Tech guru sees Google defending ad market share

Google Inc will defend or even grow advertising market share as global spending shrinks in the downturn because its "efficient" model is suited to hard times, Chief Technology Advocate Michael T. Jones told Reuters.
Google is the world's dominant player in Internet search advertising, and financial analysts expect it to feel the pinch as slower consumer activity drags down paid clicks on search engines. But some analysts agree it may gain market share.
"When times are difficult, people are more efficient, more judicious, more careful in planning and choices when spending money," Jones said on Wednesday.
"The most effective advertising mechanism in the world seems to be the Google search, and I believe companies will do more of that, not less of that," Jones said in an interview in Rome.
"So what we expect is that whether total advertising may shrink or may not, the Google part should not. It may even grow," he said, comparing Google advertising to "having the most efficient car in a time of more expensive petrol prices."
Google pulled out of a search advertising partnership with Yahoo Inc last week due to U.S. regulatory objections.
The companies are respectively number one and two in the Internet search market, and advertisers opposed the deal, arguing that their market dominance could enable them to raise prices.