Google's 2019 'Code Yellow' Blurred Line Between Search, Ads (bloomberg.com) 25
An anonymous reader shares a report: The former head of search at Alphabet's Google told colleagues in February 2019 that his team was "getting too involved with ads for the good of the product and company," according to emails shown at the Justice Department's landmark antitrust trial against the search giant. Google maintains a firewall between its ads and search teams so that its engineers can innovate on Google's search engine, unsullied by the influence of the team whose goal is to maximize advertising revenue. But in February 2019, testimony at the antitrust trial revealed Tuesday, Google internally declared a "Code Yellow" amid concerns the company might not meet its goals for search revenue for the quarter.
As part of the emergency, which lasted for seven weeks, engineers from Google's search and Chrome browser teams were reassigned to figure out why user queries had slowed, according to the documents. Ben Gomes, Google's former head of search, was called by the company in its defense to show that it had made various advancements in search, particularly in mobile. However, cross examination by Justice Department lawyer David Dahlquist revealed the tensions between Gomes' search team and its advertising counterparts. The questioning sought to undermine Google's contentions that its search team focuses solely on improving the user experience and has sometimes been pulled into the advertising side, where the Justice Department alleges Google has been able to raise prices without pushback.
As part of the emergency, which lasted for seven weeks, engineers from Google's search and Chrome browser teams were reassigned to figure out why user queries had slowed, according to the documents. Ben Gomes, Google's former head of search, was called by the company in its defense to show that it had made various advancements in search, particularly in mobile. However, cross examination by Justice Department lawyer David Dahlquist revealed the tensions between Gomes' search team and its advertising counterparts. The questioning sought to undermine Google's contentions that its search team focuses solely on improving the user experience and has sometimes been pulled into the advertising side, where the Justice Department alleges Google has been able to raise prices without pushback.
Obvious (Score:4, Informative)
It's obvious that the ad team got involved in search because all you get now are SEO optimized results.
Re: (Score:1)
It's obvious that the ad team got involved in search because all you get now are SEO optimized results.
/quote
That doesn't follow, for two reasons.
1. There's inevitably an arms race where companies around the world engage in SEO, and google's search team has to try to resist, but there's no reason to think that google's search team is even able to keep up
2. The ads team is incentivized to make profit from ads. There's no inherent reason to think they make more revenue from ad-impressions related to SEO-optimized results than they do from ad-impressions elsewhere.
Re: (Score:3)
2. The ads team is incentivized to make profit from ads. There's no inherent reason to think they make more revenue from ad-impressions related to SEO-optimized results than they do from ad-impressions elsewhere.
Further:
If SEO were successful in causing sites to land atop the search results,
then there would be less incentive to purchase advertising.
Therefore it is in Google add-team's best interest to have SEO fail... just as it is in the search-team's best interest to have SEO fail to influence search results.
Re: (Score:2)
Perhaps, but that assumes that they are competent.
Re: (Score:2)
It doesn't make sense. In fact, it should be the opposite.
Google has nothing to gain from SEO. SEO actors don't pay Google. Instead, for those who want more visibility, Google would rather have them pay for an ad spot.
Re: (Score:2)
agree
Oh what a surprise..... (Score:5, Insightful)
Google maintains a firewall between its ads and search teams so that its engineers can innovate on Google's search engine
Industry: We can police ourselves. No need for senseless regulation.
But in February 2019, testimony at the antitrust trial revealed Tuesday, Google internally declared a "Code Yellow" amid concerns the company might not meet its goals for search revenue for the quarter
Industry: But all that policing ourselves goes out the window if we're not making ridiculous levels of profit.
Tale as old as time.
Like the key point here was "might not meet its goals for search revenue". We all know executives set goals at insane levels because that's what makes shareholders smile. It wasn't "OH NO WE'RE GOING TO GO OUT OF BUSINESS!!" It was, we still need to hit those ridiculous levels otherwise, why we doing this if we're just being sustainable? That. That is what is wrong. Because Google sure as shit IS NOT the only one doing this nonsense. So all this policing oneself bullshit, as much as I know the Slashdot crowd bemoans red tape and regulation, we've been trying the self constraint method and it keeps not working. So when we changing our minds on this? Never? We're just going to let broken stay broken? Because this "oh the free market will take care of this" it is NOT WORKING.
And don't get me wrong. The Government isn't the paragon of salvation either. It's too big to fail shtick is getting old as well. But the thing is the self-policing thing from companies is really not working and I cannot vote on what the CEO will and will not do, unless I've got seven figures to sink into buying voting right stocks, which that just seems like Democracy for rich people only. At least with the various States and Federal level governments, I get a single vote to cast. That's way more than I'm getting for Google.
And no voting with your wallet doesn't work if they buy out everyone or command such a position that they can abuse competitors.
Re: (Score:2)
1) Stop using google
2) Setup your own web-crawler
3) If you can find a way to monetize your search engine, make it publicly accessible.
4) Profit?
And I've got a bridge for sale in Brooklyn (Score:3)
> Google maintains a firewall between its ads and search teams so that its engineers can innovate on Google's search engine
It may have existed for show and maybe morale, but if you believe there's been any meaningful separation between the two for many years now, I've got a bridge to sell you. Google's track record with how they manage their various businesses makes this very clear. Google only does something because they think they can make money from it. Ever been to an event there? You're the product there too.
Re: And I've got a bridge for sale in Brooklyn (Score:2)
Google on mobile is almost useless now (Score:2)
It feels like they're doing the same B.S. engagement garbage to try and keep me on the site longer looking at ads.
Wow (Score:1)
Google search and ads it is AI based money milking (Score:1, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Toothpaste anyone? (Score:2)
I find it funny the DOJ is claiming Google has such a monopoly that they can raise prices willy-nilly, yet I don't hear the same being said about Procter and Gamble when it comes to toothpaste. The price has gone up far more than the supposed rate of inflation, yet I don't see any investigation on that front.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Entire segments of the economy have been altered because one company now controls 90% of the toothpaste market. The DOJ has completely screwed up because they targeted Google over toothpaste. Shame on them.
Heard in one of the Google meetings... (Score:2)
Marketing Team: "No, no, no. We need to make them identical and just put a tiny little font underneath with the "Advertisement" leyend. There fixed!"
Google results have declined in value (Score:1)
I no longer use Google. The results used to be awesome and google fu made a difference. For the last two years, it's almost *impossible* to find things with google. They've been completely corrupted *and* they broken most of the google fu stuff.
I can literally type "-2023" and get a list of results with "2023" in the text of the bloody page for every entry. That used to be suppressed.
Google seems to have given "recency" a very high bias over the google fu stuff.
Bull (Score:3)
The marketing dept took control over search around 2012.
real reason (Score:2)
The real reason google search increasingly sucks isn't just SEO, it's because the overall S/N of the internet is decreasing exponentially. Everyone and their uncle's opinion is given equal weight. In the good ole days, the internet was the province of modestly intelligent honest people. No more, and there are billions of Chinese, Indians, and Russians ready to scam you.