Google boosts 'nicer' brands with algorithm changes

Brands with poor online customer relations are to be penalised by Google following changes to its search engine.

The company has amended its algorithm to expose hundreds of advertisers it believes deliver a bad user experience. These will consequently appear lower in search results, which, according to Google, will benefit online consumers.

Google said it made the change in response to a US newspaper article that claimed online retailer DecorMyEyes deliberately abused customers so that the complaints and negative reviews generated boosted its prominence in results.

It said that the possibility of introducing user reviews and ratings alongside search results is 'still on the table'.