Google Bows to European Pressure and Tests Adding Travel Rivals’ Direct Links
Google has argued for years that its boxed-up and featured hotel, flight, and restaurant results are highlighted because they provide users with the "best answers." But in Europe, regulators may have pushed Google to acquiesce, offering its competitors some air time in its featured results by testing direct links.
In Europe, where Google is facing strong regulatory pressure, it is testing adding free direct links to competitor websites above its own preferentially displayed hotel, vacation rental, flight, and tour package products.
Google is making these tweaks to the controversial way it has for the last several years given primacy to its own businesses with a featured box of search results that usually appear right below paid ads, but above free organic results from competitors. These featured results lead users to Google's own one-stop-shop travel pages, where it often collects fees when consumers click on advertisers' paid links.
