Google's 'top spot for sale' - Google goes to court.

tony84 Well-Known Member

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#21

if they advertise their results are sorted by relevance but put paying people at the top then thats misadvertising which means they can be taken to court

tony84, Sep 11, 2007 IP

Notting Notable Member

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#22

sitefever said: ↑

Who cares if they label sponsored listings in bright yellow or if they don't label them at all? Google owns Google.... if you don't like it, use another search engine.

Would you like someone sueing you because they can't figure out which of your blog posts are paid reviews and which ones aren't? If it's your site you should be able to do whatever you want!
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WRONG! Google have always said that they do not mess with the organic results. If people are finding it difficult to distinuish the two then, in my book that is messing with the organic results.

Notting

Notting, Sep 11, 2007 IP

sitefever Banned

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#23

Notting said: ↑

WRONG! Google have always said that they do not mess with the organic results. If people are finding it difficult to distinuish the two then, in my book that is messing with the organic results.

Notting
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Then use Yahoo or MSN.

sitefever, Sep 11, 2007 IP

silencer Notable Member

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#24

There has been an update in this case. The ACCC has dropped its case against Google AU and is now targeting Google US.

ACCC spokeswoman Lin Enright denied claims the regulator was confused when it filed its original application, saying the case against the subsidiaries was dropped because Google Inc. had "indicated it was responsible for all representations made on the Google.com.au site''.

In documents filed with the court, the regulator claimed Google did not clearly distinguish between regular - "organic" - search results and ads at the top of the results page, which Google calls "Sponsored Links".

Google was therefore misleading customers because it claimed to rank search results based on relevance, not the money it received from advertisers.

Google has refuted the claims, saying the wording "Sponsored Links" and the fact Google used coloured shading when presenting the links clearly indicated they were ads. The ACCC said the shading was "very subtle" and depended on the angle of the screen.

In court today, the ACCC expanded its claims to cover not only the ads at the top of the results page but also those on the right-hand side. Google's lawyers accused the regulator of "flipping" on its claims and said there was no way the right-hand side ads could be ranked above the search results as they run in parallel.

Further, the world-first case has the potential to set a global precedent over the extent to which a company can use a competitor's name to attract customers in search engine advertisements. The judgment will affect not just Google but all search engines.

Separately, the ACCC claimed Trading Post used the names of two competitors to trigger sponsored search results advertising its own website. Ads appearing under Google's Sponsored Links section titled "Kloster Ford" and"Charlestown Toyota" linked to the Trading Post site.

The ACCC said Trading Post and Google breached the Trade Practices Act because Trading Post used the names of the car dealerships despite having no affiliation with them. It sought injunctions and costs.
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Original Source: Sydney Morning Herald

silencer, Oct 5, 2007 IP

bogart Notable Member

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#25

The google ads are differentiated from the organic results by the yellow background and sponsor links.

bogart, Oct 5, 2007 IP

twalters84 Peon

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#26

Hey there,

The way I see this is if google wants to put somebody at the top of the results, then let them.

It is not like google owes anybody anything. People should take it as a privledge even to be indexed in the search results at all.

Why do people sue companies for stupid things..

Not too long ago I read that somebody was suing google because their SSN was googles homepage upside down or something like that...

I am thinking.. give me a freakin break heh..

I am starting my own business soon.. I guess this is the stuff I can expect. I better watch I dont use anybodys SSN LOL..

Anyway..

Sincerely,
Travis Walters

twalters84, Oct 5, 2007 IP

aspire Well-Known Member

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#27

LoL. some of the arguments just seem to be so funny. let us all sue google for something or the other and get 10 minutes of fame out of it. long live the google...

aspire, Oct 5, 2007 IP

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Google's 'top spot for sale' - Google goes to court.

tony84 Well-Known Member

Notting Notable Member

sitefever Banned

silencer Notable Member

bogart Notable Member

twalters84 Peon

aspire Well-Known Member

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