Read the article and answer the question:

Under what circumstances would it make sense to take an existing brand name online? When would it not make sense?

The Google Story What performs over a billion searches a day in 181 countries; speaks 146 languages including Xhosa. Mori, and Zulu; and is the most-visited U.S. Web site? The answer is Google.com, the fastest- growing and fourth highest-value Global Brand of the Year in 2011, according to Interbrand. It was the top Web brand in April 2012, with 171.3 million visitors who spent an average of one hour and 56 minutes on Google in April, according to the Nielsen Company. Google is so popular that it has changed the English language-the verb to google has been added by two dictionaries. Google's 2011 revenues were $37.9 billion, while it earned an admirable 25.7 percent in net income. The firm continues to grow in sales, new markets, number of employees, and new products offered. This success is particularly remarkable because Google entered the market in 1998, well after other search engines were firmly entrenched with loyal customers. How did Google do it? First, it got the technology right at a low cost. Co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page figured out how to pack eight times as much server power in the same amount of space as competitors by building their own system from commodity hard- ware parts. Second, they invented an innovative new search strategy: ranking search query page results based not only on keywords but also on popularity-as measured, in part, by the number of sites that link to each Web page. These crite- ria meant that users' search results were packed with relevant Web sites. Finally, the founders maintained a customer focus, used simple graph- ics, allowed no advertising on the homepage, and allowed only text ads (without graphics) so search result pages download faster and are easier to read. Google continues to excel through rapid and continuous product innovation. It makes new prod- ucts available on Google Labs, moves them to beta testing when they seem useful to customers, and finally adds them to the suite of products-a pro- cess sometimes lasting up to a year. Through this process, Google learns from customers and incorpo- rates improvements based on their feedback. Google is constantly revising its search algorithm, which contains over 200 variables used to present the most relevant search results based on the user's selected key words. Exhibit 9.1 displays the idea generation and external testing process used to improve user searches. Google's product mix includes 24 search products (Web, blog, Earth, Maps, alerts, and more), 3 advertising products (AdSense, AdWords, and Analytics), 20 applications (e.g., Google Docs, Picasa, YouTube, Blogger, and mobile products). and many enterprise products to maximize revenue from Web content, increase marketing ROI, reach new customers, enhance a Web site, and increase productivity. All products adhere to Google's phi- losophies of simplicity, customer focus, speed of service, and product excellence. Google primarily uses a media e-business model, connecting users with information and sell- ing eyeballs to advertisers. In 2011, 96 percent of Google's revenues came from advertising. It gener- ates revenues from several B2B markets. It licenses search services to companies, powering a majority idea CHE "Back to the drawing board: Launch committee reviews report Implement idea in sandbox "Approved!" Launch of all searches worldwide; it sells enterprise ser- vices; it also sells advertising to Web advertisers. sharing risk with the advertisers by using a pay- per-click model (advertisers only pay when users click on an ad). Google's advertising revenues con- tinue to rise at its own site and on customer sites, including Google ads, because it delivers narrowly targeted relevant ads based on keyword searches. In a firm where many employees hold a PhD. the innovation continues. This fact plus a mono- maniacal customer focus is why the company. is always right on target with new services. The profitability is likely to continue as well, because Google pays close attention to user value, keeps costs low, and delivers eyeballs to advertisers. Google does everything extremely well. Sources: Google.com and the 2011 Annual Report. thwest Analysts prepare an independent report Generate a sample of before/after differences Before After Send differences to external raters Divert a tiny slice of live traffic to the sandbox EXHIBIT 9.1 Google Process for Testing Changes to its Search Algorithm Source: Courtesy of Google (google.com)