Organizing (and Monetizing) the World's Feeds

Posted By: Andrew Frank, Research VP

Some recent Web deals have been head-scratchers, but not tthis one. Google's acquisition of FeedBurner fits perfectly with Google's most obvious growth strategy: to extend its online advertising dominance beyond search results and AdSense into the real-time nervous system of the Internet, RSS. RSS and its estranged relative, ATOM, are crucial enablers for many emerging aspects of the Web as a super-syndication medium. RSS is most well-known for delivering blogs and podcasts, but it also powers emerging channels like widgets and embedded video player networks. It's increasingly being adopted by Web sites at large to push out updates to RSS receivers, which are increasingly turning up in places like Yahoo Mail and iTunes. FeedBurner handles more than 430,000 such feeds, all of which are presumably soon to be targetable by Google's AdWords contextual matching engine.

The ability to inject keyword advertising into RSS feeds is not the only benefit Google gets from FeedBurner. The integration of FeedBurner and Google Analytics will help attract and lock in Web site owners who need an integrated view of usage both on-site and in syndication. There's also been speculation that Google could use FeedBurner data to enhance its PageRank algorithm by incorporating information not just about inbound links, but about RSS subscriptions as well. This could especially improve blog search, where subscriptions are arguably a better indicator of relevance than links. Potential mashups, like FeedBurner and YouTube, are also interesting to contemplate.

FeedBurner, like Google, is not a monopoly, and competitors like Pheedo, which has pioneered many aspects of RSS metrics and advertising, ensure that Google won't gain proprietary control of all the world's feed information or ad revenue. Or will it? Two years ago, Google was spotted filing a patent for "Embedding advertisements in syndicated content." The implications of this haven't been fully aired in the wake of this latest acquisition, but they do suggest that Google has long had its sights set on dominating this critical component of Web infrastructure.

Meanwhile, FeedBurner is used by some of the Web's most visible publishers: brands like USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Christian Science Monitor, Houston Chronicle and SFGate. Many of these companies have had less-than-cozy relationships with Google, so any path toward absolute control is bound to meet with strong resistance along the way.