net loss. And if a business decides not to advertise on Google, a competing brand might buy its keywords and place an ad against them. It’s an advertising Catch-22. This week on Money Talking, Ilya Marritz speaks with Jake Swearingen, a contributor for New York Magazine’s Intelligencer, about how Google came to dominate search advertising—and what it means for businesses and consumers alike.

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Google's Advertising Monopoly is an episode from Money Talking by WNYC.

This episode is 00:07:36 long.

This episode was published on Mar 29, 2019.

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