Submission + - Search expert Danny Sullivan asks FTC to review Google's new paid ads policies (venturebeat.com)
TheGift73 writes: "Search engine marketing guru Danny Sullivan has asked the FTC to review Google’s treatment of paid results within, next to, or near organic search results.
Remember this? It’s from Google’s 2004 founders’ IPO letter:
"Our search results are the best we know how to produce. They are unbiased and objective, and we do not accept payment for them or for inclusion or more frequent updating."
Google very clearly stated that its search results are not for sale. This was a significant statement to make, because in the early 2000s the integrity of search results as an honest and accurate reflection of what the web actually contained was very much at issue.
Google’s IPO letter also contained this sentence (emphasis added):
"We also display advertising, which we work hard to make relevant, and we label it clearly."
“Clear labelling” is what is most at issue right now. Sullivan has been writing about Google’s changing ad inclusion policies for weeks, focusing on Google’s vertical search engines for hotels and flights.
Google’s challenge is that the role of a search engine is changing from just finding information to enabling actions. This is largely a user experience-driven shift: as a user, your goal is to book a flight. A service that allows you to both find the best flight with the best price and book it immediately is often preferable to one that teasingly reveals the best flight but won’t let you book it. For hotels and flights, Google’s services have evolved to enable just that."
Remember this? It’s from Google’s 2004 founders’ IPO letter:
"Our search results are the best we know how to produce. They are unbiased and objective, and we do not accept payment for them or for inclusion or more frequent updating."
Google very clearly stated that its search results are not for sale. This was a significant statement to make, because in the early 2000s the integrity of search results as an honest and accurate reflection of what the web actually contained was very much at issue.
Google’s IPO letter also contained this sentence (emphasis added):
"We also display advertising, which we work hard to make relevant, and we label it clearly."
“Clear labelling” is what is most at issue right now. Sullivan has been writing about Google’s changing ad inclusion policies for weeks, focusing on Google’s vertical search engines for hotels and flights.
Google’s challenge is that the role of a search engine is changing from just finding information to enabling actions. This is largely a user experience-driven shift: as a user, your goal is to book a flight. A service that allows you to both find the best flight with the best price and book it immediately is often preferable to one that teasingly reveals the best flight but won’t let you book it. For hotels and flights, Google’s services have evolved to enable just that."