Several critics have been complaining about Google being biased in search results and favoring big brands. Soon after its launch, Google Instant was accused of favoring big brands like Amazon, Bank of America, eBay, Target etc. 21 letters out of 26 have brands as the first suggestion in Google Instant. Google’s preference for brands is not surprising. In a recent address, CEO Eric Schmidt had publicly favored brands, calling them the solution and not the problem. The company has now come under severe criticism for aggressive clandestine internet marketing for big brands.
In its defense, Google says that the search suggestion is based on pure mathematical modeling with no bias. The model just predicts the most likely completion for a given letter. ComScore supported Google saying that no favoritism towards specific topics has been observed for financial gain.
According to some reports, Google has also been accused of making adjustments in search results to give itself an advantage in some sectors. Google can thrive in any such area by directing users to its own services. Marissa Mayer from Google reportedly admitted to Google favoring its own links for finance and maps. TripAdvisor, WebMD.com, Yelp.com and Citysearch.com have complained about loss of traffic due to such tactics. However, according to Google, the users are more important, and not the websites. Its main aim is to give most relevant and accurate answers to user queries, and all its strategies are aligned towards this goal.