Google’s early years saw consumers enter a query and receive a list of the top ten “blue links” that took them to various web pages throughout the internet. Larry Page, the co-founder, declared in 2004, “We like to take you out of Google to the correct destination as quickly as possible.” But that is what remains the question today. Has Google stuck to its objective of providing users with the best results, or is it just promoting itself?
What The Markup Found about Google Search
According to research by The Markup, the “proper place” in the current world is often Google.
When they looked at a sample of over 15,000 recent notable queries, they found that Google accounted for 41% of the 1st page of search results on smartphones to its own assets and “direct answers,” filled up with facts and information, often without their permission or knowledge.
In the first fifteen percent of the page, which is the size of an apple X’s initial screen, that number jumped to sixty-three percent. On the first page, references to external websites were absent for one in 5 of the queries.
When searching for “organic” results, a user will have to browse nearly half the page—about 42%—before finding the first one.
Google’s Competitors on Google
Putting Google’s own products above those of its competitors and offering “answered” questions on the search results page has resulted in litigation and regulatory penalties. According to a handful of websites, it wiped out their profits and businesses. They informed The Markup that they didn’t have a chance after Google started putting its product front. ‘It’s a game-changer,’ one startup founder said.
According to the travel research company Skift, the whole online travel business is declining. Is it any longer disputed that Google is stealing business away from travel companies by exploiting its supremacy as a search service?
The Company’s Decision To Focus On Its Products Was Intentional
The European Commission’s antitrust probe found internal emails from Google employees discussing the importance of placing their comparison-shopping items at the top of google search results. From 4 million to ten million visits per month, “much of this increase is due to enhanced Google.com integration,” one email stated.
Sally Hubbard, an antitrust specialist of Open Markets Institute, warned that Google’s activities in search have enormous consequences. “Consider going to a library and having the card catalog decide which books to get depending on which will bring the most profit for the library.”
How Google Benefits From Self-Promotion
Advertising on Google assets generates 5 times as much cash as selling advertisements on third-party sites.
Google’s aim has shifted since it said that it was to move users “out of Google,” according to the quotation above. Now, Google’s mission is to swiftly link searches to valuable information, wherever it is. At the time, that meant redirecting individuals from search results to specific websites. When it comes to helping individuals, search engines aren’t always the best option.”
Google is abusing its market position, a group of experts claimed.