December 29th, 2006
France to Google: On vous aime (we like you)!
Google continues to “gagner en France” (to win in France), according to comScore Networks:
Google remains most visited site in France for 15th consecutive month (November 2006).
Google Sites, Microsoft Sites and France Telecom retained their rankings as the top three properties among French Internet users, with 16.4, 15.5 and 13.6 million French visitors, respectively.
Google’s traction with French users, however, does not necessarily reflect strong Google performance with French advertisers.
In “Is Google a threat to world’s ad markets?” I discuss Google’s market performance in Europe, contrasting its strength in the United Kingdom with resistance in other European countries:
In 2005, Google’s UK business accounted for $878 million, about 14%, of the company’s revenues. CEO Schmidt, at the Q3 conference call, pegged 2006 Q3 UK revenues at about 15%-16%.
What does the Google ad future portend? U.S. domination, UK domination…the world? NO.
Omid Kordestani, Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Business Development, spoke about Google’s international efforts at the Q3 conference call. Color provided suggests Google’s strong UK performance is a one-off, case-specific market scenario.
