Google Homepage Advertising Kindle Fire Tablet
Interesting change to the once-pristine Google homepage this week. It’s now a billboard advertising “The new $199 tablet from Google”.
This isn’t the first time Google has used their home page as a billboard – in addition to recent promotions for the Nexus S smartphone and the launch of Google+, they initially used the space to promote the launch of the Motorola Droid phone in 2009. Using this space for the promotion wasn’t, according to Google, in response to any particular event but it does illustrate how competitive the tablet wars are becoming.
And for those of you who are reaching for the keyboard to contact your Google advertising rep, don’t bother. According to an unnamed company representative, Google would never let other companies use that space for advertising. (With over 2 billion unique page views per month just figuring out what to charge for the space would be difficult.)
So – what do you think? Should Google go back to being the cleanest search start page in the world or should they, from time to time, use the page to promote their products and services just like any other company?
Here’s a link to a Market Watch article on the topic.
