“Traditionally, statistics show that most users will trust what they see at the top of a search page,” noted Erik Avakian, technical counselor at Info-Tech Research Group. “They don’t generally question it.”
That sort of placement alone can give a company a “significant advantage,” he said, as it can greatly influence and help shape user behavior on a large scale. “This [results placement] change is important and goes to the heart of how people access information, how they shop, how they travel, and how decisions get made.” Many of those decisions now start online, and often with a search, he pointed out.
Google’s move in the EU could result in more third-party services featured more prominently, which improves visibility and supports competition, said Avakian. “Over time, that usually amounts to a net positive benefitting consumers,” he said. “It gives them more choices and reduces the influence of any single platform quietly steering outcomes.”
