Recode reported Tuesday that an error in Google's search code that was pushed to production in error caused Google competitors in the local space, such as Yelp and TripAdvisor to see their traffic plummet.
The reason? Google's own local box showed up way on top above the links to TripAdvisor or Yelp for searches that even explicitly requested TripAdvisor or Yelp in the query. Here is a screenshot from Recode:
The issue was resolved yesterday morning, and I've confirmed it works fine now. But as you can imagine, the folks at Yelp and TripAdvisor are not happy. Well, they are never happy with Google, but now they have more evidence to use in their legal battles with Google.
Google told Recode, "the issues cited were caused by a recent code push, which we’re working quickly to fix."
Do you think it was intentional or a real oversight?
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
