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The figure of 10% conversion rate seems pretty high to me. I'd expect something more like 0.1%. People expect things like 'search the web' to be free.
by axod 18y ago
The figure of 10% conversion rate seems pretty high to me. I'd expect something more like 0.1%. People expect things like 'search the web' to be free.
- tptacek 18y agoIf you're telling me you wouldn't pay 40 cents a month to use Google instead of Altavista, I'm telling you that I do not believe you.
- axod 18y agoI might pay that if the small problem of micropayments (IMHO managed by your ISP) was solved. But it's not.
- tptacek 18y agoYou're being a message board geek, axod. If you have to pick your poison, and it's signing up for recurring credit card charge versus using Altavista instead of Google, I already know what your answer is. Google didn't have to be free; they chose to be, because given a spectacular product, they had spectacular freedom to find the best way to make money.
- axod 18y agoHmm do you think they would have gotten so big if they hadn't been free from the start? How would they have got the message out that they are better? Free trials? :/ Things that are "paid only" don't seem to scale quite as well. Of course if/when a decent micropayment model emerges from ISPs, then it'll likely change everything.
- tptacek 18y agoNo offense, but are you even reading me before you respond, axod? Do you see why I might ask that?
- axod 18y ago>> "Google didn't have to be free; they chose to be" I read that, and thought "That makes absolutely no sense, because they would have failed if they had not been free". Please explain how Google would have grown to its current size, had it charged users to use its search. Google chose to be free, because the alternative would have been certain failure.