• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, February 2, 2006

This week, Google turned in a report showing that revenue and profits had nearly doubled year-over-year. One would think Wall Street would welcome this news. Instead, the stock price plummeted because Google missed Wall Street's lofty expectations.

In retrospect, it seems that analysts' forecasts were unrealistically optimistic. But, until this most recent quarterly report, Google has consistently beat estimates, encouraging Wall Street to continually set the bar higher. But Google is also to blame for having been so secretive with Wall Street--and nearly everyone else seeking information about the company.

Consider: One reason the company missed expectations was that its tax rate was higher than expected. Frankly, it's hard to believe that the lawyers and accountants on Google's payroll weren't able to figure out the proper tax rate in advance. Certainly, the company knew before this week, when it released its earnings report. Would it really have been so hard for the company to alert the world about this fact in advance?

It's not just Wall Street that Google snubs. The search company is notoriously tight-lipped with the press. This week, for instance, rumors surfaced that Google was going to purchase Napster. When Reuters reached out to the company's U.S. press office, it refused to comment. (The U.K. office appears more willing to talk; a spokesperson there denied the rumor.)

And, perhaps most troubling to online marketers, Google's newest Adwords pricing scheme is inscrutable, even to search marketing experts. Late last year, Google tinkered with its pricing formula by factoring in the "quality" of landing pages. Some veteran search marketers say that the change has made it very difficult to determine in advance how much campaigns will cost.

When Google exasperates everyone from search executives to analysts with its refusal to divulge information, the company has to expect a backlash. This week's stock dip is just one small manifestation of the increasing frustration with the company.