Archive for the ‘Law Suit’ Category
Google Drop Down Suggesting Scam
Over the last 24 months we have been watching Google and the search terms they suggest in the drop down. With the latest Google update “Google Instant” it has become even more influential on how users will look at the results.
So here is a typical step by step scenrio of how Google Drop Downs could be seriously damaging your reputation online.
- Potential candidate see job adverts online. Like any good candidate they want to do research on the company before the interview.
- Candidate can’t or does not know companies web address so in Google starts to type the company name. Just as the put the final part of the company name google suggestes “Scam”.
- Candidate then as anyone would wonders whats this? They click on the google suggested drop down now for Company Name + Scam and the results change from positive results to either negative ones or irrelevant ones.
- Candidate is now put off by either the negative reviews, comments, articles (which may or may not be true) or even just by the idea its a scam.
The next scenario for how Google’s Drop Down Suggestions can hurt a company:
- Customer is doing research on a building company, they see an advert but can’t remember the company website.
- Customer starts to do a Google search and see company name + complaints, naturally they search for that suggestion.
- Customer may now see a page of negative results rather than a balanced or positive ones.
Google Suggest & Humain Psychology
Google’s recent defence of the Google Suggest feature that it is merely an aggregate of recent searchs is disingenuous to say the least and certainly understates the impact of Google Suggest on user search choices. In a sense they are proposing that Google Suggest has no impact upon searches patterns which implies a misunderstanding of human psychology. Read the rest of this entry »
Google Suggest Fined yet again in France!
The French clearly have strict laws and even Google knows this by now – Google has been fined by a French court for its Google suggest yet again (the second time this year) and this time the court has ruled in favour of a convicted sex offender. What is interesting is that Google got fined for suggesting ‘rapist’ with the plaintiff’s name who was then awaiting conviction! Read the rest of this entry »