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Q&A: Why we're taking on Google over competition

By Stewart Mitchell

Posted on 6 Sep 2010 at 14:51

Google faces anti-competition probes on both sides of the Atlantic, following a series of complaints from companies that feel the web giant is trampling on its search rivals.

One company is involved in both the US and EU cases. UK-based vertical search and price comparison site Foundem believes Google is abusing its dominance in the search market to favour its own services, hurting smaller rivals.

Google has hit back, accusing complaining companies of being backed by Microsoft, saying firms such as Foundem aren't showing up in results because they offer "less relevant, lower quality" sites.

Here, Foundem founder Shivaun Raff speaks to PC Pro about her firm's ongoing battle with Google and its relationship with Microsoft.

Q. How is Google penalising Foundem?

A. In the summer of 2006, Foundem was hit by an automated search penalty that meant it effectively disappeared from Google’s search results for all queries irrespective of relevance.

This penalty lasted three and a half years, until December 2009, when Google finally manually intervened to lift the search penalty.

Foundem was also hit with an AdWords penalty that saw the cost of keyword bids go from 5p to £5 per click, which priced us out of the market. That penalty lasted a year, until Google manually intervened to lift it.

It turns out that both of these penalties were triggered by the same algorithm, which is targeted at the defining characteristics of vertical search services, namely a perceived lack of original content.

Q. What have you complained to the authorities about?

A. Foundem’s complaint with the European Commission falls into two main areas. The first concerns Google’s use of exclusionary penalties, which are increasingly aimed at the characteristics of vertical search services.

By consistently placing its own services at or near the top, Google is leveraging its dominance in search to help it in adjacent markets

The second concerns Google’s Universal Search mechanism, which uses different algorithms to rank Google’s own services from those used to rank everybody else’s. By consistently placing its own services at or near the top, Google is leveraging its dominance in search to help it in adjacent markets, such as mapping, videos, and price comparison.

Google consistently mis-states Foundem’s case. Firstly, Google consistently ignores the Universal Search half of the complaint, and secondly Google consistently fails to mention that it manually “white listed” Foundem out of its search penalty in December last year.

Q. So you think Google has a case to answer regarding the way it deals with vertical search sites?

A. Vertical search is distinct from horizontal search, but it poses an increasing threat to Google’s share of online advertising revenues.

Foundem has an extremely strong, fact-based case. Google’s Universal Search has transformed its ostensibly neutral search results into a powerful marketing channel for Google’s own services.

Google calls the insertion of its own services into actual search results "blending" but others have called it "bundling". Google has a 90% share of the UK search market and 85% globally. In Europe, a company that is dominant has additional responsibilities.

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User comments

Basically?

They want to stop Google doing its job and make all the searches turn up them near the top? I would have thought if I paid people to make a search engine and other software I would want mine at the top as it is my company?

By Deathtaker27 on 6 Sep 2010

Rules...

Google's algorith for ranking sites is fairly well known and there is a whole industry built up around it.

The exact rules and the exact algorithm are still secret, but enough information is out there to allow you to get your site a higher ranking, or to know when you are going to get yourself blacklisted.

If your pages have no original content or just link out to other sites, which is what a lot of shopping comparison sites do, Google rates the page low, because it doesn't provide any information, it just links to other pages with the information.

To be honest, I hate having comparison sites, or even e-shops appearing in my search results. 99% of the time, I want technical information, manuals, new drivers etc. for a product, a price comparison site or an e-shop are the last things I need.

I am happy that comparison sites get marked lower, it means my results are more relevant. If I want prices, I search specifically for a search comparison site.

Sounds like Google works like it should, to me.

By big_D on 7 Sep 2010

@big_D

In principle I agree with you. However, it does look as if Google may have a case to answer. When I search for products I will frequently get Google Product Search results near the top (typically third), then often Pricerunner and Dealtime, sometimes Ciao and others. I'd never even heard of Foundem until this case and yet, having had a quick look at it, it seems to be quite a good comparison site - certainly much better laid out than Google Product Search. I've no idea if they cover the breadth of products that others do, and perhaps that is where the problem is arising, but it still smacks a little of anti-competitive practice to me.

John

By jgwilliams on 7 Sep 2010

Considering that these days you have to wade to page 30 or 40 to find vaguely relevant sites, so swamped is Google with "price comparison" nonsense that it almost seems as if they want to put themselves out of business.

I can appreciate that they sell advertising. That's fine, but as soon as advertising becomes the focus what's the point of searching?

By bubbles16 on 7 Sep 2010

@jgwilliams

Are you paid by Foundem. I looked at the site and it's near utterly useless. The fact is there are hundreds, if not thousands of price comparison sites, few of which add much value. Most of the majors spend a serious amount of money in advertising, link purchasing or other forms of promotion. Foundem just thinks that Google should promote them for free.

By milliganp on 7 Sep 2010

@big_D

I agree about non-price searches always resulting in hits for price comparison sites. Now obviously they pay for links -which is a part of the Google algorithm. But when you're looking for technical information on a device it is now almost impossible to find it via Google.

By milliganp on 7 Sep 2010

Why are you parrotting this rubish?

I am astonished at PCPro trotting out this rubbish without checking it. See Groklaw (www.groklaw.net) for a detailed analysis of the poor quality of the sites making the complaints, and their lawyers close connections with Microsoft.

By modonel on 7 Sep 2010