Has Google just issued a Wakeup Call to Webmasters?
- May 31st, 2010
- Posted in Articles
For years, business owners and entrepreneurs have come to rely on Google as it has slowly but surely consigned other search engines to the Internet Scrapheap. Those that have stepped aside as the juggernaut passes by are struggling to keep pace and being forced into forming alliances, but even then it’s hard to see an end to Google’s dominance. Until recently we haven’t really minded, but recent activity at Google suggests that it might not be smooth sailing from hereon in.
There is growing concern on webmaster forums such as Webmaster World that changes to both the layout of Google’s search results and the underlying algorithms that determine those results are changing the way users behave, with mounting evidence that it is to the detriment of businesses relying on Google traffic.
The first signs were quite some time back when Adwords was introduced to the right hand side, and then the top, of search results. This obviously generates revenue for Google and there’s no harm in that. It’s opt-in and they are a business - an innovative one at that. This did of course reduce clicks on “organic” search listings quite significantly and more recently, observers are suggesting that Google is moving these paid listings closer to the search results, along with the introduction of a “third column” on the left, both of which are said to be reducing “natural” clicks to the returned search results.
Whether this is as dramatic as people make out, I couldn’t say. But whichever way you look at it, the natural listings are being squeezed out. When I do a search on my Netbook here, I see just 2 search results for my search term above the fold. In fact, if I add a place name to my search, more often than not I see zero results in view! Everything else is a paid link or a redirection within Google itself. Clearly the intention is to keep the user engaged as long as possible before releasing them, presumably hoping they enter the value chain in the process. But Google is a business so they surely have a right to monetise however they see fit?
That depends on your view. Personally, I think the worrying aspect is that Google have no serious competition anymore and are unlikely to for many years. Of course, they understand that to survive, they have to keep ensuring the user - a searcher - gets what they want in the shortest possible time. And no-one is better than Google at that IMO. In theory that’s good news for businesses, except we’re starting to see Google try more and more methods of intercept that could earn them money before they deliver your next prospective customer.
Solutions? I am no business expert, but without some sort of action to prevent Google monopolising Internet search, it’s surely only a matter of time before Google start to offer the same products that we do. When that will be one can only guess, but as a business owner, you either need to start planning for that day or hope that the relevant authorities recognise the potential effects a monopoly such as this could have on competitive business.
Unless Google trip over themselves - which is unlikely - getting traffic could soon get a lot, lot tougher.