With the term "Just Google it" becoming a staple in offices, educational institutions, hospitals and homes, Google has managed to connect with the average Internet user in an unprecedented way and is one of the most trusted search engines in the world, just after its inception a decade ago.
The company has come under the scanner after an increasing number of complaints against it relating to abuse of power.
In an anti trust inquiry being reviewed by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot, the search results of the website are being scrutinized for being rigged to eliminate competition. Almost two thirds of search queries in the US are directed towards Google and the figure may be even more than that for other parts of the world. It is thus a cause of concern for websites as to what order they are displayed in a search.
The higher the website on a search result, the higher relevance it has to the searched term and will consecutively attract a higher number of visitors and generate more revenue through advertisements. Conversely, lower search rankings may spell doom for internet companies.
There are several lawsuits against the company for having a biased search formula. Don Harrison, Google's deputy general counsel,has revealed that Abbott has asked for information on websites Foundem, My Triggers and SourceTool. These websites have all filed lawsuits against Google.
Harrison in a blog post reacted to the anti trust enquiry saying "Given that not every website can be at the top of the results, or even appear on the first page of our results, it's unsurprising that some less relevant, lower quality websites will be unhappy with their ranking."
