One of these, “free credit report”, is additionally full of scams. Here’s the FTC on the issue.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
This week, during the US v. Google antitrust trial, we got a rare glimpse at a closely guarded secret: which search terms make the most money.
By my count, that’s three iPhone-related queries, which makes sense, given that the iPhone 8 had just launched and there were a lot of retailers, carriers, and accessory makers who might want to bid to be at the top of search results.
There are five insurance-related queries on the list, which has always been a competitive and lucrative space — I just Googled “auto insurance” and got four ads before a single regular result.
Most people don’t switch car insurance very often, so it’s worth a lot to Allstate or State Farm to get your first click when you search.
The sweet spot for Google, it appears, is right in the middle: a popular search query that overlaps with a competitive, expensive industry.
Again, there’s only so much to extrapolate from one week’s list, especially given that the other side of the table — how much money each query brought in — is still redacted in the public exhibit.
The original article contains 706 words, the summary contains 185 words. Saved 74%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
If everyone on the fediverse goes to google.com right now and searches for “best new iphone car insurance shopping aarp member bad credit” maybe we can save the economy.
