A
little-noticed change in the way Google selects search results has
allowed company statements to top the list of news links shown when
users search for information on businesses. The measure may cost news
publishers web traffic and risks misleading users, analysts said.
A
Google spokeswoman said that in September the search giant widened the
number of sources from which it drew the entries that appear in the “in
the news” section of its search results page.
Previously,
only links to stories on approved news sites such as those of
newspapers and TV stations appeared in this section of the main search
page.
“The
goal of search is to get users the right answer at any one time as
quickly as possible — that may mean returning an article from an
established publisher or from a smaller niche publisher or indeed it
might be a press release,” the Google spokeswoman said.
She
added Google, which did not announce the September change, does not get
paid for including press releases on the lists. Recent examples of
companies whose announcements topped the “in the news” section include
Franco-Dutch SIM card maker Gemalto.
Last
month, Gemalto confirmed reports it had likely been the victim of
hacking by U.S. and British spies. The story garnered wide media
attention but when users did a Google search for the word “Gemalto”, the
first “in the news” listing was a Gemalto statement, which played down
the impact of the hacking.
Earlier
this week, on the day Apple launched its new watch, a link to a
promotional site for the product topped the “in the news” selection.
Gemalto and Apple were not available for comment.
Josh
Schwartz, chief data scientist at Chartbeat, which tracks web traffic
for news publishers and others, said it was likely that companies could
use search engine optimisation techniques to lift their rankings in the
news listings.
He
said the new system could confuse readers, directing them towards
public relations material and away from news reports. That also poses a
risk to news organisations that rely on Google and other search engines
to direct readers to their websites.
“The
‘in the news’ modules are potentially an extremely powerful driver of
traffic,” Schwartz said. “It could cost news sites traffic.”
Posted by : Gizmeon
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