Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) are, for all intents and purposes the to two companies in Internet search, Google being dominant in many countries, while Bing has taken over second place thank to not only its own search engine but its alliance to be the engine behind Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) Search. Tuesday there were a couple of news items that crossed our desk here at the Insider Monkey newsroom that affected search engines. First, we’ll take you to Europe where some of the search engines are ganging up on one; then we come stateside to Washington, where all the search engines were put on notice by the federal government. IRS audit time?
(ANTI-)TRUST, BUT VERIFY
Google was demanded to come with a list of remedies for this issue, and the recommendations have been put through a field market test to see how the recommendations would function. Results are not good for Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), as FairSearch — an Internet watchdog consortium of 17 companies including Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) — has spoken out about the preliminary results of the field test. “It would be better to do nothing than to accept Google’s proposals,” said FairSearch’s Thomas Vinje. “The proposals would make things worse rather than better.”
It may still be months before the European Commission makes its final decision on the case.
WARNING SHOT?
Back in Washington, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) are all on the same team this time, as they plus nearly 20 other top search engines in the U.S. (including specialized travel and hotel search sites) all received a warning letter from the friendly folks at the Federal Trade Commission, letting them know that deceptive advertising in their search results would not be tolerated. And we mean it this time.
The FTC apparently seems ready to start enforcing some rules regarding advertisements in search results, especially those positioned at the top of the first page of results. Have you felt deceived by these ads in how they look?
The letter, addressed to Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) advised the companies to make sure their “above-the-fold” ads on the front page of search results are very clearly distinguishable from the regular search results.
In its letter to the companies, the FTC wrote, “We have observed that search engines have reduced the font size of some text labels to identify top ads and other advertising and often locate these labels in the top right-hand corner of the shaded area … Consumers may not as readily notice the labels when placed in the top right-hand corner, especially when the labels are presented in small print and relate to more than one result.”
What are your thought? Give us your feedback about these items involving Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) in the comments section below.
DISCLOSURE: None
