Google’s Eric Schmidt: Suggestions and targeted ads are Google’s future.

In an overall interesting read from the Wall Street Journal, Google CEO Eric Schmidt makes some brave assertions. Among those, the search box will go away, targeted ads are the savior of publishing and that you want Google to tell you what to do next.

Addressing the future of search, it’s good to see that Google is keeping its options open, while addressing some obvious concerns:

“We’re trying to figure out what the future of search is. I mean that in a positive way. We’re still happy to be in search, believe me. But one idea is that more and more searches are done on your behalf without you needing to type.”

While the idea of searches being done in a semantic manner is important, it’s what Google makes of that statement that is truly worthy of mention:

“I actually think most people don’t want Google to answer their questions. They want Google to tell them what they should be doing next.”

Is there truth in that statement? Arguably so. With social suggestion sites being on the rise, it’s only natural that Google would see a way to use that to its benefit. Combine that rise with the explosion of users carrying phones with the Android OS and Google is poised to overtake another section of the market that doesn’t fully exist yet.

Another worthy point of mention is Schmidt’s approach to the problems plaguing the newspaper business. Schmidt argues that the battle for supremacy will come down between trusted brands and new faces, and nobody is yet sure who will win.

Regardless of who wins, however, Schmidt asserts that the main problem (revenue) will be solved through increased monetization with targeted ads. Given Google’s dominance in the targeted ads market, Schmidt is unsurprisingly confident of his company’s benefit to the overall market.

“The only way the problem [of insufficient revenue for news gathering] is going to be solved is by increasing monetization, and the only way I know of to increase monetization is through targeted ads. That’s our business.”

The article is a great read, and there are some very thorough insights to the happenings behind Google. Give it a glance, then let us know what you think in the comments, please.