Isabel Aguilera. Google: Success on the Internet
Director of Google for Spain and Portugal
Isabel Aguilera, Director of Google for Spain and Portugal, was with us on June 14th to talk about Google and its success on the Internet, and to tell us how a company with over 7,000 employees worldwide, 28 of whom live in Spain, although for the Spanish market there are teams distributed in the United States, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and France, has experienced rapid expansion in just 8 years.
The presentation began by focusing on the history of Google’s creation. It was born at Stanford University, where two engineering students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, developed a new fast and easy method for searching information on the Internet, offered to the user. Google’s goal is to organize information in any format and make it accessible and useful. The company has created various “Googles” that are organized by different formats, sectors, and types of information. Its philosophy is based on the belief that intelligence should reside on the network and the advocacy of free software for everyone in the world, as they consider that everyone has the right to information, that this information is key to the development and independence of individuals and societies, and that the best programmers they can find are the Internet users themselves. Google estimates that on the Internet, we can find “only” 10% of all the world’s information, which gives us an idea of the expansion possibilities the network and this company have. This free and easy-to-use service usually provides relevant results in a fraction of a second.
Isabel Aguilera explained the keys to this success. Mainly, the company’s mission has always been very clear, with the founders’ constant desire to offer users the best product with a priority on innovation and continuous renewal with quality products. Additionally, Google offers this service to its users for free and has not needed advertising to become known – users themselves have been sharing it. So, we wonder, how does this company sustain itself? Simply put, Google generates revenue by offering advertisers the opportunity to display ads, only paying when users access their specific website. 98% of Google’s revenue comes from advertising. Their AdWords program is used by many advertisers to promote their products or services on the web; this advertising helps advertisers generate more income. Both advertisers and users are satisfied with this system because both benefit from it.
The most developed sectors in terms of online advertising market are currently related to tourism.
Google continuously improves its products thanks to the talent of the people working in it and often acquires companies where creative talent already exists. This is the most important key to their global success.
To conclude, our guest made a brief mention of the importance of specialization and sharing information in an increasingly interconnected and complex world.
The presentation left time for a debate in which related topics were discussed. Isabel Aguilera shared some anecdotes that demonstrate the youthful and creative atmosphere at Google. She also emphasized that Google collaborates in the defense of freedom of expression, and it is their duty to comply with the law in all the countries where they are present. Regarding short-term innovation forecasts, Google is planning to offer users many more products in Spain, such as “Google Books,” a book search engine, Google Finance, a financial information search engine, Google Video, or Google Base. They have also just launched Google Maps in the Spanish market, both from computers and mobile phones. Certainly, this company full of future has many interesting and innovative projects.
Juliana Huerta Martínez
