Chrome takes control

Blog by Ronan Tighe

A couple of months, after the launch by Google of their new browser Chrome, it’s now worth taking a moment to analyse the effects that it has had, and will have, on the browser market. Although Chrome’s current market share of around 1.4% may seem insignificant, its launch is extremely interesting and another example of how Google keeps trying to improve the already excellent user experience of their products.

It is worth understanding Google’s motivations behind launching Chrome. The reasons Google provided in their initial blog post were to add value to users and drive innovation on the web. Although Chrome is still very much in development, it’s clear that in one area in particular they have succeeded with those goals.
Anyone who has used Chrome will confirm that it runs JavaScript applications very fast, a lot faster than both Internet Explorer (IE) and Firefox. It’s clear from this that Google wants to improve the current user experience of their online applications such as Gmail, Maps and Docs.

A faster browser will also enable users to browse more pages in less time. Google naturally hopes this will increase the chances of users clicking on their adwords, which is still the source of the majority of their revenue. By raising the bar in terms of browser speed, and by making the code used to develop Chrome open source, Google hopes that IE and Firefox will catch up.

The big question of whether Chrome can actually challenge IE or Firefox in terms of market share remains to be seen. IE users have traditionally been lazy in switching browsers; there are still a large chunk of users still using IE6.

Firefox’s users are also unlikely to swap due to the multitude of extensions available, many of which have become an essential part of the browsing experience. If Google continues to innovate, and manufacturers such as Dell and HP start selling PC’s with Chrome pre-installed, it could pose a real threat. This isn’t likely for awhile though. In the meantime, Google will be satisfied with the initial effect Chrome has had. Even if it doesn’t succeed, by motivating IE and Firefox to improve the experience of browsing, it will only mean more users will click on those lucrative adwords.

Essentially Google has looked at the user experience of their products, tried to improve and take control of something which they had previously little control over, but had a major impact on the experience – the browser. Other companies would do well to learn from this. They need to consider ways in which they can improve touch points that their customers currently have with their brand, that they don’t control and may be responsible for reducing the overall user experience.