Google Rankings Shuffle Upsets Online Merchants
By Mark Boslet

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Google Inc. has shuffled its Internet search rankings, and in doing so, irritated Internet merchants at just the wrong time of year: when they rely on holiday shoppers to find and visit their Web sites. In mid-November, Google (www.google.com) changed the algorithms, or the mathematical formulas, it uses to determine which Web pages offer the best response to a user's query.

Web sites that had previously come up high on the list of search results for, say, furniture retailers, fell in the rankings. Other Internet pages moved up. Google frequently changes its algorithms to make its search results more relevant. But the changes first noticed on Nov. 14 were bigger than many in the past. The disruption was so noticeable that industry observers gave it a name: Update Florida, drawn from the Florida presidential-election debacle. The most cynical observers suggest Google is trying to increase its ad revenue as it prepares for an initial public offering next year. The alternative to creating a site that Google considers "relevant" is to become a paid advertiser in Google's AdWord program.

"This [change] seemed to be a major shift," said Michael Stalbaum, Chief Executive Officer of Unreal Marketing Solutions Inc., a firm that advises Web sites on how to get better placement in a Web search. Some merchants feel "they want to force people to pay," he said.

Google Engineering Vice President, Wayne Rosng, said the aim was to "try to improve the quality of our search results." Testing the company commissioned found the new algorithm has been successful, he said. Google, however, acknowledges the changes were substantial. "Between 3% and 5% of all queries were affected", Mr. Rosng said.

The extent of the changes has unsettled the industry. "This has really thrown people for a loop," said Chris Winfield, president of 10E20 LLC, also a search-placement consultant. "This is the most important time of the year for any e-tailer or retailer."

Mr. Winfield said he spoke to one Web-design company that previously turned up near the top of the list for "freelance Web designers." Now the firm doesn't come up at all.

It seems as though Google wanted to weed out Internet sites using too many professional techniques to attract Google's attention, he said. The Web designer had repeated the words "freelance Web design" in numerous spots on its site.

Mr. Winfield said his clients survived the Google change successfully. However, one furniture company no longer turned up in a search where it had previously ranked well. He declined to name the firms.

"I think [Google] went a little bit too far," he said.

Mr. Rosng said Google is continually looking for ways to ensure quality sites don't get pushed out of search results by Web sites optimized to attracted the company's attention.

"People are trying to beat our algorithms," he said. "We take the position the chips should fall where they may." He said the company does not demote sites in its search rankings to encourage ad sales.

Write to Mark Boslet at mark.boslet@dowjones.com.

Posted 12/03/03

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