Search engines are one of the many aspects of the internet that have more or less completely changed how we acquire information and figure out what kinds of information would be ideal for us to look into at any given point in time. However, a lot of people don’t really know how the rankings of websites in search results actually work.
This is astonishing because of the fact that about 54% of people have reported that they trust the topmost search results the most, not realizing that these search results are often ads that don’t indicate actual relevance. The truth is that the topmost results that are not ads get this spot through a combination of relevance as well as the money that has been spent on ads, and according to 31% of users search engine listings that are actually ads are not marked clearly enough.
According to BrandVerity's study, about 63% of users that responded to a survey did not know that both relevance as well as ad spending went into determining the ranking of a particular website within search results. The thing is, we use search engines to require the most information, and as a result of this fact not knowing how these rankings work is the kind of thing that could potentially end up making you learn the wrong kind of information.
These past few years a lot of discussions have been made with regards to the power that Google holds and how this power needs to be regulated as much as possible. That being said, advertisers and brands might not want this to change. The reason for this is that there is a lot of profit in consumers not knowing enough about these sorts of facts. In many critics opinion, this is a big part of the reason why this should change as soon as possible.
Photo: NurPhoto via Getty Images
Read next: Google Maps Beats Facebook, Yelp and Others to Emerge as the Most Dominant Local Search Tool!
This is astonishing because of the fact that about 54% of people have reported that they trust the topmost search results the most, not realizing that these search results are often ads that don’t indicate actual relevance. The truth is that the topmost results that are not ads get this spot through a combination of relevance as well as the money that has been spent on ads, and according to 31% of users search engine listings that are actually ads are not marked clearly enough.
According to BrandVerity's study, about 63% of users that responded to a survey did not know that both relevance as well as ad spending went into determining the ranking of a particular website within search results. The thing is, we use search engines to require the most information, and as a result of this fact not knowing how these rankings work is the kind of thing that could potentially end up making you learn the wrong kind of information.
These past few years a lot of discussions have been made with regards to the power that Google holds and how this power needs to be regulated as much as possible. That being said, advertisers and brands might not want this to change. The reason for this is that there is a lot of profit in consumers not knowing enough about these sorts of facts. In many critics opinion, this is a big part of the reason why this should change as soon as possible.
- Also read: Public Supports Traditional Banks over Digital Financing – A Study on Top Companies Reports
Photo: NurPhoto via Getty Images
Read next: Google Maps Beats Facebook, Yelp and Others to Emerge as the Most Dominant Local Search Tool!
