Google change allows company statements to top news searches

A little-noticed change in the way Google selects search results has allowed company statements to top the list of news links shown when users search for information on businesses. The measure may cost news publishers web traffic and risks misleading users, analysts said. A Google spokeswoman said that in September the search giant widened the number of sources from which it drew the entries that appear in the "in the news" section of its search results page. Previously, only links to stories on approved news sites such as those of newspapers and TV stations appeared in this section of the main search page.

"The goal of search is to get users the right answer at any one time as quickly as possible -- that may mean returning an article from an established publisher or from a smaller niche publisher or indeed it might be a press release," the Google spokeswoman said. She added Google, which did not announce the September change, does not get paid for including press releases on the lists.