Google is a monopoly.
Finally, despite high-priced lawyers, lobbying, and decades of accumulating unrivaled power, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) has scored an unprecedented victory against Google, confirming its “monopoly” position in organic search (SEO) and advertising.
TL;DR:
- The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has won a landmark antitrust case against Google, confirming what everyone has known for decades: “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly.”
- Specifically, Google has “violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act” (US antitrust/anti-monopoly laws) in “general search services” and “general search text advertising.”
- This historic US ruling mirrors several European Commission court rulings (Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)) against Google that have incurred “€8.25 billion euros in fines for Google last decade.”
- The DoJ ruling confirms a lot of what we found out back in May, when 2,500+ internal documents relating to Google Search’s Content Warehouse API which mirrors (or did, at the time of the leak), the Document AI Warehouse.
Read on for details 👇
What does the US DoJ ruling mean for Google?
Google doesn’t like to lose in court.
It spends a lot of money protecting its position in search and advertising, and we can expect a long protracted fight with the DoJ and in the courts.
If rulings in Europe (EC and CJEU) are anything to go by, this could drag on for years and cost tens of millions for the DoJ.
At this stage, the judgment is about liability. The next phase is about determining remedies, which are likely to include fines but could go so far as to “mandate to stop certain business practices to a breakup of Google’s search business.”
As the DoJ antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter said in a statement: “This landmark decision holds Google accountable. It paves the path for innovation for generations to come and protects access to information for all Americans.”
A rival search engine, DuckDuckGo’s CEO, Gabriel Weinberg, testified in this trial. Speaking afterward, DuckDuckGo’s SVP for Public Affairs, Kamyl Bazbaz said: “The journey ahead will be long. As we are seeing in the EU and other places, Google will do anything it can to avoid changing its conduct. However, we know there is a pent-up demand for alternatives in search and this ruling will support access to more options.”
💡This historic ruling, our analysis, and numerous experts reviewing the details of Google’s data leak prove conclusively that link building, guest posting, blogger outreach, digital PR, and SEO content marketing work.
We also know how important to have SEO audits and topical maps done before launching any kind of SEO campaign.
Book a call or contact us for a DFY SEO solution that will increase web traffic, search rankings, and sales leads.
How will Google respond?
Google, as we might expect, isn’t responding well to this decision.
Google’s President of Global Affairs Kent Walker said: “This decision recognizes that Google offers the best search engine, but concludes that we shouldn’t be allowed to make it easily available. As this process continues, we will remain focused on making products that people find helpful and easy to use.”
See the full statement below.
Judge Amit Mehta’s ruling gave Google a few wins, such as saying that Google’s contracts with phone browser makers, such as Apple (Safari) aren’t “exclusionary and therefore shouldn’t qualify it for liability under the Sherman Act.”
Judge Mehta’s ruling statement said: “The prospect of losing tens of billions in guaranteed revenue from Google — which presently come at little to no cost to Apple — disincentivizes Apple from launching its own search engine when it otherwise has built the capacity to do so.”
However, the judge also cited US v. Microsoft as being relevant to this case. He noted that “Google’s monopoly in general search [is] remarkably durable,” going from around 80% in 2009 to 90% in 2020, with that position for global general search (GSE) dominance being maintained consistently.
Judge Mehta said: “The market reality is that Google is the only real choice as the default GSE.” He referenced a quote from Apple SVP Eddy Cue, who said during the trial that there’s “no price that Microsoft could ever offer [Apple] to’ preload Bing.”
One of the most startling revelations from the trial is the amount Google pays Apple in the split of advertising revenue from Safari to stay the default search engine. Google shares 36% of ad revenue from Safari, resulting in the most recent revenue share in 2022 of $20 billion for the default position.
“Time and again, Google’s partners have concluded that it is financially infeasible to switch default GSEs or seek greater flexibility in search offerings because it would mean sacrificing the hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars that Google pays them as revenue share,” he wrote. “These are Fortune 500 companies, and they have nowhere else to turn other than Google.”
In every way, whether general search (GCE, SERPs, SEO) and advertising (Google Ads, etc.), Google holds the monopoly position.
Now it’s up to the courts and DoJ to determine a judgment, award liabilities, and take preventative action. All of which Google will fight bitterly in the courts.
What does the DoJ ruling mean for Search, Advertising, and SEO?
For the moment, nothing will change.
A decision on the actions the court will impose, including potential fines, will come next.
It’s a good sign for the US government as they prepare separate cases against Apple, Amazon, and Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The DoJ is also gearing up for another anti-trust case against Google later in the year over its advertising technology business. This ruling is very likely to be cited in that case, too.
Although the outcome from this case is far from certain ⏤ it also depends on the results of the US presidential election in November (Democrats will maintain anti-trust pressure on tech giants) ⏤ the impact on SEO professionals and our clients is unchanged right now.
As we wrote in the wake of the Google search rankings data leak, the following is as important now as it was yesterday:
- Find out how to improve the SEO of your website and content with an SEO Audit and Topical Map.
- This will also show you what Technical SEO fixes are required.
- Create a link building strategy that will increase your businesses backlink profile, that will help you rank higher in search engines, bringing in more traffic and sales leads.
- Create an SEO content marketing strategy that will have the same impact, improving your website’s DA, CTR, search rankings, traffic, and sales leads.
- To maximize results: Combine a link building strategy with SEO content marketing and on-page optimizations.
When it comes to advertising, this case, plus the next one, and The Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act (CTDA) could reshape digital advertising forever.
If this bipartisan bill passes, corporate giants ⏤ Google and Meta especially ⏤ could be forced to divest their advertising businesses because of their size and monopolistic impact on the advertising market.
What impact that could have on organic search is unclear, but could be seismic if Google were to lose such a massive chunk of it’s empire.
If history has taught us anything, empires and corporate monopolies don’t take defeat lying down. Google will not be broken apart easily or quickly. SEO and advertising, as we know it, is not changing anytime soon.
💡 Pro Tip: Check out some of our recent articles on Google-related SEO topics:
What Does The Google Search API Ranking Factors Data Leak Mean for Linkbuilding, Digital PR, and SEO
Want to Rank High in Google SERPs? New Study Proves Your Website Needs 1000+ Backlinks
How to Write SEO Content Based on Google Rankings Data Leak Insights
💡This historic ruling, our analysis, and numerous experts reviewing the details of Google’s data leak prove conclusively that link building, guest posting, blogger outreach, digital PR, and SEO content marketing work.
We also know how important to have SEO audits and topical maps done before launching any kind of SEO campaign.
Book a call or contact us for a DFY SEO solution that will increase web traffic, search rankings, and sales leads.
