I think that if you are talking search as we know it today, GOOG is in pretty fine shape. It would be super hard for somebody to walk in and take it from them. BUT what you aren't allowing for in your estimation is that search as we know it today will be what it is forever. Fact is, as more and more advertisers pull money out of traditional media for a host of reasons, they will still need some way to build a brand and foster brand meaning, and search as it is today just doesn't do that. Search today, as a business proposition, is a sales tool - a good one, but still just a sales tool. It is held accountable to the same types of metrics as direct mail and the like, and to be effective requires a given level of "intent" to exist in someone's mind before they begin to use it. This is not how most consumer buying decision making works - it is a longer process, and this "I have intent" point is about a third of the way in. So, where GOOG could be, um, Amazoned is in *that* area: the top third of consumer decision making; providing a forum for awareness and brand meaning creation that goes beyond 10 words in a paid search listing. Advertisers will want it; consumers will need it and GOOG isn't there today. YHOO is at least spiritually closer to recognizing it, since they truly see themselves as "media" and are more willing to deport themselves that way. For GOOG, this vacancy at the top of the purchase funnel is a huge weakness to their model, and conversely, a huge opportunity for someone to move in above them and scoop a lot of cash. - Stuart