September 1998, two young fellows, created an algorithm called PageRank. It changed the future of the internet. That's a story we all know, and it was written by Brin and Page, founders of Google. There is another story that as a business person I like more than that. That's the story of Google's business model. In fact, one question that keeps coming back when I look at Google's success is "was PageRank what made Google the business success it is today?"
And each time the answer seems to be controversial to me. In short, at the question "was PageRank what made Google successful?" Yes, it was! However, if I keep asking "was it the main contributor to Google's business success?" No, it wasn't! Why?
Ok, it's hard not to admit that PageRank was disruptive. Yet what was more disruptive was Google's business model. After two years from PageRank discovery, in 2000, just when the dot-com bubble burst, Google made its first $19 million, only to hit well over a billion dollar in revenues three years later, in 2003. How did this happen and what the future will look like for Google's business model?