One day they’ll push it too far! And then they might find themselves in a whole heap of trouble.
Google kept their news search in beta for a long time, and even now don’t dare place ads there, in case it is considered they are profiting from scraped content.
But the real risk lies in their providing of search results such as cinema times and dictionary definitions. In both cases it would appear that, due to a lack of ads, they are not profiting from these forms of scraped content. And Google would argue that they are adding value by aggregating content, and therefore not breaking their own webmaster guidelines.
But it’s not that simple, and Google gives nothing for free…
I also got ratings for each film, film durations and genre, plus contact details for the cinema. But no link to the cinema website itself. Google was showing me the information I would find on the cinema website, without me actually having to go there.
Clicking on one of the links for a film, I then expected to be taken to the Cineworld website. But no. I now get a cast list, a synopsis of the film, reviews from different websites – and a list of alternative places to watch the film. Even clicking on the cinema links on this page does not take me to any of the cinemas.
http://www.labrow.com/1648
If I do a cinema search, and end up at the cinema website, the two most likely next actions for me will be:
- Buy tickets online from the cinema
- Browse the web, either by following links or thinking of where I might want to go next
But if I have received the info from Google directly, the most likely next action will be to make another search – from which Google stands to earn revenue.
Likewise with dictionary definition results. Try searching for what is “legerdemain” and you get this at the top of the page:
leg·er·de·main/ˌlejərdəˈmān/Noun
1. Skillful use of one’s hands when performing tricks.2. Deception; trickery. More »
There are three possible resulting user actions:
- Happy with the definitions and make another search
- Follow the “more” link
- Follow a link to a dictionary site
In the past, you ended up at a dictionary site, and from there you might have clicked on an ad or link. Now, it seems that the odds of that happening are less than third. Most people will be happy with just the definition.
It’s not that Google are profiting directly from scraped information, it is what the user does next. And Google know (for they have surely tested this) that stealing/scraping information is profitable for them.