Summary: <p>Advertising has become a big business for Big Tech—and it keeps getting bigger. Google now controls a whopping 91 percent of the search advertising market.</p> <p>The tech giant’s monopoly means it’s almost impossible for businesses not to advertise with Google. That’s especially true if you’re a company that exists entirely online, like the ride-sharing app Lyft, or mattress brand Tuft & Needle. Lyft, for example, spent 92 million dollars on ads placed with Google last year. As a recent article in <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-08/google-search-dominance-has-businesses-paying-for-their-own-name">Bloomberg</a> notes, that’s about 10 percent of Lyft’s 2018 net loss.</p> <p>And if a business decides <em>not</em> to advertise on Google, a competing brand might buy its keywords and place an ad <em>against</em> them. It’s an advertising Catch-22.</p> <p>This week on Money Talking, Ilya Marritz speaks with Jake Swearingen, a contributor for New York Magazine’s Intelligencer, about how Google came to dominate search advertising—and what it means for businesses and consumers alike.</p>
