If Google started charging consumers for each search, would demand for its services go down a lot or a little?

In September 2015, Google had almost 64 percent of all online searches in the United States, according to comScore, an Internet tracking company. By comparison, Microsoft and Yahoo! had only 21 percent and 13 percent, respectively. (LO5-5) a) Clearly, Google is the choice of many people for searching. If Google started charging consumers for each search, would demand for its services go down a lot or a little? b) Does Google have market power in the market for searches, as defined in this chapter? c) Google does charge advertisers for placing their ads next to related searches. For example, if you search for “Toyota,” you will see car-related ads. Do you think Google has market power in the market for online search advertising? Explain.

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