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Consumer Watchdog

Can Google explain this search result?

Consumer Watchdog is launching InsideGoogle.com to educate the public and opinion leaders about Google’s dangerous dominance over the Internet, computing and our online lives. As we have been putting the site through its paces while it’s still in "Beta" mode, I discovered an example of exactly the sort thing Google needs to explain.

We are more than a little critical of Google. Inside Google’s blog is authored by experienced consumer advocates and journalists working to expose the “black box” at Google with an eye towards holding Google engineers accountable to social mores, ethical customs and the rule of law.

So today, I entered the name of the site, "Inside Google" into the Internet giant’s highly vaunted search engine. Nothing about our site was on the first three pages. It was number eight on the fourth page of listings. Most consumers don’t go much beyond the first page of results.

Then I tried Bing.com. As you can see from the screen shot below, Inside Google was the second listing returned.

How about those secret Google algorithms, eh?

John M. Simpson

John M. Simpson

John M. Simpson is an American consumer rights advocate and former journalist. Since 2005, he has worked for Consumer Watchdog, a nonpartisan nonprofit public interest group, as the lead researcher on Inside Google, the group's effort to educate the public about Google's dominance over the internet and the need for greater online privacy.

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