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> You're saying that Google is so amazing at marketing, that they beat Apple, Microsoft and Firefox at marketing that browser. Google literally had a banner on

> You're saying that Google is so amazing at marketing, that they beat Apple, Microsoft and Firefox at marketing that browser. Google literally had a banner on their homepage prompting users to try Chrome. E: Of course, I don't mean to say Chrome was a bad browser and won entirely through marketing. But its current market position has as much to do with Google's explosive marketing (they had billboard ads for Chrome! For a free browser!) as much as with Chrome's technical qualities.

luckylion 6y ago
Google spent money to market Firefox as well. Back in 2005, they'd pay $1 commission per successful install of Firefox with the Google Toolbar included. I don't recall when they cancelled that offer, but it ran for years.
- Yoric 6y ago
  For comparison, I've read estimates (I don't know whether they're correct) that the marketing budget just for launching Chrome was equivalent to two billion dollars, if you include the ad space that Google was providing for free. That's just for the launch. I may be forgetting things but I don't remember ever seeing launches for a free product that were so heavily marketed.
  - luckylion 6y ago
    I don't know about the money they spent, but I believe thinking about it as a free product isn't the right approach. It delivers data & insights and gives them (some) control over the platform that powers their core business, much like Android gives them (some) control over the mobile platform. That's probably well worth whatever they spend on it. With Firefox and Chrome (and Chrome forks that aren't independently developed, but mostly kept close to the source with some added functionality), they're offering all the options on the market (except Safari, but it's not an option on the global market, only on Apple), if you want a Browser, you'll use something Google-controlled, one way or another.
    - sfink 6y ago
      Yoric wasn't referring to actual money that traded hands; the 2 billion USD figure included the estimated value of being featured on google.com. And I'm certain that Google determined that whatever they paid for it (in cash or opportunity cost or whatever) was worthwhile to them! (And today, it very much looks like they were right.)
izacus 6y ago
And the competitors literally put their browsers on your device, with prominent icon and set to open every web page without having to download anything. Yet people still chose to get Chrome. Without recognizing good things Chrome does, there cannot be a viable competitor.
- andrewl-hn 6y ago
  How often do you see a browser icon on your desktop? Yep, it's always there in the task bar or the dock, but it's not your focus. Now, how many times do you search for things on web? Every search page and search results page had a call to action to install Chrome. It's the only product Google advertised on their home page for years. The download was tiny (it downloaded the rest of the app in background), it did not require admin rights to install and hijacked the default browser setting. Plus Google put aggressive ads on YouTube, in Gmail, Maps and Docs at the time. One click on a banner, you browser showed a dialog - and bam! You got Chrome. Plus, there were bundles with Flash player, Skype, all popular antivirus freeware, etc. In 2010-2014 it was almost impossible not to have Chrome on one's computer on accident. And many banner ads in major cities around the world. London underground was flooded with Chrome banners - something no other browser had done before or since.
- Izkata 6y ago
  And in those very early days, Chrome would put itself on your computer uninvited: Installers included it as extra recommended software, at which point it would set itself as default.
- Ygg2 6y ago
  Chrome gets most of its numbers from mobile.

luckylion 6y ago

Google spent money to market Firefox as well. Back in 2005, they'd pay $1 commission per successful install of Firefox with the Google Toolbar included. I don't recall when they cancelled that offer, but it ran for years.

Yoric 6y ago
For comparison, I've read estimates (I don't know whether they're correct) that the marketing budget just for launching Chrome was equivalent to two billion dollars, if you include the ad space that Google was providing for free. That's just for the launch. I may be forgetting things but I don't remember ever seeing launches for a free product that were so heavily marketed.
- luckylion 6y ago
  I don't know about the money they spent, but I believe thinking about it as a free product isn't the right approach. It delivers data & insights and gives them (some) control over the platform that powers their core business, much like Android gives them (some) control over the mobile platform. That's probably well worth whatever they spend on it. With Firefox and Chrome (and Chrome forks that aren't independently developed, but mostly kept close to the source with some added functionality), they're offering all the options on the market (except Safari, but it's not an option on the global market, only on Apple), if you want a Browser, you'll use something Google-controlled, one way or another.
  - sfink 6y ago
    Yoric wasn't referring to actual money that traded hands; the 2 billion USD figure included the estimated value of being featured on google.com. And I'm certain that Google determined that whatever they paid for it (in cash or opportunity cost or whatever) was worthwhile to them! (And today, it very much looks like they were right.)

izacus 6y ago

And the competitors literally put their browsers on your device, with prominent icon and set to open every web page without having to download anything. Yet people still chose to get Chrome. Without recognizing good things Chrome does, there cannot be a viable competitor.

andrewl-hn 6y ago
How often do you see a browser icon on your desktop? Yep, it's always there in the task bar or the dock, but it's not your focus. Now, how many times do you search for things on web? Every search page and search results page had a call to action to install Chrome. It's the only product Google advertised on their home page for years. The download was tiny (it downloaded the rest of the app in background), it did not require admin rights to install and hijacked the default browser setting. Plus Google put aggressive ads on YouTube, in Gmail, Maps and Docs at the time. One click on a banner, you browser showed a dialog - and bam! You got Chrome. Plus, there were bundles with Flash player, Skype, all popular antivirus freeware, etc. In 2010-2014 it was almost impossible not to have Chrome on one's computer on accident. And many banner ads in major cities around the world. London underground was flooded with Chrome banners - something no other browser had done before or since.
Izkata 6y ago
And in those very early days, Chrome would put itself on your computer uninvited: Installers included it as extra recommended software, at which point it would set itself as default.
Ygg2 6y ago
Chrome gets most of its numbers from mobile.