Competitors Accuse Google of Using Search to Diminish Apps

Google said that starting in November it would begin penalizing sites that show these “please install our app” ads — at least in cases where they obscure what’s on the page — by deeming them less mobile friendly. That designation will lower their ranking on Google’s mobile search engine. Google didn’t list the offenders, but it includes a broad spectrum of popular services like Yelp, Pinterest and LinkedIn. There is no doubt that a lot of users find these ads annoying. But where Google describes a policy change that will make life more pleasant for users, others see an attempt to defend the web — where Google makes much of its money — from the armies of apps that mobile users favor. “Google saw its users fleeing mobile search via an exit door that led to apps,” said Luther Lowe, vice president for public policy at Yelp, the local search engine and persistent Google critic. “To make sure they can continue to extend their search monopoly onto mobile, Google is essentially telling app developers, ‘We’re losing too many of our users to your apps, so your new users will have to go through a doggy door.’”