How Google Tips the Scales
A recent controversy exposes how the search titan has left publishing with few choices
According to Detailed, an SEO analyst blog, 16 companies dominate search results.
Back in the day, when punk bands suddenly got big—see Green Day, Rancid, or The Distillers—diehards quickly labeled them sellouts. It didn’t matter if it was true or not. In their eyes, it was obvious these acts were cashing in, abandoning their true fans for fat checks and radio airplay.
This week Gisele Navarro and Danny Ashton, two of the editors and testers behind the independent, ad-free air purifier-testing site HouseFresh, caused a stir in the publishing world by calling media companies, particularly DotDash Meredith and Buzzfeed, sellouts. In a blog post, the two detail how, in their eyes, Google favors established brands like Better Homes & Gardens and Real Simple over independent publishers like HouseFresh. And because of this, those brands are cashing in, making money off of links to subpar products that give publishers a bigger cut of each sale, rather than putting in the hard work to actually test products.
And at first glance, their argument is pretty convincing. There are numerous screenshots of Google search results dominated by traditional publishers. There are not-so-subtle insinuations of SEO trickery and algorithmic colluding. There are even callouts of lazy journalism, the duo pointing to a Buzzfeed “best of” list that cites Amazon customer reviews rather than lab tests, which JMM agrees is a bit icky.
They also break down Google’s E-E-A-T policy—experience, expertise, and authoritativeness—which is supposed to guarantee the best search results, and claim that publishers are manipulating that policy to rank higher on searches they shouldn’t have any credibility in. And yeah, there is some of that. They show a screenshot of a search for “Best Air Purifiers for Pets”, pointing out that Rolling Stone and Forbes, numbers nine and ten in the natural search results, don’t have any cred in that space. HouseFresh, which specializes in reviewing air purifiers, doesn’t even make it onto the first page of results.
“Shouldn’t Google be rewarding ranked lists of recommendations ‘that provide insightful analysis and original research […] written by experts or enthusiasts who know the topic well’?” Navarro writes, quoting directly from Google’s policy. “Shouldn’t the reviews system ensure that people don’t end up landing on ‘thin content that simply summarizes a bunch of products, services, or other things’? … Sadly, these are just empty words because Google has a clear bias towards big media publishers.”
What’s worse is, if you just look at the raw numbers, it’s hard not to make the same conclusion. Glen Allsopp, founder of the SEO trends site Detailed, breaks down how 16 companies received 3.7 billion clicks per month from Google. Those companies, including DotDash Meredith, own 592 brands, many of which have thousands of “best of” stories designed to rank high and provide links to affiliate sites that send publishers a kickback for each sale. If you are an independent publisher, it’s hard to crack what looks like a cabal.
But there are more than a few flaws in HouseFresh’s analysis, the first of which is that they’re simply getting beat. Sure, we all love an underdog. We all want to root for the small guy, and HouseFresh is definitely a small guy. But publishers like DotDash Meredith, Hearst, and Fandom aren’t the villains here. They’re just good at what they do. They understand SEO better than almost anyone, and they do have legacy brands that have credibility in certain spaces. BH&G doesn’t review trucks, for example, because that’s not core to the brand. Things to do with the home, though, like air purifiers, are.
And HouseFresh all but accuses DDM of not actually testing their products. They point to the fact that there are no individual reviews of products on any DotDash sites, just “best of” lists, and yes, that’s true. Individual reviews don’t create the revenue stream from affiliate links that “best of” pages do. But that doesn’t mean DDM doesn’t vigorously test products. JMM has been a reviewer for multiple products, and one of Drake’s DDM apprentices works in the testing lab doing the very things that HouseFresh seems to think don’t happen.
But the real flaw in the HouseFresh rant comes back to another classic music callout: don’t hate the player, hate the game. In this case, Google is the game. Over the last decade, Google and Facebook have benefited from providing content from publishers to users while siphoning off billions of dollars in advertising from those same companies. A group of Columbia University researchers estimates that the two tech titans owe media companies anywhere from $11.9 to $13.9 billion a year from the revenue they generate off publishers’ content. That money could have supported good, classic journalism, including the kind of well-reported and well-written service journalism that brands like Better Homes & Gardens were built on.
To make up that revenue, publishers have had to turn to affiliate content. Sure, it’s not glamorous journalism. But as DDM CEO Neil Vogel discussed in a recent episode of the podcast “People Vs Algorithms,” publishers can make back some of that lost ad revenue one click at a time, sending readers to Amazon, Walmart, and Target to make their purchases. It’s not necessarily what they want to do; it’s what they have to do to survive. Google didn’t give them a choice.
Because, while each new version of Google’s algorithm is supposed to make its search results better, it’s really the company just putting more and more fingers on the scale. They set the rules of the game. They determine the winners and losers. They reap the benefits, letting everyone else complain about how they’re not getting their fair share of the scraps. It’s what writer and web analyst Cory Doctorow calls “enshittification.”
“Here is how platforms die,” he writes. “First, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die.”
Google is arguably in the clawback phase. Search results are getting worse. SERPs (search engine results pages) are getting more and more clogged with ads and sponsored content. Outright scams are even making it into search results. It’s a long way from “Don’t be evil,” Google’s former slogan.
Of course, this all may be moot soon. Some are arguing that with the coming onslaught of AI chat-based search, which will deliver answers to consumers without linking to the content that provided those insights, SEO plays will no longer matter. When that happens, it won’t be just HouseFresh complaining about how Google is killing them.
Unlimited Power
Drake student media is looking for its next batch of supreme leaders. You could oversee one of Drake’s six award-winning student media organizations: Drake Broadcasting System, Drake Mag, Drake Political Review, DUiN, Periphery and the Times-Delphic. All you need to do is send a resume and cover letter, as well as up to five work samples, to BSC co-chairs Prof. Lakshmi Tirumala (Lakshmi.tirumala@drake.edu) and SJMC Sen. Eva Kellen (eva.kellen@drake.edu) by 5 p.m. March 8. Interviews for the positions will be held post-Spring Break. For more information, contact Prof. Tirumala or Sen. Kellen.
Time to Apply
You can work for the largest magazine media company in America. The DotDash Meredith Apprenticeship Program allows ambitious journalists and graphic designers the opportunity to earn both academic credit and gain professional, portfolio-level work experience.
Selected students commit to working 15-20 hours per week at DotDash Meredith both semesters of either their junior or senior year. Apprentices earn a minimum of $15 an hour as well as up to three credits per semester.
To apply either share a Google Drive link or send an email to jeff.inman@drake.edu containing a cover letter, resume, and (if applicable) up to five work samples in one PDF by 5 p.m. Fri., March 8. Interviews will be held the last week of March. For more info contact Prof. Inman at the above email address.
For more info, you can attend a Q&A session with Prof. Inman on Feb. 28 at 8 p.m. in Mere 124C.
The Rehash: Internship Edition
Here’s a rundown of some of the best internships out there right now.
· Hy-Vee is hiring a digital marketing intern. You be working on optimizing video content and digital asset management. You’d also get to work with Erin Menardi (Mags, GD, ’15, MA ’21) and Lindsey Ladd (Mags, ’13), both JMM favorites. Get more info here.
· Iowa PBS is hiring multiple positions for the summer including emerging media and production interns. You’ll be based in fabulous Johnston, Iowa. You’d also get to work with SJMC grad Hayley Shaefer (DMP, ’20). Applications are due March 6.
· The Connecticut Mirror, a non-profit new org, is looking for both a reporting and an audience engagement intern. You have to be in Hartford for the summer. Pay is $16 an hour for up to 14 weeks. Get more info here.
· Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation is looking for both a graphic design and a communications intern. Both will work on INHF’s donor magazine, help with the group’s website, and maybe even end up working at the non-profit’s annual Ragbrai booth. The deadline to apply is March 8.
· HerCampus has been one of the leading voices for college women for years. A group of websites including HerCampus, Spoon University, and College Fashionista, the company hires remote interns to help create content, design graphics, and run social media for its various websites. They have rolling internship sessions, with the summer one starting May 8. Get more info here.
· Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines needs a communications intern to help create multi-channel content for the summer. You’ll also make bank. The gig offers $20-$25 an hour depending on experience. Check it out here.
· The St. Louis-based River City Journalism Fund is looking for a summer writing fellow. You’ll be embedded in a St. Louis newsroom, work 30 hours a week covering social justice and underrepresented communities, and be paid $700 a week. Get more info here.
· American Public Media Group, home of Minnesota Public Radio, has multiple internships for the summer including audio, video, production, and reporting. All of the gigs are based in St. Paul, Minnesota. You might even end up working with former Iowa Public Radio host and reporter Clay Masters and recent SJMC grad CJ Younger (MMJ), both of whom now call MPR home. Check out all the gigs here.
· GBH, Boston’s massive public radio and public media hub, is looking for what can only be called a crap-ton of interns. They want news interns, “Antique Roadshow” interns, DEI interns, “NOVA” interns, and even “Frontline” interns. Seriously, it’s a lot. Of course, you’ll have to be in Boston for the summer, which would offer you plenty of opportunities to mock Harvard kids. Check out the full list here.
Want to Spread Word with JMM?
Do you have some essential info or have you found yourself the ultimate Girl Scout Cookie hookup like Grace Rogers (PR, ’17), who’s now the director of brand marketing for the Girl Scouts of NE Kansas and NW Missouri? If so, send that tidbit on over to jeff.inman@drake.edu. JMM will treat it like this story about the growth of philanthropic local news and share it with everyone.
Finally, an appropriate video for Mondays.