Google has relegated the home page for its own Chrome browser in search results, after it was criticised for using paid links in spam pages to promote the software.
The sponsored blog posts, which had identical content, linked to the Google Chrome home page, boosting its position in Google search results.
Paying for such links is in breach of Google’s guidelines because they artificially boost a website's rank. The firm's search algorithm is designed to find high quality, original content that has been linked to without money changing hands and Google manually relegates websites that are found to have used paid links to improve their position.
Google said its anti-spam staff had therefore cut the Google Chrome home page’s PageRank, the score given to every website that helps determine how high up it appears in search results.
"We’ve investigated and are taking manual action to demote www.google.com/chrome and lower the site’s PageRank for a period of at least 60 days,” a spokesman said.
"While Google did not authorize this campaign, and we can find no remaining violations of our webmaster guidelines, we believe Google should be held to a higher standard, so we have taken stricter action than we would against a typical site."
The sponsored blog postings were commissioned by Essence Digital, a London-based digital marketing agency. Google said it had never approved the campaign and that only one of the sponsored blog postings improved the Chrome home page’s PageRank.
“Google have consistently avoided paid postings to promote their products, because in their view these kind of promotions are not transparent or in the best interests of users,” Essence Digital said, apologising for the sponsored postings.
According to Search Engine Land, a leading blog about the web search industry, Google’s self-punishment has had a dramatic effect. The Chrome home page is now ranked as low as 73rd in a search for “browser”, for example. It was previously ranked second in searches for the term.
The strict action comes as Google is under regulatory scrutiny by the European Commission for allegedly using its dominance of web search to promote secondary products.
“Google have consistently avoided paid postings to promote their products, because in their view these kind of promotions are not transparent or in the best interests of users,” Essence Digital said, apologising for the sponsored postings.
According to Search Engine Land, a leading blog about the web search industry, Google’s self-punishment has had a dramatic effect. The Chrome home page is now ranked as low as 73rd in a search for “browser”, for example. It was previously ranked second in searches for the term.
The strict action comes as Google is under regulatory scrutiny by the European Commission for allegedly using its dominance of web search to promote secondary products.
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