Will the EU Force Google to Explain their Ranking Algorithm?

Updated January 7, 2023

European Regulation

Google’s reputation in Europe is different to its reputation in the US. In Europe, Google, along with a number of other tech ‘giants’ is often viewed in a negative light because of their approach to taxation. Partly because of this, and other similar business practices from other multinational technology companies like Apple, Amazon and Uber, the European Union (EU) is trying to level the playing field by setting some ground rules which internet companies will need to follow. And, as a result of this, we might end up getting some more clues how Google’s ranking mechanism works.

What’s in the Secret Sauce?

The basic logic that the EU is following is that as part of an attempt to bring ‘transparency’ to online business practices they should have some idea how and why some sites are given a better ranking than others to ensure fair competition between businesses and to encourage smaller businesses. In short, they want to know if larger online companies are paying (directly or indirectly) to rank higher in Google’s search results or Apple’s iTunes store. How this could be achieved without damaging a company’s competitive edge is not yet clear, so time will tell what this will mean in practical terms.

When will it Become Law?

At the moment the proposal is fairly vague as this idea seems to be in its infancy. So it’s unlikely that we’re going to have a copy of Google’s algorithm handed to us anytime soon, but this could provide more insight into how and why Google make the decisions they do. Reuters, the news agency, has reported that the Commission “will not force companies to disclose their algorithms” but whatever does eventually come out is sure to be scrutinized for clues!

Do you have an opinion on SEO and ranking? Do you think that the SERP is unfairly weighted in favor of larger companies? Or is it just that they can dedicate more time and effort to SEO? We’d love to hear what you think.

Photo credit – Top: Yanni Koutsomitis
Photo credit – Bottom: MaxPixel