EU regulator intensifies scrutiny of Google search results

European Union antitrust regulators sharpened their scrutiny of how Google ranks its web search results, asking rivals whether their lower rankings affected the number of visitors to their sites, a European Commission questionnaire showed.

The list of six questions focused on the last two and a half years, as EU regulators sought evidence of any possible link between the complainants' lower rankings in Google search results and lower traffic to their sites. "In the period from January 2011 to June 2013, have you ever noticed a decrease in the number of users reaching your vertical search sites via Google's natural search, which cannot be explained by a change in your web site?" the questionnaire asked. "Did it coincide with a significant change in the ranking of the pages of your web site in Google's natural search results?" Respondents were given until Aug. 16 to reply to the questionnaire.