Business
The downside to Google's web analytics play
"When does Google cease to become a search engine and just become a giant ad server that coincidentally returns some search results with the ad. This whole ad thing sometimes seems like a Faustian bargain to me" With the acquisition of analytics firm Urchin, Outsell analyst Marc Strohlein wonders if Google's strategy isstarting to make its search business look like anafterthought.
![natalie-gagliordi-author.jpg](https://www.zdnet.com/a/img/resize/683cf193d63ac9f8971ad54ca45bc6311e987809/2014/04/25/77b24d5e-1175-11e4-9732-00505685119a/natalie-gagliordi-author.jpg?auto=webp&fit=crop&frame=1&height=192&width=192)
"When does Google cease to become a search engine and just become a giant ad server that coincidentally returns some search results with the ad. This whole ad thing sometimes seems like a Faustian bargain to me"
With the acquisition of analytics firm Urchin, Outsell analyst Marc Strohlein wonders if Google's strategy isstarting to make its search business look like anafterthought.