What’s been happening over the past week in the world of digital marketing? Digital marketing is ever-evolving, and as an SEO agency in London, it is our job to keep up-to-date with the latest changes in the industry with our weekly blog.
Google Copyright Issue
Search giant Google has been accused of stealing content from Genius, the song lyrics website, for use in its featured result when you search for song lyrics. Genius has adverts on its website so you can understand why they would be annoyed at Google taking valuable clicks away from the website.
Google initially denied doing this, but Genius claimed to have a way of watermarking their song lyrics. They alternate between ` and ‘ for apostrophes within the content, with each being either a dot or a dash in Morse code, and they spell out ‘Red Handed’. Mic drop.
Google has since claimed that it uses third party providers for its lyrics, and in future, it will include the third party attribution in the search results. Some may argue that they should have done this from the start.
The wider issue here is Googles homogenisation of all things internet. Featured results are great for the end user, having the answer to your search appear on the same page as where you typed the query is great. The trouble is that a huge number of websites rely on page views for Ad revenue and potential conversions. Every pair of eyes that Google takes away from their website is a loss felt by the publishers of the content.
Author: Conor Swarbrick