I’ve seen lots of links to this AdAge piece, which makes much of Google’s potential to edge out trade publishers.
“Google has created a revenue stream from being the card catalog or the newsstand, not the magazine,” Kenealy told the American Business Media conference, according to Advertising Age. “If Google can slice and dice (information),” added a b-to-b publisher, “and give highly qualified users to very targeted advertisers, then what do you need a trade publication for?”
As a journalist for a trade publication myself, I must ask… what about the content? Businesspeople doing searches on Google aren’t just looking for ads to click on and make a purchase. They’re looking for organic search results that link them to relevant information — usually articles in trade publications (with accompanying ads).
These searchers want an understanding of what criteria they ought to be considering, what features are most important, and whether the vendor is respected and reliable. There’s always going to be a value to being associated with quality content — whether that content is purchase-related or not.
As an aside, Google (and Overture) are proving to be valuable partners to trade publishers, bringing in shared revenue through their contextual ad placements.
UPDATE: Forgot to mention the other thing Google can’t provide — the communities John Battelle describes in a recent blog post.