Google Says Local Search Result That Buried Rivals Yelp, TripAdvisor Is Just a Bug

Executives from public Internet companies Yelp and TripAdvisor noted a disturbing trend: Google searches on smartphones for their businesses had suddenly buried their results beneath Google’s own. It looked like a flagrant reversal of Google’s stated position on search, and a move to edge out rivals. Nope, it’s a bug, claims Google.

“The issues cited were caused by a recent code push, which we’re working quickly to fix,” a Google spokeswoman said. In the meantime, the “issues” may be diverting tons of traffic from Google’s competitors. Some, particularly Google’s longtime rival Yelp, are not pleased. “Far from a glitch, this is a pattern of behavior by Google,” said its CEO Jeremy Stoppelman.