The Cessation (BAN) of Google Search in Australia? – Probable Impacts

The dispute between Google and the Australian government is on the rise. Latterly, Google has threatened to exclude Australia in its search.

Statement from Mel Silva (the regional director, Google)

“The latest version of the Code requires Google to pay to link to news sites, breaking a fundamental principle of how the web works and setting an untenable precedent for our business, the internet, and the digital economy. This is not just Google’s view. Many other respected voices have raised similar concerns in their submissions to the Senate Committee.

By introducing a flawed arbitration model and unworkable requirements for algorithm notifications, the Code exposes Google to unreasonable and unmanageable levels of financial and operational risk.

If the Code becomes law, Google would have no real choice but to stop providing Search in Australia. That’s a worst-case scenario and the last thing we want to have happen—especially when there is a way forward to a workable Code that allows us to support Australian journalism without breaking Search.

This workable solution would see Google pay publishers through News Showcase, a licensing program with nearly 450 news partners globally. By making News Showcase subject to the Code, Google would pay publishers for value, and reach commercial agreements with publishers, with binding arbitration on Showcase. In addition, we’ve also proposed amendments to the arbitration model that will bring it in line with widely accepted models and lead to fair commercial outcomes, and algorithm notification requirements that are workable for Google and useful for news publishers.”

Response from Scott Morrison (Australian Prime Minister) –

“We don’t respond to threats”.

What is the core issue?

The Australian government has proposed a law called ‘News Media Bargaining Code’ saying that tech giants like Google and Facebook should compensate the news organizations for using their content in the search.

Initially, Google agreed to pay for the news outlets they are utilizing, however, looking at the strict and unacceptable conditions proposed in the law, the tech giant Google and Facebook became extremely unhappy with the proposal and the outcome turned into a big conflict between Google and the Australian government.

How Much Amount does Australia Want Google to Pay?

The amount has not been decided yet. The decision is expected to be taken by the judge in case of disagreement between Google and the news organization.

Implications of Google’s Extinction from Australia

Google holds 90–95% search engine market share within Australia (almost the same as other countries). Hence, if Google leaves Australia, the searchers may face huge trouble. Also, Google is not a mere search engine. It is the owner of many other powerful services we use in our day to day lives like youtube, google docs, Gmail, and google map. The other main sector in which Google is playing a significant role is online marketing. Although the impact of Google’s move on these services is still unclear, even if these services are not impacted by the move, the searchers may experience degraded application performances in the absence of Google search.

Businesses will still be able to utilize Google’s online marketing services such as Google ads to strengthen their Digital Marketing but they may encounter significant losses as Google search will not be there to direct the customers towards their stores.

On the other hand, the removal of Google search from Australia can prove to be an outstanding opportunity for the local tech entrepreneurs of Australia to dominate the search market as the most powerful competitor in the domain will be off from the list.

Alternatives of Google in Australia

The other alternatives to Google present in Australia include – Microsoft Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo (privacy centered one), however, none of them is as powerful as Google is. The tech giant Microsoft is already positive and believes that his search product Bing can fulfill the absence of Google search in Australia. Indylogix is having keen expertise in Bing Search optimization and helping clients getting ranked in Bing. Seeking a Bing SEO expert, you can count on us. Let our SEO professionals rank your website higher in Bing search engine.

How Does it affect online businesses?

Despite the niche, the customer has developed a habit of searching for everything they want on Google. Google search is the most important and widely used search engine behind the success of online business in any country. It is the main source of enhancing your online visibility and gaining more traffic towards the website. Also, it is a gateway to drive the user to what they want to buy and how to reach the product swiftly and efficiently. Hence, the absence of Google search in Australia is assumed to have a negative impact on the profits of the business professionals utilizing Digital Marketing and selling their products or services digitally. Though there are other search engine options too in Australia, how well they contribute to the success of the online business is yet to see.

What about the Job of SEO Guys in Australia?

Google is the top player in the realm of SEO Professionals. The popularity and acceptance of Google search have made Search Engine Optimization a synonym for ‘optimization on Google search’. Whatever efforts the SEO guys embed to accomplish their job, everything is centered around Google by default. The reasons behind this are – the biggest market share of Google, industry-leading search algorithms, and the presence of powerful SEO supporting features.

What if Google search is not there?

SEO professionals will have to shift to other search engines available in Australia like bing and yahoo. They will have to refine their skills and expand their knowledge as per the relevant search engines. The SEO job market may also degrade resulting in the loss of jobs for many and whatnot. In short, the exclusion of Google search can put the life of Australian SEO professionals under stress.