Google has announced changes in the way search results are displayed in Europe, citing compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) as the reason for the adjustments made in recent months.
This alteration specifically impacts price comparison websites for products such as hotels, airlines, and retailers. Three major comparison websites have lodged complaints with the European Union regulatory agency, alleging a 30% decline in traffic after Google modified its search display methods. Google claims that these changes make price comparison more user-friendly, with hotel search results shown on a map featuring hotel images and prices from the top-ranked websites.
Google will transition the display of search results for price comparison websites from visual formats to text-based listings, known as Ten Blue Links, which aim to provide more neutral and fair search results, as suggested by the EU regulatory agency. However, Google argues that this shift may not benefit both consumers and businesses in Europe in the long run.
Source: Reuters and Google
TLDR: Google is altering search result displays in Europe to comply with the Digital Markets Act, affecting price comparison websites and shifting from visual to text-based listings for neutrality.
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