From page 189: In addition to placing its vertical offerings at the top of the search results page, Google has also actively demoted certain rivals through imposing algorithmic penalties. For example, in 2007 and in 2011, Google launched an algorithm that demoted sites that Google considered “low quality.” 1137 Among the websites especially hit were comparison shopping providers, which enable users to compare product offers from multiple merchant websites.1138 In a submission to the Subcommittee, one publisher stated that Google’s algorithmic penalty caused search leads and revenues to its website to fall by 85%.1139 Kelkoo, previously a leading comparison shopping site, explained that Google’s demotion set off a “cyclic trend” whereby a reduction in traffic leads to fewer consumers, which leads to fewer listings and less revenue, which leads to reduced investment—which, in turn, contributes to a further decline in traffic, a “network effect in reverse.”
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