Google SWOT Analysis

Google SWOT	Internal Strengths: 1. Technological Skills - Google's products are constantly improving at a rate that stays ahead of the rest of the market.  Search engine algorithms are complex yet do not interfere with the simplicity of using the product. 2. Brand name - Google is a verb 3. Management - Google has created a positive work environment with happy employees (1). 4. Search Engine Market Share - Google currently holds 80+% of search engine market share (2). 5. Product Quality - Google's search results are relevant and usually direct users to what they are looking for.  Other product offerings are user friendly, intuitive, and powerful.	Internal Weaknesses: 1. No Switching Costs - If a user is to choose a different search engine, it is very easy and free to switch from using Google. 2. Little to no physical hardware development - It is difficult to compete with Apple in simplifying people's lives when they have no physical products to compete with Apple's products.
External Opportunities: 1. Expansion into any computer based / tech market.  This has already begun with Google's expansion into many different product offerings (i.e Gmail, Google Earth, Google Docs, etc.) 2. Human trends - Desire to simplify lives.  As we progress further into the digital age, we now have more opportunities to simplify, organize, and digitize our lives.	SO Strategies: 1. Google's brand name will allow them to easily expand into many markets beyond the simple search engine.  Continued expansion is important in getting customers more and more reliant on Google's multiple offerings. 2. The human desire to simplify their lives puts Google in a good position to make people more reliant on their products.  The more aspects of our lives we can manage in one place, the easier our lives become.  Google can utilize their brand name and technological skills to make user friendly products that people will recognize, try, and like the first time.	WO Strategies: 1. Google can make switching more difficult for users by making their lives more dependent on Google's products.  If the user relies on Gmail, Google Docs, Blogger, and a variety of other Google's products, switching to a competitor would be much more time consuming and painful than just switching search engines. 2. Google can take advantage of the latest human desires to simplify their lives by getting everything into one digital form.  They may need to expand their offerings to include physical devices such as phones or tablets to compete with industry leaders such as Apple.
External Threats: 1. Competing search engines such as Bing.com 2. Competing life simplifying technologies such as the iPhone or iPad.	ST Strategies: 1. Google's should utilize their technological strengths to continue providing the best search engine on the market. 2. Google can use their brand name and superior technical skills to create great "life simplifying" software that users come to rely on.  Google can get ideas by looking at popular Apple Apps that are used by individuals to organize their lives (i.e. Lemon, myFitnessPal, Checkbook HD, etc.).	WT Strategies: 1. By continuing to provide the best search engine on the market, Google will not have to worry about users switching to a new search engine.   2. Google can expand it's offerings by providing physical devices such as a phone or tablet that will further allow its customers to simplify their lives.  This would allow for better competition with Apple, which makes wonderful physical products, but relies on app developers to write a lot of the software customers use to simplify their lives.

(1) - http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/fashion/31google.html?pagewanted=all

(2) - http://www.statowl.com/search_engine_market_share.php