Top Click Media Staff Blog » Google Chrome

Google Chrome’s Secret Weapon

Matt Thomas — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:36:59 +0000

Despite claims from some that it’s not as versatile as competitors like Firefox, the Google Chrome web browser has been gaining supporters steadily since its launch earlier this year, thanks to its speedy performance and reliability. However, it seems the slow steady groundswell of support is about to turn into a deluge in the next few weeks and months.

The reason is that Google has decided to take advantage of their unique market position by leveraging the Google homepage – incidentally, the most visited page on the internet – to advertise it. The advert will run above and to the right of the search bar, with the tagline, ‘a faster way to browse the web’. This is incredibly significant as it marks the first time any ad has been displayed on the Google homepage, and a significant diversion from Google’s stated policy of keeping their homepage as clean as possible.

However, seeing as this is Google, it’s not as simple as slapping an ad on the homepage, the ad will display in different ways depending on the user and importantly the browser they are using. Chrome users will be shown nothing, whilst Firefox users will be greeted with a subtle Google pack link. IE users on the other hand (at whom this is really aimed, let’s face it) will be shown the full advert. Either way, expect Chrome usage to skyrocket in the coming weeks.

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Most people dont know what a Browser is

James Oliver — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:49:07 +0000

A Google staffer has claimed that the majority of people do not know which browser they use or even what a browser actually is. Product Marketing Manager Jason Toff’s, albeit unscientific, survey found that half of his friends did not know which internet browser they used. In a bid to address this issue Google have swiftly released a video explaining exactly what one is, cunningly positioning the Google chrome logo alongside those of more popular browsers Safari, Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Aside from the fact that letting people know about the internet is a worthwhile thing to do for the world’s premier internet company, Google also has a vested interest in informing the public about what web browsers are and therefore that there is a choice between them. The central problem that Google’s own browser, Chrome has had since its inception is the perception that IE, or whichever browser someone happens to use, is the only browser.

It’s simple really, before Google can begin persuading people to change their browser they need to level the playing field by educating people to know that there is an alternative to IE.

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What does the future hold for Firefox?

Mark Isle — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:41:17 +0000

Google Chrome has been performing well so far; it got out of beta only 100 days after being first introduced and, even at this early stage, boasts a user base that’s 10 million strong. Now that it’s an official player, Chrome is eligible to be bundled with new computers and it soon will be. Basically, the browser is set to go from strength to strength in 2009, this is bad news for Firefox.

Right after Google Chrome came out of its beta stage, Firefox was unceremoniously dropped as Google’s default browser, losing its place in the Google pack download bundle, and generally being resoundingly replaced by Chrome. This has led to many predicting a rocky future for the browser.

Firefox is still the second best performing browser available, behind only Internet Explorer (it’s not really a fair comparison as IE is artificially propped up by being tied to Windows). However, around 88 percent of its revenue comes straight from Google, in payment for using the search engine as its default and as a percentage of revenue from the resulting click-through ads. Essentially they are almost completely dependant on a company that is now a direct competitor.

Their agreement has been extended through till 2011 though, with Chrome’s star on the rise and no more marketing from Google, it’s hard to see anything other than Firefox fading as Chrome takes over as number two browser, maybe even better.

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Chrome’s Mac Release approaching

Andy Russell — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 09:00:08 +0000

Some information on the release date for the Mac version of Google Chrome has been issued by Google. The browser will be available for download by Mac (and Linux) users in the first half of this year.

The forms of Chrome available to these platforms currently are very, very basic and really can’t do much other than view web pages. Not so the latest versions available on PCs, which have a huge range of new features, full page zoom, browser profiles, etc., that have made Mac users eager to have a go.

However, some Mac fans are sceptical as to whether Chrome really has the ability to replace Safari, the browser of choice for many Mac users. Safari doesn’t suffer from the same bugs and poor reputation that Internet Explorer does and so, it should be harder to displace than the troubled PC browser.

Google are planning a very big marketing push for Chrome this year that may just change a few Mac user’s minds. Plus, there are some very cool updates planned in the near future, such as browser extensions like Firefox has.

We shall see.

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How Chrome is going to beat IE (Part 2)

Matt Thomas — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:35:11 +0000

The majority of IE defectors (about 66% says TG daily) go to Firefox. This is because the browser enjoys strong brand recognition and is known as the browser of choice for the clued up surfer. Whether this is true or not is another thing, though the perception is there.

This is why Google is recommending it along with Chrome as the IE alternative. If they were to just recommend that users switch to Chrome they’d have a harder time, people don’t know it yet, they don’t have friends who use it, they haven’t heard anything about it, therefore they are less likely to switch. For the time being this isn’t a problem, anything that hurts Explorer is good.

When Explorer has been cut down to size Chrome is in an excellent position to take the reins, most likely from Firefox – who aren’t exactly a Google competitor anyway. Not only is it borrowing the IE trick of getting itself installed with many new computers, it has something that IE never had, a huge, practically all encompassing platform to really push it’s browser – I’m speaking, of course, about the Google search engine, which it has already started using to flog the browser.

Of course it won’t be this simple, I daresay that Microsoft have a game-changing idea or two in them yet, but the momentum is certainly swinging towards Google. At the very least, the days of IE domination are numbered.

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How Chrome is going to beat IE (Part 1)

Matt Thomas — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:33:54 +0000

We always knew that 2009 was going to be the year that the browser war kicked off in earnest, and with 09 not even a week old the opening shots have been fired. Well, actually the first punch from Google was landed in the final days of last year, though the effects may prove to dominate the browser debate this year and beyond.

What happened was Google began urging Gmail users to dump Internet Explorer in favour of either their Chrome browser or Firefox and it appears to be working. People are taking the advice more and more, leaving IE in droves.

The main reason for this, in my opinion, is that whilst most people still use IE, the browser enjoys little real support. I’d wager that most of the 68% of internet users that use the browser do so because it came installed on their computer and didn’t really have any notion that there was a choice.

We, in the online industries, are prone to forgetting that not everyone knows a lot about computers. For many, if not most, computer users PC use amounts to word processing, email, basic web searching and maybe Facebook. Therefore, Google reasoned that all it would take to for a large proportion of IE users to jump ship, was simply being told that there were other options, and what the benefits would be i.e., you’ll be able to get to your emails (the backbone of casual internet use) easier and faster.

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