Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google’s EU Censorship Removes Links For More Than Just Names On Their Own It turns out that those in the European Union asking Google to “forget” links they don’t like that […]
Yelp has been an increasingly vocal critic of Google for several years. Now it has joined a group of companies opposing the European Commission’s current antitrust settlement proposal with Google. Originally Google and Yelp were partners. Google unsuccessfully tried to buy Yelp for a rumored $500 million a year or so before the company went […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Adapting to Change, Harnessing New Trends, Eyeing the Future Search Engine Land Summit You deliver results daily, but staying successful means identifying opportunities, implementing new technologies and processes, developing great […]
Widespread dissatisfaction among public and political figures with the existing antitrust settlement between Google and the European Commission appears to be putting the settlement in danger. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the run up to this week’s European Parliament elections saw an increase in “rhetoric against the settlement with Google.” The article depicts an […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: DuckDuckGo Relaunches & Starts To Look Like A Real Search Engine DuckDuckGo, the spunky little search engine that hangs its hat on user privacy, has relaunched today with a new look […]
Frustrated by what it sees as the European Commission’s capitulation to Google, a new group called the “Open Internet Project” (OIP) seeks to derail the current Google antitrust settlement or create a new investigation. A mixture of French and German publishers and companies are behind the initiative. The OIP claims to represent hundreds more European […]
Google is in the midst of an antitrust, anti-competition investigation in India. Not long ago, the company was fined by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for not cooperating in that investigation: “not providing information and documents required.” Now a separate anti-competition investigation has been opened with the CCI. In that investigation an individual, Vishal Gupta, has […]
The president of French video platform DailyMotion Giuseppe de Martino told UK newspaper The Independent he believes Google is leveraging unfair search practices, serving up YouTube videos in place of DailyMotion content. Independent reporter Ian Burrell writes: [De Martino] claims that sometimes when internet users search Google for DailyMotion videos they mysteriously don’t appear – […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Bing Ads Starts Allowing Keyword Variations Once Flagged As Duplicate Just about anyone who has imported a campaign from Google AdWords or uploaded a new keyword set into Bing Ads has […]
Amid criticism from politicians and Google’s critics, EU antitrust chief Joaquín Almunia has essentially said that the current version of Google’s antitrust settlement proposal is a done deal. While he didn’t rule out changes definitively he seems to think complainants’ criticisms have been addressed. The current proposal requires Google to give up considerable screen real estate and […]
This afternoon on its European Blog, Google’s General Counsel Kent Walker exposed the full text of the company’s third-proposed and tentatively accepted antitrust settlement agreement with European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia. Almunia previously declined to make the full agreement available. The document, dated January 31, 2014, is quite long (embedded below) and contains extensive examples of […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Bing Ads Expands Mobile Sitelinks Coverage In US, Will Roll Out To EU Markets Bing Ads announced today that it will complete roll out of sitelink extensions on mobile devices in […]
When the European Commission recently announced yet another antitrust settlement with Google the matter appeared to be coming to an end. This was the third proposed settlement from Google but indications from EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia suggested that it was essentially final and only formalities remained to approve it. Unlike the two previous settlement proposals, this […]
Google’s finally reached a proposed agreement with the European Union over antitrust charges. Judging from screenshots the EU has released, it will give Google rivals unprecedented positioning in Google’s results, sometimes for free, sometimes for a fee. Consider how the EU is saying that shopping results will appear, as part of the agreement. The before: […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: “When Do The Olympics Opening Ceremonies Start?” Whatever You Do, Don’t Ask Yahoo Who knew a simple question would be so hard to answer? Yesterday I searched across all three engines […]
Roughly a year after Google settled an antitrust investigation with the US Federal Trade Commission, Bloomberg is reporting that Google and the European Commission have reached a final settlement that would end the regulator’s antitrust search investigation against the company. According to the report, “Google will escape fines or any finding by regulators that it […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: People, Videos, News: Twitter Adds New Search Filters Earlier today Twitter announced that it was bringing a number of new search filters to the site. These include: people, photos, videos, news. […]
The third time may be the charm. According to Reuters Google is (once again) “close to settling a three-year antitrust probe by European regulators after it offered ‘much better’ concessions” to the European Commission (EC). However Google has been here before. Two previous antitrust settlements were strenuously opposed and thus defeated by Google critics and competitors. […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: EU Wants More Search Concessions, Google Defies French Authority Round and round she goes. The European Commission is seeking a final round of “concessions” from Google in an 11th hour effort […]
Round and round she goes. The European Commission is seeking a final round of “concessions” from Google in an 11th hour effort to settle potential antitrust claims against the company. EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia made public statements asserting that Google needs to deliver additional, revised proposals within weeks to avoid a formal antitrust proceeding. […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: England’s Lulworth Cove Tops Bing’s List Of Most Popular 2013 Homepage Images Bing has released its ten most popular homepage images of the year, with England’s Lulworth Cove off of the […]
European Union competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia announced Friday in a Spanish radio interview that Google’s second round of concessions in its current antitrust settlement proposal were “unacceptable.” The main obstacle to settlement is still Google’s treatment of competitors and its “own content” in “vertical search” results. Almunia was directly involved in negotiating the original settlement proposal […]
Canada’s Competition Bureau (CCB) has indicated that it will proceed with a formal antitrust investigation against Google. The CCB had been engaged in a preliminary inquiry. A new CCB court filing requests a range of documents that will potentially show, according to the CCB, Google’s alleged abuse of market power and anti-competitive behavior in Canada. […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: New Bing Ads Solution Center at Search Engine Land We are pleased to announce the launch of the Bing Ads Solutions Center, a resource for digital marketers and search advertisers, in […]
Google’s original antitrust settlement proposal, negotiated with the European Commission, was attacked by Google competitors and critics as being a token concession to competition. Anti-Google lobbying group FairSearch.org sponsored a consumer study that argued Google’s presentation of three “rival links” to competitors in search results did little to drive traffic to competitors’ websites. In September Google presented a […]
Consumer Watchdog has lodged a new complaint about Google’s “search monopoly” with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), this time saying Google Shopping results don’t pass the sniff test. The group calls the way the search engine displays its Product Listing ads “deceptive and unfair”, adding that Google Shopping’s paid listings are price gouging consumers. […]
The New York Times is reporting that as part of the anticipated antitrust settlement in Europe Google is likely to be subject to a “watchdog” overseer. This role is explained in a “96-page [job] description” according to the paper: Among the details of the job: The title is monitoring trustee. And although the salary remains […]
Three years into its investigation of Google over antitrust issues relating to search, the European Union took another step closer toward a likely resolution, asking Google rivals and other third-parties to review a settlement proposal. Notably, the general public wasn’t invited to participate. The news comes via several reports today. The European Union’s Competition agency posted […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the Web. From Search Engine Land: Maps Roundup: Google Avoids Waze Antitrust Fight, Scout Social Mapping, deCarta Route Patent Google spent just over $1 billion to take Waze away from Facebook, Apple or Nokia and Microsoft. It […]
After Google’s competitors loudly complained about the company’s antitrust settlement proposal, which displayed three “rival links” to alternative’ search results, European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said it would take new “concessions” for Google to successfully settle its antitrust case with Europe. Google has now reportedly made those concessions. Almunia characterized Google’s updated settlement offer, submitted last […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the Web. From Search Engine Land: Google Adds Automatic Authorship With Google+ Sign In Google announced an even easier way to get your picture into the Google search results by adding automatic author attribution through Google+ signin. […]
According to Reuters the European Commission (EC) says Google has submitted a new settlement proposal with “further concessions” in its bid to end the antitrust inquiry against the company. If the parties fail to reach agreement the EC has the ability to fine Google a percentage of its global revenues. That penalty could be as […]
The vigorous lobbying efforts of Google critics FairSearch.org and Foundem’s SearchNeutrality.org seem to be paying off. Earlier today EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told members of the European Parliament that additional “concessions” would probably be required of Google to settle the antitrust investigation against the company and avoid litigation and potential financial penalties. According to […]
In a German case that could have broader antitrust implications in Europe, Google defeated a petition for an injunction brought by a German online weather trade group, Verband Deutscher Wetterdienstleister. The case is interesting because it involves a private antitrust action against Google and directly addresses the “search bias” argument made by Google critics. The […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the Web. From Search Engine Land: Enterprise SEO Tools 2013: A Buyer’s Guide Are you responsible for SEO in your large organization? Wondering about tools that can help automate and cut the time it takes to manage […]
I’ve found documents associated with the Google-EU settlement proposal that offer mock-ups of how the new, regulated SERPs will look. It’s very interesting and greatly clarifies the settlement terms and how they will be implemented practically. These mockups look quite different (and less “disruptive”) than what I imagined. There are three basic scenarios: where Google […]
The EU released documents this morning that detail Google’s antitrust settlement proposals and explain the Competition Commission’s position on various aspects of the investigation. First here’s what the EU says Google has proposed: Google offers for a period of 5 years to: (i) – label promoted links to its own specialised search services so that […]
The European Union has “accepted” Google’s formal antitrust settlement proposal — subject to “market testing.” As a practical matter, that means EU Competition Commissioner Joaquín Almunia is circulating it among Google’s critics and competitors for reaction. However, there has already been plenty of (negative) reaction based on the information that came out last week in […]
The proposed terms of the Google antitrust settlement in Europe have started to come to light, first through a report in the Financial Times, and this weekend, in articles from the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. As anticipated, the primary “remedy” Google is offering involves labeling its own results to distinguish them from third-party […]
Google has formally submitted its antitrust settlement proposal to the EU. Wait, didn’t that happen weeks ago? Apparently, it did not. While the parties have been talking for months (seems like years), Bloomberg reported today that Google had “formalized” its settlement proposal to avoid potential fines and other penalties. EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia is now […]