Report: Google’s Top Search Results Are Its Own Products

In this photo illustration the Google logo is reflected in the eye of a girl on February 3
Chris Jackson/Getty Images

A recent report from the Markup alleges that tech giant Google ranks its own products and services above others in Google Search. The report is based on an analysis of 15,000 popular Google searches and found Google devoted 41 percent of the all-important first page of search results to its own sites and “direct answers” hosted by the Internet giant itself.

The Markup claims in a recent report that tech giant Google directs users towards its own products rather than those of competitors in Google Search. The report notes that Google co-founder Larry Page said in 2004: “We want to get you out of Google and to the right place as fast as possible,” a sentiment which now appears to have changed, as the company works to direct users to its own sites and tools.

The Markup examined 15,000 recent popular Google Search queries and reportedly found that Google devoted 41 percent of the first page of search results on mobile devices to its own properties and “direct answers” which are web snippets populated with information scraped from other sources, often without their knowledge or consent.

The Markup examined the top 15 percent of the page, which is the equivalent of the first screen seen on an iPhone X, and found that the figure jumped to 63 percent. For one in five searches studied, links to external websites did not appear on the first search screen at all.

The article outlines the results that Google returned for a search for “myocardial infarction,” stating that Google provided the following results:

  • Google’s dictionary definition.

  • A “people also ask” box that expanded to answer related questions without leaving the search results page.

  • A “knowledge panel,” which is an abridged encyclopedia entry with various links.

  • And a “related conditions” carousel leading to various new Google searches for other diseases.

The Markup claims that all of these results were returned before search results by WebMD, Harvard University, and Medscape. The report alleges that a user would have to scroll almost halfway down the page before reaching the first “organic” result for that search.

Tech CEO’s from Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook are set to appear before Congress today at 12:00 p.m. to discuss their platforms’ dominance in the tech industry, Breitbart News will be reporting on the hearing extensively.

Read the full report on Google’s Search dominance from the Markup here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com

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