As Master of Search, Google Now Focuses on Growing Display Ads

Comfortably dominant in the search market, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is increasingly shifting its focus toward display advertising. After some significant steps to bolster YouTube with original content, the company has now launched Google Currents, an e-magazine like application that consolidates content from over 150 reputed publishers. ^[1] The app is available for both Android and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) devices like the iPhone and iPad.

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Google Currents USP: Incentives for Small-scale Publishers

True to a Google product launch, the Currents app already has backing from reputed publishers on the web, including the likes of Forbes, AllThingsD and The Huffington Post. However, the app’s core differentiating factor versus other e-magazines like Flipboard is its high degree of integration with Google’s other products.

As expected, the app is integrated with Google+ to enable sharing with friends and circles. The app also provides small-scale publishers with a lucrative incentive to sign-up and offers them a design platform to customize the look and feel of their content. These publishers can even leverage Google Analytics to determine how well their content is faring in terms of web traffic and page views. While tablet and smartphone e-content is nowhere close to a new phenomenon, its this integration which could help Google build the scale it desires.

We currently have a price estimate near $628 for Google’s stock, which is in line with the current market price.

Understand How a Company’s Products Impact its Stock Price at Trefis

1. Google Blog: Google Currents is hot off the press [↩]