I just talked to Richard Stokes of AdGooRoo.com. Rich monitors 40 million keywords and scrapes the ads, analyzing 40 billion dollars of Google’s clicks.

75% of the clicks come from 10,000 advertisers.

It’s not 80/20, it’s 90/10. 90% of the traffic goes to less than 10% of the players. It’s true on Bing too.

“Hey wait a minute,” you say. “I thought the Internet was a level playing field.”

It is. Everybody has access to the same experts, same tools, the same browsers, same computers, same everything. Anybody can spend 5 bucks, open a Google account and get started.

But here’s the thing: 80/20 inequality is created by feedback loops. On the Internet, the feedback loops spin so much faster, victory tilts in favor of the winners. Fast.

ON THE INTERNET, WINNERS WIN BIG. The losers get nothin’.

In the brick and mortar world, if you can get 30-40% market share, you’re Superman.

But on the Internet, Superman gets 80-90% market share. Just look at Google. Or Amazon. or Ebay. These companies completely dominate their space.

You can too.

—> You are going to either win big or lose big. <—- And there is not much in between.

I don’t make up the rules, I just tell you what they are.

You are either committed to mastering online advertising or you’re not. You either pay the price of success or you go home with your tail between your legs.

Perry Marshall

About the Author

Perry Marshall has launched two revolutions in sales and marketing. In Pay-Per-Click advertising, he pioneered best practices and wrote the world's best selling book on Google advertising. And he's driven the 80/20 Principle deeper than any other author, creating a new movement in business.

He is referenced across the Internet and by Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, INC and Forbes Magazine.