Google has recently made significant announcements regarding its search result display in the European Union. In response to continuous complaints about non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the company is set to conduct a "short test" of plain "blue link" style search results for hotel queries in three EU markets - Belgium, Estonia, and Germany. This move comes as part of the EU's efforts to ensure market contestability and enforce regulations.

Google's Search Changes and the EU's DMA - A Battle for Fairness

Impact on the Travel Vertical

Travel comparison sites have been vocal about Google's alleged attempts to circumvent its obligations. Google, on the other hand, claims that these search changes have penalized other players in the travel ecosystem. A significant drop of around a third (30%) in "direct booking clicks" to airlines, hotel operators, and small retailers has been observed. This indicates a potential shift in user behavior and a challenge for the travel industry.The DMA aims to prevent gatekeepers from abusing their market power. It will be interesting to see how the European Commission views Google's tactics in response to the DMA. The latest changes not only affect the travel vertical but also impact product searches and restaurants. Google believes that the proposed changes strike a balance between compliance and providing useful technology to European users.

Rival Display Units

Google's blog post announces changes in search result display, including expanded and equally formatted units for product searches, restaurants, flights, and hotels. Users will now have the choice between results that take them to Google rivals or directly to supplier or retailer websites. However, the blog post does not provide visual examples, leaving much to be determined.In addition, Google will introduce new ad units for comparison sites, but the details remain unknown. Travel aggregators have been critical of Google's initial DMA response, accusing the company of using various tactics to compete unfairly. Google argues that it is being forced to degrade the search experience to comply with the DMA.

Visual Rich Features and Their Impact

Google's visually rich feature for hotel search queries shows a map view of hotels with pricing info and links to featured hotel websites. This feature aims to drive search traffic directly to suppliers, potentially leaving comparison sites at a disadvantage. While some stakeholders are satisfied with these changes, others demand more, such as a complete ban on anything more sophisticated than a simple blue link.Google is reluctant to run the "blue link" test, claiming that it is being forced to do so by rivals. The test will remove some of the debated features and return to a more traditional "ten blue links" format. It is unclear how long the test will last, and once it ends, hotel search results will return to "normal" in this ever-changing context.Ultimately, it is up to the European Commission's DMA enforcers to determine what fair compliance looks like. Google is under pressure not only over this aspect of DMA compliance but also from privacy-focused search rival DuckDuckGo, which has urged the Commission to widen its investigation.We reached out to the Commission for a response, and EU spokeswoman Lea Zuber said, "All we can say is that we're currently assessing Google's compliance proposals."