Over at Google Blogoscope, Philipp Lenssen points to a forum discussion how much would one pay for a Google Service.
Here’s the top Google list:
- Google Search - Php200/month
- GMail - Php150/month
- Google WebMaster Tools - Php100/month
- Google Toolbar - Php50/month
Of the 4 I listed, I’m only really serious with Google Search (as I do a lot of research). GMail is next in line only because I’m able to consolidate all my accounts into one and use Mobile GMail. I’m actually willing to spend something around sub-1k for these services.
So, can you name your price for any of the Google Services? Are they really worth paying for (in case they weren’t free)?
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I would say: Php 200/month for Google Search, Php 200/month for Gmail (maybe 300/month if you include Gmail for domains) and maybe Php 150/month for the Webmaster Tools. I don’t have the Google Toolbar so that is Php 0/month.
However, I think we tend to put a price on things because we find them useful but I don’t think people would actually pay for things like these. The fact that they’re free services suggests that Google also thinks people aren’t willing to pay for them or that the loss of traffic isn’t worth the few millions it can earn from those people who are. I could be wrong though.
If spamming is paid I believe these very useful services deserve price tags, too.
Considering how much I use Google Search and how much money I make using it I would have to say I’d pay a thousand or more per month for the service. The ‘net has reached a point where Google essentially “owns” search … see:
http://www.bruceclay.com/searchenginerelationshipchart.htm
But GMail? I use it strictly as a lazy man’s way to have copies of mail on a second server … the user interface is abysmal and I wouldn’t pay anything for it.
Webmaster Tools … also zero in my book, I see very little there worth the effort to use, even for free.
Google Toolbar? An annoying screen real estate ’sqautter” that Google should pay me to use … there is too much unavoidable “chrome’ at the top of most browsers and I object to giving up a whole line of it for whatever it is that Google Toolbar allegedly does for us.
Not a good prospect for monetization from what I see, so Google better stick with search and AdWords/AdSense
You can pay for these if you want… click on the ads!