Huffington Post:
Yelp, which has long dominated Google search results, has a new competitor that it's taking very seriously: Google itself.
The prime territory at the top of Google search results that Yelp could once lay claim to is now frequently taken over by Google's own listings. A search for "Los Angeles restaurants" turns up a link to Yelp -- but it's buried halfway down the page below Google Places, a feature that showcases business listings together with reviews, maps and prices.
As federal authorities ratchet up their scrutiny of Google’s practices, accusing the company of antitrust violations, at the center of the action is the company's use of its dominant position as a search engine to steer users to Google-owned sites. A growing group of critics and competitors assert that Google now uses search to bring traffic to its new sites in travel, shopping and dining that are playing a significant role in Google’s overall business.
“Google is not just competing in these verticals, but cheating. They are manipulating the search results,” said Gary Reback, a Silicon Valley antitrust lawyer who was an advocate for the antitrust suit against Microsoft in the 1990s and is now representing several companies, including ShopCity and Foundem, that claim to be affected by Google’s policies.
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