I think the point here is that Google is not returning the best results but pushing it's own other services on top of the list even if in this case other review services are better.
It's displaying ads above the search results. That's what google does. It's their whole business. It's not pushing their own review services over yelp, it's advertising alongside search results.
What about when they put a Chrome ad even if you are not searching for replacing your browser? So the main point with the EU antitrust is not about yelp but about Google putting it's own stuff on top , not about the ads.
This one should stand out to most people so it's no surprise to me that EU took note as well.
That's likely the crux of the complaint. It's not alongside, it's on top of...and "over" Yelp.
And the query specifically included the word Yelp.
Re:Yelp’s Six-Year Conflict with Google
by quadrangle on Tuesday July 04, 2017 @09:50PM
(#14699505)
No, when Google just lists local businesses and puts them on a map, that's NOT ads. Businesses get listed at no charge.
And even when the searcher is VERY specific that they want Yelp...it's right in the query.
Re:Yelp’s Six-Year Conflict with Google
by mattnewton on Tuesday July 04, 2017 @07:27PM
(#14698963)
..why didn't they go to yelp then?
Re:Yelp’s Six-Year Conflict with Google
by ocdtrekkie on Tuesday July 04, 2017 @07:31PM
(#14698978)
To a large percentage of Internet users, entering something into the Google search bar IS how they go places. (The address bar is a very strange mystery to plenty of people.) That's a big part of why Google is not permitted to act the way they are. They have become more or less the front door to the Internet, and hence, cannot unfairly prioritize their own products over others'.
A big part of why tech users don't understand why Google is being subject to antitrust action is that a lot of people in the tech industry literally have no idea how everyone else uses their computers. Like not understanding that people tend to go to Yelp by Googling "yelp" and clicking the first link. (Which is sadly, usually a malicious Google Ad imitating Yelp, but I digress.)
This behaviour is encouraged by Chrome. The address bar prefers to suggest searches over the user's own history, ensuring that even a website they visit every other day will likely trigger a Google search. Firefox, on the other hand, has a strong bias towards history, allowing the user to go straight to their destination.
Yes I've noticed that this has become a worse experience over time. I used to be able to find previously visited sites easily but now I can't because suggestions take precedence over even exact substring matches of urls.
And in chrome the address bar is hijacked to be a Google search
Simple setting to change the search engine.
Re:Yelp’s Six-Year Conflict with Google
by quadrangle on Thursday July 06, 2017 @11:22AM
(#14711080)
Should I interpret your comment as helpful ("btw, you can fix that in the settings!") or annoying disregard for the powerful difference between opt-in and opt-out ("there's nothing wrong with bad defaults as long as the option exists to change them!")?
They didn't google for 'reviews', they literally googled for 'yelp'
I think it's a stretch to say that searching for HVAC business listings and searching for HVAC business reviews are really different markets. If google had an HVAC subsidiary and they suppressed all search results and ads for competing HVAC companies, that would be abusing their dominant position in the search market to create dominance in another market. But is it really monopolistic behaviour to use their web search dominance to succeed in a slightly more specific sector of the web search market? You can use google to find reviews of products and services. They advertise alongside those search results. That is their core business. Yelp is a straight-up competitor. "Google is better than us in the market we compete in" isn't a valid anti-trust complaint.