Google secrets under fire

Google faces a legal fight this week to protect its tight-lipped policy on how it ranks websites.

A US Federal Court judge will hear on Friday from KinderStart, a site for 0-7 year olds and their parents, which alleges the Google search engine is not an objective source for finding internet content.

KinderStart claims its traffic was reduced by 70 per cent and its ad revenue by 80 per cent following an alleged “blocking” of its website by Google in March 2005.

Google's formula for ranking websites is closely guarded, making it difficult for websites to take action to elevate their standings, but also making it difficult for sites that drop position to know why.

With more than 56 per cent of the world’s internet surfers using Google, according to OneStat.com, a good ranking position in its search results has become a valuable marketing asset for online businesses.

Google’s system is intended to provide searchers with sites whose content is most relevant to their keywords.

The judge will rule at 9am in California (5pm BST) on nine counts, including whether or not Google should warn sites about changes in their ranking as well as on financial damages KinderStart is seeking.

http://www.google.com