18 
Microsoft has launched a rather aggressive attack on Google, claiming its fierce internet rival serves up shopping results not based on relevancy, but on how much advertisers have paid to be right at the top of the page.
Calling this the act of “Scroogling” its customers, MS says this is an underhand move by its rival, which betrays the trust of users who might reasonably expect the best, cheapest deals to be shown first, rather than an unadvertised list of promotional links.
Microsoft said: “Merchants can literally pay to improve their chances to display their product offers higher than others inside of Google’s shopping “search,” even if it’s not better or cheaper for the consumer. The result of this new “pay-to-rank” system is that it’s easy for consumers to mistake an ad for an honest search. That’s not right, it’s misleading.”
The idea being we’ll all switch to Bing in order to escape Google’s shameful advert-riddled listings and see a less manipulated set of results. [Microsoft]
“…serves up shopping results not based on relevancy, but on how much advertisers have paid to be right at the top of the page.”
YA DON’T SAY?
I couldn’t help thinking ‘DUHHHHH’ when I read this
. However Google do at list all prices, it’s only the order that’s changed. So it’s still a useful search.
Bizarre search in the photo.
Intriguing, possibly very handy you have to admit.
I was thinking more of what’s actually witten in the search box.
You can never have too many batches of the lovely stuff.
I’m just waiting for Google to respond with the accusation that Microsoft are “bunch of commies” (that seems to be a usual America knee jerk reaction to anyone questioning the “American dream” capitalism principle).
They aren’t “claiming” anything, it is a statement of fact.
“which betrays the trust of users who might reasonably expect the best, cheapest deals to be shown first”
“even if it’s not better or cheaper for the consumer.”
SERIOUSLY!?!?
Googles Goal is not to show you the BEST and CHEAPEST first!? If you filter by price acceding then you will get cheapest first.
Its supposed to show you relevant searches to your set terms.
If I Binged a laptop it’s not going to put the best/cheapest laptop 1st in the results either…
Anyone who can’t tell what is and isn’t an ad on a Google search results page deserves to pay more for their product, Call it SAT (stupidity added tax). Microsoft is obviously just trash talking Google in an effort to gain market share. Try making a better product dumbfucks.
Wow, did someone get out of the wrong side of bed this morning?
Having to get out of any side of bed in the morning is enough.
To be fair to Microsoft, they did make a better product, Bing is awesome whereas now days, Google is meh…..
Bing is my first port of call if Google doesn’t give me the results I am looking for, I haven’t used Bing once this year
If I want pretty pictures I use Google search to find them.
And it’s not even April Fools day!
Yes Darrell also like people have stated anybody lazy enough not to be able to change the filter by lowest to highest also deserves to pay more LAT and SAT
On Google search results, yes, the ads are clearly marked. But not on Google shopping results, where there is no separate “ad” section. In fact, the page clearly indicates that the results have been sorted by “relevance”. I’ve always assumed that when I sorted by relevance, I would get the most relevant results first (however Google define it), and if there was an ad that paid to be there, it would be identified in some way – the same as the main search page.
The fact that this isn’t the case is news to me. Do I care that much – not really. But MS are making a fair point that Google’s shopping page seems to mislead customers that haven’t read the fine print.
Misleading article image. That picture is a screen cap of a standard Web Search, not from the Shopping Search… Shopping Search doesn’t need ‘Ads related to {search}’ as the results are one big ad already…
1. This only applies to the Google shopping site, not Google searches in general (as shown in the accompanying picture.
2. This site is US only (you can access it anywhere, but it only give US details)
3. This site makes it clear that payment is ONE of the factors that influence listings on this site.
4. Microsoft are obviously trying to give the impression that this happens worldwide and in regular search (Aided by GIz’s use of the wrong picture)
5. Why is someone looking up “electric potato pee”?
The only reason its only on the shopping section is because google is too busy pushing its own products on the main page :p
This is terrible. Imagine if Microsoft or Apple used their own websites to sell their own stuff, the internet would be awash with shite, wait a fucking moment….
but they dont do it the way im on about… google dont to be honest.. anymore and only because they were gonna get sued.
When you used to go to google and typed in ie9 or Browser or Internet explorer it would give you a link to chrome 1st at the top.
We sometimes forget how much power and control Google has, they technically list and index the western worlds whole internet use, including the making of an OS for 70%+ of the worlds smartphones that plug into those services. And we sometimes see that as a free community service, but we know it is big business. And considering the money and power involved I reckon it does a good job, it isn’t perfect but I can’t really think of another company that offers such a range of quality web services, working in a fair and honest way while keeping the interface simple and uncluttered, and all that while making money.
This is obvious, but it needs saying because every time Google tries to make a profit we cry foul, every time they try to refine our services and results we cry foul again. And rightfully so, we use Google because it works for us, and Google knows that they walk a very fine line.
But compare Google to Microsoft and Apple, not the best comparison but all big companies making software and OS’, and plugging that into tablets, phones and laptops – approached from different angles but similar land grab on offer. So lets go to Google.com, Apple.com and Microsoft.com. Microsoft has a 3/4 page ad for a surface at £399 and is cluttered below the fold, useful. Apple have a 3/4 page ad for iPad mini (no price) but have store and reseller links, a clean interface but every link is a product or service at a cost. Then we have Google, a blank page with a search box, with a list of other free products and services across the top of the page and standard corporate links at the base – not bad.
I go to Microsoft and Apple and I feel like I am being sold, because I am, a go to Google and I feel calm and ready to go anywhere freely from there, because I can. And that is special for such a simple interface. But that all comes at a cost, a small cost that some business is paying for discreet ads that my brain has learnt to filter.
Google doesnt try to use its business practices in a fair way though……
It used its dominance in search to push its own browser
it uses its dominance in search to push a free OS (android)
which by the way i dont know if you read the news or not, it could get into big trouble for android now.
Microsoft used its dominance in the 90s to push its products, and you all still go on about it now but because you buy into the whole “google is doing this for me” bs, which it isnt… It’s doing it to force its way into other markets to make cold hard chash and it is doing so by abusing its search monopoly.
I never deny MS used their monopoly unfairly and deserved to get punished… but Google to exactly the same thing.
Also the comparison to Google.com is Bing.Com which has no adds on the home page. You know this… I know this… So dont try and use Microsoft.com as a comparison.
I think the comparison is fair as each links to the main products and services that company offers – bing.com would undersell Microsoft.
I think this is the same point I am making, but you are looking at it backwards – Google.com is massive, bigger than microsoft and apple, they have the potential to be making much bigger sums than they are today – the reason they don’t is that Google is about added value, not about shifting so many units in so many days. They understand why Google is used so much. It is far from perfect but in comparison to others it seems perfect.
So your saying because it helps MS can bundle IE with windows? or give stuff away for free to stop google ganing MS?
OFC they cant… and they are gonna end up getting in a lot of trouble for it, your obviously just showing your biased towards google.
To be listed on the Google US shopping site, its now a requirement that you have an adwords account too. The UK isn’t like that yet, but it won’t be long (and I’m dreading it).
Darrell is there one side of the internet you don’t know? google shopping is in the UK
There’s a google shopping search now?
1, 2, wide awake – and you are back in the room.
Only in the US and it’s been around for ages.
There is a UK shopping search (I have almost 50,000 items listed on it
I sit corrected.
I use it all the time in the UK too, and it is far better now than it used to be. I used to use Pricerunner but haven’t been back for ages.
Best part of the Scroogled campaign? It appears higher in Google’s results than Microsofts http://geekergosum.com/2012/11/29/why-use-bing