News that Google is buying some obscure technology company has become commonplace. Headlines predicting that the company plans to dominate a new market within a few years are the norm. But BusinessWeek columnist Jon Fine thinks Google may need to do something radically different if it aims to retain its phenomenal growth.

"Some perched in lofty places throughout the media biosphere advance a quietly radical notion: Google will start buying content companies," Fine wrote. "In fact, they say, Google will have no choice."

According to Fine, Google will need to own some content to do away with less profitable revenue splits. Such a move, Fine points out, is necessary for Google as its competitors acquire sites in a bid to lock up eyeballs.

Google's competitors like Microsoft and Yahoo! have already begun locking down eyeballs.

"For an online ad network, more traffic equals more data equals better targeting equals more money," Fine wrote. "Microsoft's $240 million bought only 1.6 percent of Facebook, but it kept that traffic from Google." 

While Fine doesn't see big-ticket content producers like The New York Times as a likely target for Google, he does predict that the company will bet on low-cost, information-rich websites like the Weather Channel.