Google appears to be making fundamental changes to its Search Engine Results Pages (SERP), at least in the EU. That’s based on a recent report from Search Engine Land. At the center of the most prominent current change, is the appearance of a new row of results featured at the top of the page. The change centers around competing businesses that list out results for a given category.
Each of those businesses is given its own custom button link to follow to exit Google and navigate to that respective site.
For example, users might search for a specific type of service, whether that’s a great restaurant, plumbing, or any other service in a specific area, region, or city. These are search results that can also be found via competing sites such as Yelp. Now, those other sites are given their own links at the top of the search results. Just below that, Google lists its own local results as pulled from Maps.
Avoidance of legal consequences in the EU may be at the heart of the SERP changes
For now, the feature has been confirmed in the UK, Belgium, Spain, Greece, and France. But it is believed that it may have already been put in place or be rolling out throughout the EU. So, the change appears to be in place in a bid to get out ahead of possible legal repercussions. Specifically, that’s cases that could be brought against the company due to how it handles the presentation of competing companies.
This isn’t the first case of Google attempting to fall in line with the European Commission’s expectations via SERP changes in the EU either. The search giant attempted a similar approach back in 2013, although that ultimately failed. But there are several distinctions to be made between the two approaches.
In 2013, Google’s solution was to explicitly call out its own corresponding services in search results. This time around, Google is putting competing sites and services ahead of its own. Those are contained in their own material design box, highlighted by their own buttons for users to follow out of Google’s site.
Is Google’s change enough and could they spread to other regions?
The latest change may not be enough to hold off other legal repercussions Google is currently facing, particularly where data collection is concerned. The company has faced increasing scrutiny for its collection and, more importantly, for how it uses that data. In the US, for example, Google is facing allegations from New Mexico’s state attorney general that it is collecting student data for users under the age of 13.
However, the change may be enough to hold off legal challenges by the European Commission where relevant. The company isn’t simply seeking to disclose which results will directly benefit its own business. This time around it’s giving other companies space above its own results, making those the first results a user sees.
The changes seem specifically geared toward holding off lawsuits from the EU. So that appears to be the only region it’s launching in for now.