Google says DMA changes in EU resulted in worse degradation of search quality ever
Google told Reuters that the launch of the most recent changes to the search results in the European Union under the DMA requirements led to the worst degradation of search quality in its history. “The changes mark the largest reduction in quality of service at the world’s most popular internet search engine in its 29-year search history,” Google official told Reuters.
What Google said. Google told Reuters:
- “Google said it sees that in reality the changes favor price comparison sites, also known as vertical search services (VSS), linked to sectors including hotels, airlines and restaurants, such as Expedia or Booking.com.”
- “They get more prominence in search results over companies in those sectors that are listed with just a link to their websites, telephone numbers and address.”
- “The revamped search results will highlight one specialized search engine at the top of the page, followed by two others with fewer details while a carousel of hotels, airlines and restaurants for example will sit below them with key features such as real-time prices stripped out. The rankings will be determined by Google’s algorithm.”
More details. Google has been going back and forth with the EU over the Digital Markets Act and proposing changes to its search results for a while now.
Now that these changes are live, Google is saying these changes have reduced its quality of its search service.
In 2024, Google tested the changes, so it is no surprise Google is saying this now.
Google also added a new help document today documenting regional differences in its search experience.
Why we care. These changes only impact those searching in the European regions. But that is a big percentage of Google’s searchers. Of course, Google doesn’t want to make these changes, but Google has been forced by the European Commision. Does it really have a negative impact on search quality for the end user?
