Google blames bug for search results pushing down Yelp and TripAdivsor

Google has claimed that a search rankings change that saw rivals TripAdvisor and Yelp end up far down the search results was due to a bug, which it was working to fix.

Meanwhile, executives from the two companies complained on Twitter that a search for locations prioritised Google's own local search – even when the query clearly mentioned a rival company.

According to Jeremy Stoppelman, the co-founder and CEO of Yelp, when a user searched for ''yelp Ozumo'' (the name of a Japanese restaurant in San Francisco) on a mobile device, Google now pushed its own results, which included a map to the restaurant and user reviews, to the top.

A similar search for ''tripadvisor hilton'' put Google's own maps, replete with the option to see how much each branch of the hotel chain cost, well above any link to TripAdvisor itself.

Though the change might be taken as an aggressive move to cut rivals, Google said that was not the case. Reports quoting Google spokeswoman said, ''The issues cited were caused by a recent code push, which we're working quickly to fix.''

According to the company, a third of Google searches for ''Yelp'' and another term – ie, a hotel or place – were directed away, the case was the same with TripAdvisor which saw almost half of its traffic ''misdirected'' away.

According to commentators, even as Google continued to push its mobile and desktop services to feature a better native experience, it could be expected that other companies who might have benefitted greatly from search traffic would begin to see a drop.

According to commentators, there was no substantial evidence to hold the company responsible for allegedly tweaking search results in its favour.

They add, unless Yelp decided to take Google to court once again, it had to be accepted that it could be a programming error or a bug that would be rectified soon.