Whalesbook
Asal mein, ye jo 'brand keyword bidding' ka funda hai na, woh companies ko barbaad kar raha hai. Socho, agar koi user tumhari company ka naam search karta hai, toh tumhe khud us keyword par ad chalana padega taaki tum dikh sako! Ye toh seedha 'apne ghar mein hi kiraya' dene jaisa ho gaya. Aur iski wajah se marketing costs skyrocket ho rahi hain, khaas kar startups ke liye.
Isse competitors ko bhi fayda milta hai, woh tumhare brand par bidding karke users ko divert kar sakte hain. Kamath ne bataya ki in platforms par ads ka bhara pad raha hai, upar bhi, neeche bhi. Official listing dhundhna mushkil ho gaya hai. Ye bade tech giants ab 'gatekeepers' ban gaye hain. Chahe woh app stores hon ya search engines, user tak pahunchne ka rasta yahi rok rahe hain aur har tarah se paise bana rahe hain – transaction fees se lekar ads tak. Sabse badhiya fayda toh in platforms ko ho raha hai, aur badhti costs phir end mein hum consumers par hi aayengi.
India mein, yeh FinTech sector ke liye bhi bahut bada issue hai. Zerodha jaisi company, jisne ₹8,320 Crore ki revenue aur ₹4,700 Crore ka net profit FY24 mein kamaya hai, woh bhi is problem se affected ho sakti hai. Mid-2025 tak unke 7.58 million users the, aur woh Groww ( 13 million+ users) aur Angel One se compete kar rahe hain. Zerodha revenue aur profit mein lead karta hai, lekin user base mein Groww aage hai.
Yeh 'pay-to-appear' model toh chote businesses aur startups ke liye ek tufaan hai. Jinse paas bada ad budget nahi hai, woh toh gayab hi ho jayenge. Isse fair competition khatam ho raha hai aur bade players ko hi fayda mil raha hai. Isko 'platform enshittification' bhi kaha ja raha hai, jahan platforms dheere dheere users aur businesses se zyada value le lete hain.
Aur haan, India mein Competition Commission of India (CCI) bhi Google aur dusre tech giants ki practices par nazar rakhe hue hai. Google ko toh October 2022 mein hi Play Store policies ke liye ₹936.44 crore ka fine bhi laga tha. Apple bhi India mein antitrust battles face kar raha hai App Store policies ko lekar. Indian digital advertising market, jo lagbhag ₹70,000 crore ka hai, usmein Google aur Meta ka 70-90% market share hai. Lekin ab Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato, aur Swiggy jaise players bhi retail media platforms se competition badha rahe hain.
Overall, yeh 'forced keyword bidding' aur high visibility costs ek unfair game bana rahi hai jahan paisa hi sab kuch hai. Isse innovation ruk sakta hai aur startups ko nuksan ho sakta hai. Jaise Google ka 30% commission. Kamath ka concern common logon ke liye hai. Dekhte hain, regulations aur scrutiny se yeh platforms kitna badalte hain.