Editing Google Search (section)

== Search results ==

=== Ranking of results ===

By 2012, it handled more than 3.5 billion searches per day.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Google Search Statistics - Internet Live Stats |url=http://www.internetlivestats.com/google-search-statistics/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204095944/http://www.internetlivestats.com/google-search-statistics/ |archive-date=February 4, 2015 |access-date=April 9, 2021 |website=www.internetlivestats.com |language=en}}</ref> In 2013 the [[European Commission]] found that Google Search favored Google's own products, instead of the best result for consumers' needs.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Barker |first1=Alex |last2=McCarthy |first2=Bede |date=April 9, 2013 |title=Google favours 'in-house' search results |url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/c308b656-a124-11e2-bae1-00144feabdc0.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/c308b656-a124-11e2-bae1-00144feabdc0.html |archive-date=December 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=January 26, 2014 |website=Financial Times}}</ref> In February 2015 Google announced a major change to its mobile search [[algorithm]] which would favor mobile friendly over other [[websites]]. Nearly 60% of Google [[online traffic|searches]] come from mobile phones. Google says it wants users to have access to premium quality [[websites]]. Those websites which lack a mobile-friendly [[Interface (computing)|interface]] would be ranked lower and it is expected that this update will cause a shake-up of [[Page rank|ranks]]. Businesses who fail to update their [[websites]] accordingly could see a dip in their regular websites traffic.<ref>{{Cite web |last=D'Onfro |first=Jillian |date=April 19, 2015 |title=Google is making a giant change this week that could crush millions of small businesses |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/google-mobilegeddon-2015-4 |website=Business Insider |access-date=November 5, 2016 |archive-date=October 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007045504/http://www.businessinsider.com/google-mobilegeddon-2015-4 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== PageRank ===
{{Main|PageRank}}

Google's rise was largely due to a patented [[algorithm]] called PageRank which helps rank web pages that match a given search string.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Brin |first1=S. |author-link=Sergey Brin |last2=Page |first2=L. |author-link2=Larry Page |year=1998 |title=The anatomy of a large-scale hypertextual Web search engine |url=http://infolab.stanford.edu/pub/papers/google.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061108120131/http://infolab.stanford.edu/pub/papers/google.pdf |archive-date=2006-11-08 |url-status=live |journal=Computer Networks and ISDN Systems |volume=30 |issue=1–7 |pages=107–117 |citeseerx=10.1.1.115.5930 |doi=10.1016/S0169-7552(98)00110-X |s2cid=7587743 |issn=0169-7552}}</ref> When Google was a Stanford research project, it was nicknamed [[BackRub]] because the technology checks [[backlinks]] to determine a site's importance. Other keyword-based methods to rank search results, used by many search engines that were once more popular than Google, would check how often the search terms occurred in a page, or how strongly associated the search terms were within each resulting page. The PageRank algorithm instead analyzes human-generated [[hyperlink|links]] assuming that web pages linked from many important pages are also important. The algorithm computes a [[recursion|recursive]] score for pages, based on the weighted sum of other pages linking to them. PageRank is thought to [[correlation|correlate]] well with human concepts of importance. In addition to PageRank, Google, over the years, has added many other secret criteria for determining the ranking of resulting pages. This is reported to comprise over 250 different indicators,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Corporate Information: Technology Overview |url=https://www.google.com/corporate/tech.html |access-date=November 15, 2009 |archive-date=February 10, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100210175913/http://www.google.com/corporate/tech.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Levy |first=Steven |date=February 22, 2010 |title=Exclusive: How Google's Algorithm Rules the Web |url=https://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/02/ff_google_algorithm/ |magazine=Wired |publisher=Wired.com |volume=17 |issue=12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110416062117/http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/02/ff_google_algorithm/ |archive-date=April 16, 2011}}</ref> the specifics of which are kept secret to avoid difficulties created by scammers and help Google maintain an edge over its competitors globally.

PageRank was influenced by a similar page-ranking and site-scoring algorithm earlier used for [[RankDex]], developed by [[Robin Li]] in 1996. Larry Page's patent for PageRank filed in 1998 includes a citation to Li's earlier patent. Li later went on to create the Chinese search engine [[Baidu]] in 2000.<ref>[http://www.rankdex.com/about.html "About: RankDex"] {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120120002301/http://www.rankdex.com/about.html |date= January 20, 2012}}, ''[[RankDex]]''</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Method for node ranking in a linked database |url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US6285999 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015185034/http://www.google.com/patents/US6285999 |archive-date=October 15, 2015 |access-date=October 19, 2015 |publisher=Google Patents}}</ref>

In a potential hint of Google's future direction of their Search algorithm, Google's then chief executive [[Eric Schmidt]], said in a 2007 interview with the ''[[Financial Times]]'': "The goal is to enable Google users to be able to ask the question such as 'What shall I do tomorrow?' and 'What job shall I take?{{'"}}.<ref>[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/c3e49548-088e-11dc-b11e-000b5df10621,dwp_uuid=e8477cc4-c820-11db-b0dc-000b5df10621.html "Google's goal: to organize your daily life"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111019004110/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/c3e49548-088e-11dc-b11e-000b5df10621,dwp_uuid=e8477cc4-c820-11db-b0dc-000b5df10621.html |date=October 19, 2011 }}. ''[[Financial Times]]''.</ref> Schmidt reaffirmed this during a 2010 interview with ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'': "I actually think most people don't want Google to answer their questions, they want Google to tell them what they should be doing next."<ref>[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704901104575423294099527212 "Google and the Search for the Future"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730120818/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704901104575423294099527212 |date=July 30, 2017 }}. ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''.</ref>

=== Google optimization ===
{{Main|Search engine optimization}}

Because Google is the most popular [[Web search engine|search engine]], many [[webmaster]]s attempt to influence their website's Google rankings. An industry of consultants has arisen to help websites increase their rankings on Google and other search engines. This field, called search engine optimization, attempts to discern patterns in search engine listings, and then develop a methodology for improving rankings to draw more searchers to their clients' sites. Search engine optimization encompasses both "on page" factors (like body copy, title elements, H1 heading elements and image [[alt attribute]] values) and Off Page Optimization factors (like [[anchor text]] and PageRank). The general idea is to affect Google's relevance algorithm by incorporating the keywords being targeted in various places "on page", in particular the title element and the body copy (note: the higher up in the page, presumably the better its keyword prominence and thus the ranking). Too many occurrences of the keyword, however, cause the page to look suspect to Google's spam checking algorithms. Google has published guidelines for website owners who would like to raise their rankings when using legitimate optimization consultants.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Google Webmaster Guidelines |url=https://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html |access-date=November 15, 2009 |archive-date=January 9, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090109073316/http://www.google.com./webmasters/guidelines.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It has been hypothesized, and, allegedly, is the opinion of the owner of one business about which there have been numerous complaints, that negative publicity, for example, numerous consumer complaints, may serve as well to elevate page rank on Google Search as favorable comments.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Segal |first=David |date=November 26, 2010 |title=A Bully Finds a Pulpit on the Web |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/business/28borker.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=November 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/business/28borker.html |archive-date=January 2, 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The particular problem addressed in ''[[The New York Times]]'' article, which involved [[DecorMyEyes]], was addressed shortly thereafter by an undisclosed fix in the Google algorithm. According to Google, it was not the frequently published consumer complaints about DecorMyEyes which resulted in the high ranking but mentions on news websites of events which affected the firm such as legal actions against it. [[Google Search Console]] helps to check for websites that use duplicate or copyright content.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Blogspot.com |url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/being-bad-to-your-customers-is-bad-for.html |access-date=August 4, 2012 |publisher=Googleblog.blogspot.com |archive-date=October 19, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019115129/http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/being-bad-to-your-customers-is-bad-for.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== "Hummingbird" search algorithm upgrade ===
{{Main|Google Hummingbird}}
In 2013, Google significantly upgraded its search algorithm with "Hummingbird". Its name was derived from the speed and accuracy of the [[hummingbird]].<ref name="What it means for SEO">{{Cite web |last=Elran |first=Asher |date=November 15, 2013 |title=What Google 'Hummingbird' Means for Your SEO Strategy |url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229926 |access-date=December 10, 2017 |website=[[Entrepreneur (magazine)|Entrepreneur]] |archive-date=June 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220624221717/https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229926 |url-status=live }}</ref> The change was announced on September 26, 2013, having already been in use for a month.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sullivan |first=Danny |date=September 26, 2013 |title=FAQ: All About The New Google "Hummingbird" Algorithm |url=https://searchengineland.com/google-hummingbird-172816 |access-date=December 10, 2017 |website=[[Search Engine Land]] |archive-date=December 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181223110045/https://searchengineland.com/google-hummingbird-172816 |url-status=live }}</ref> "Hummingbird" places greater emphasis on [[natural language]] queries, considering context and meaning over individual keywords.<ref name="What it means for SEO" /> It also looks deeper at content on individual pages of a website, with improved ability to lead users directly to the most appropriate page rather than just a website's homepage.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dodds |first=Don |date=December 16, 2013 |title=An SEO Guide to the Google Hummingbird Update |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/don-dodds/an-seo-guide-to-the-google_b_4104521.html |access-date=December 10, 2017 |website=[[HuffPost]] |publisher=[[Oath Inc.]] |archive-date=June 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604072816/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/don-dodds/an-seo-guide-to-the-google_b_4104521.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The upgrade marked the most significant change to Google search in years, with more "human" search interactions<ref>{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Richard |date=September 26, 2013 |title=Google unveils major upgrade to search algorithm |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-24292897 |access-date=December 10, 2017 |website=[[BBC News]] |publisher=[[BBC]] |archive-date=June 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626025853/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-24292897 |url-status=live }}</ref> and a much heavier focus on conversation and meaning.<ref name="What it means for SEO" /> Thus, web developers and writers were encouraged to [[Search engine optimization|optimize their sites]] with natural writing rather than forced keywords, and make effective use of technical web development for on-site navigation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Marentis |first=Chris |date=April 11, 2014 |title=A Complete Guide To The Essentials Of Post-Hummingbird SEO |url=https://searchengineland.com/adapting-googles-2013-algorithm-shake-ups-navigate-win-todays-seo-188427 |access-date=December 10, 2017 |website=[[Search Engine Land]] |archive-date=June 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628010329/https://searchengineland.com/adapting-googles-2013-algorithm-shake-ups-navigate-win-todays-seo-188427 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Search results quality ===

In 2023, drawing on internal Google documents disclosed as part of the [[United States v. Google LLC (2020)]] antitrust case, technology reporters claimed that Google Search was "bloated and overmonetized"<ref>{{cite web|first1=Charlie|last1=Warzel|access-date=2023-11-07|title=The Tragedy of Google Search|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/09/google-search-size-usefulness-decline/675409/|date=22 September 2023|website=The Atlantic}}</ref> and that the "semantic matching" of search queries put advertising profits before quality.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wired.com/story/google-antitrust-lawsuit-search-results/|author=Megan Gray|title=How Google Alters Search Queries to Get at Your Wallet|date=2023-10-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002123158/https://www.wired.com/story/google-antitrust-lawsuit-search-results/ |archive-date=October 2, 2023 |quote=This onscreen Google slide had to do with a “semantic matching” overhaul to its SERP algorithm. When you enter a query, you might expect a search engine to incorporate synonyms into the algorithm as well as text phrase pairings in natural language processing. But this overhaul went further, actually altering queries to generate more commercial results.}}</ref> ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'' withdrew Megan Gray's piece after Google complained about alleged inaccuracies, while the author reiterated that «As stated in court, "A goal of Project Mercury was to increase commercial queries"».<ref>{{cite news|url=https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1711035354134794529.html|author=Megan Gray|title=Google is controlling the trial w/ its secrecy designations, controlling our searches w/ its greed, and controlling Wired w/ its scare tactics. I wrote an op-ed re Google mucking around w/ organic search to make it more shopping-oriented to gin up ad $. I stand by that. My 🧵 |date=2023-10-08 |publisher=Twitter |via=Thread Reader App |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107170933/https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1711035354134794529.html |archive-date= Nov 7, 2023 }}</ref>

In March 2024, Google announced a significant update to its core search algorithm and spam targeting, which is expected to wipe out 40&nbsp;percent of all spam results.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Barry |date=March 5, 2024 |title=Google releasing massive search quality enhancements in March 2024 core update and multiple spam updates |url=https://searchengineland.com/google-released-massive-search-quality-improvements-with-march-2024-core-update-and-multiple-spam-updates-438144 |website=Search Engine Land}}</ref> On March 20th, it was confirmed that the roll out of the spam update was complete.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Barry |date=20 March 2024 |title=Google March 2024 spam update done rolling out |url=https://searchengineland.com/google-march-2024-spam-update-done-rolling-out-438505 |website=Search Engine Land}}</ref>

=== Shopping search ===
On September 10, 2024, the European-based [[EU Court of Justice]] found that Google held an illegal monopoly with the way the company showed favoritism to its shopping search, and could not avoid paying €2.4 billion.<ref name=europeanshopping>{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/google-loses-court-battle-over-first-eu-antitrust-fine/|title=Google loses EU court battle over €2.4B antitrust fine|first=Edith|last=Hancock|publisher=Politico|date=September 10, 2024|accessdate=September 10, 2024}}</ref> The EU Court of Justice referred to Google's treatment of rival shopping searches as "discriminatory" and in violation of the [[Digital Markets Act]].<ref name=europeanshopping />