Competition vital in online marketplace
Traditional retailers are happy to pay a premium for high visibility locations and the same is true online. In the online marketplace, high visibility means featuring prominently in search engine results. Google is by far the most used search engine in the world with more than 85 per cent of global search engine revenue. It’s estimated to be even higher in Australia. The most likely explanation for this remarkable achievement is that most people, including me, think its search engine is the most helpful and easy to use. The problem is not, however, the functionality of the site but the potential for its growing monopoly power to stifle genuine competition.
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