{"id":15474,"date":"2019-02-27T12:00:39","date_gmt":"2019-02-27T12:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/?p=15474"},"modified":"2019-02-27T14:55:46","modified_gmt":"2019-02-27T14:55:46","slug":"as-tweetstorm-rages-over-search-giant-stealing-publisher-traffic-google-admits-it-is-a-front-line-concern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/as-tweetstorm-rages-over-search-giant-stealing-publisher-traffic-google-admits-it-is-a-front-line-concern\/","title":{"rendered":"As tweetstorm rages over search giant &#8220;stealing publisher traffic,&#8221; Google admits &#8220;It is a front-line concern&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the weekend, Cyrus Shepard\u2014founder of digital media company Zyppy\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CyrusShepard\/status\/1099417046385799168\">tweeted<\/a> a screenshot of a search result from Google. Instead of any links to publisher sources, all it showed was some detailed information using Google\u2019s featured snippets, without any indication about the source of the content. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/D0Hp-MdVAAAMjIP.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"379\" height=\"600\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c<strong>This is the future of Google Search<\/strong>,\u201d he underscored, explaining exactly why he found it so difficult to believe:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"636\" height=\"403\" src=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15503\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image.png 636w, https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-400x253.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The tweet went viral, quickly garnering over a thousand combined Likes and Retweets in spite of its <g class=\"gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear Grammar multiReplace\" id=\"4\" data-gr-id=\"4\">comparatively<\/g> niche appeal, and the fact that it was posted over a weekend. It ignited a series of discussions, especially publishers decrying the lack of attribution and annexation of traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"637\" height=\"236\" src=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-16.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-16.png 637w, https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-16-400x148.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 637px) 100vw, 637px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"634\" height=\"269\" src=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15507\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-2.png 634w, https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-2-400x170.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 634px) 100vw, 634px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"635\" height=\"237\" src=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15508\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-3.png 635w, https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-3-400x149.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 635px) 100vw, 635px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Other publishers soon shared similar examples:<br><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Example from the net worth world. This is a screenshot from an iPhone 8. Without scrolling, our url is not visible, our site name is cut off. Goog is scraping random images to take up screen space. Basically no way for a user to get through to our site. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/YeXr283ZPH\">pic.twitter.com\/YeXr283ZPH<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Celebrity Net Worth (@celebnetworth) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/celebnetworth\/status\/1100125995338584064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 25, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-5.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15512\" width=\"476\" height=\"606\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-5.png 634w, https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-5-400x510.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 476px) 100vw, 476px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15510\" width=\"476\" height=\"581\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-4.png 634w, https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-4-400x488.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 476px) 100vw, 476px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Danny Sullivan, Google&#8217;s public search liaison, responded shortly<\/strong>, promising to look into the matter, stating that this was a \u201cfront-line concern,\u201d and emphasizing that \u201cwe always take publishers into account.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"635\" height=\"269\" src=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-6.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15513\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-6.png 635w, https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-6-400x169.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 635px) 100vw, 635px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"635\" height=\"364\" src=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-8.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15515\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-8.png 635w, https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-8-400x229.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 635px) 100vw, 635px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"636\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-9.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15516\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-9.png 636w, https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-9-400x382.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The link shared by Danny leads to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.google\/products\/search\/reintroduction-googles-featured-snippets\/\">Google blog post<\/a> which states:<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe display featured snippets in search when<strong> we believe this format will help people more easily discover what they\u2019re seeking<\/strong>, both from the description and when they click on the link to read the page itself. It\u2019s especially helpful for those on mobile or searching by voice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>With the growth in voice-activated digital assistants, more people are doing voice queries. In these cases, the traditional &#8220;10 blue links&#8221; format doesn&#8217;t work as well, making featured snippets an especially useful format.<\/p><cite>Danny Sullivan, Public Liaison for Search, Google<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOf course, <strong>we continue to show regular listings in response to searches along with featured snippets<\/strong>. That\u2019s because featured snippets aren\u2019t meant as a sole source of information. They\u2019re part of an overall set of results we provide, giving people information from a wide range of sources.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Unsurprisingly, not everyone was convinced with the explanation from Google.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"636\" height=\"271\" src=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-10.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15522\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-10.png 636w, https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-10-400x170.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"637\" height=\"269\" src=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-11.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15523\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-11.png 637w, https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-11-400x169.png 400w, https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-11-240x100.png 240w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 637px) 100vw, 637px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">As far as I know that\u2019s exactly what publishers are already doing in Europe. And Google doesn\u2019t like it: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Y2X9re35cu\">https:\/\/t.co\/Y2X9re35cu<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Denise Strohsahl (@SSC_Marketing) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SSC_Marketing\/status\/1099618848834244608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 24, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Rand Fishkin, CEO of SEOmoz and also a contributor to <a href=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/\">What\u2019s New in Publishing<\/a>, explained how this trend would affect publishers in the long run.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">As this becomes the future, an interesting thing happens&#8230; the value of creating useful, accurate content for the web diminishes, b\/c while publishers do the work, Google alone gets all the benefits. Their trojan horsing of the web is subtle, but damned effective. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dydWQSbUju\">https:\/\/t.co\/dydWQSbUju<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Rand Fishkin (@randfish) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/randfish\/status\/1099418817036316672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 23, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Search Engine Land\u2014with whom Google first shared their \u201ctest\u201d screenshots portraying <a href=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/2019\/01\/eu-blinks-as-google-threatens-to-become-a-ghost-town-for-news-publishers\/\">\u201ca doomsday scenario\u201d for news publishers<\/a> if the proposed\u00a0EU Copyright Directive\u00a0came into effect\u2014also weighed in on the search giant &#8220;stealing publisher traffic.&#8221;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Controversy over Google Featured Snippets stealing publisher traffic reignites by <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rustybrick?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@rustybrick<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/L0ebo6wRA3\">https:\/\/t.co\/L0ebo6wRA3<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Search Engine Land (@sengineland) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sengineland\/status\/1100101962425647104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 25, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>A number of commentators discussed the possibility of enacting laws, to prevent Google from gradually monopolizing content and not sharing traffic with publishers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"636\" height=\"301\" src=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-12.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15524\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-12.png 636w, https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-12-400x189.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"636\" height=\"237\" src=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-13.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-13.png 636w, https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-13-400x149.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"636\" height=\"237\" src=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-14.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15526\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-14.png 636w, https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-14-400x149.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>While some commentators pointed out that users could eventually click through to the original source of the content, Cyrus explained why the additional friction would be bad for publishers.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"636\" height=\"269\" src=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-15.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-15.png 636w, https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/image-15-400x169.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, Danny asserted that \u201csearch has to keep evolving\u201d (likely implying that so should publishers) and \u201cI also think <strong>they should recognize that new formats bring in new and often welcomed opportunities<\/strong>\u201d &#8230; eventually leading to a terse d\u00e9tente in the discussions.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/kSJ6RlXRdIOZ99-jWclOwmhHkIm8PjWxDrjdofb5Zkddk75rAAv8_Qs3dVwHvLPb2aWyTupG4W-LgF1Hxcsu7r-yii8OBssIT8jIFREmKlTzRM96afq8-p75H9OUn6cLne2VxaiH\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the weekend, Cyrus Shepard\u2014founder of digital media company Zyppy\u2014tweeted a screenshot of a search result from Google. Instead of any links to publisher sources, all it showed was some detailed information using Google\u2019s featured snippets, without any indication about the source of the content. \u201cThis is the future of Google Search,\u201d he underscored, explaining [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":15552,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,17614],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[1396,16661,16659,16684,1503,10049,16654,2162,1655,1317,2722,1769,1236,1654,3098,16658,1793,16655,1656,16660],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15474"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15474"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediamakersmeet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=15474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}