Do you think the ruling against Google which cost them a £2.1bn fine has AutoTrader quaking in their boots?

[jimreidvehicle 255]

Google, the monster that dictates everything digital in the world has been fined £2.1bn due to unfair practices.

Does this draw a comparison to what AutoTrader do? In this months Car Dealer magazine ( AT advert/feature)  , Marc Thornbourgh of Autotrader compares what they have done with 'Sponsored adverts first default' or what they call 'promoted' to how Google advertise their 'Sponsored Adverts' first. In fact I think with AT it's actually worse because of where they place the drop down box on the screen at the top right hand corner , the least likely place for a potential customer to look, at least Google tell you(even if it small writing) that's its a sponsored ad.

Your thoughts? Do you think that AT are ever so slightly kicking themselves with their comparisons to Google?

Jim

[jimreidvehicle 255]

20 minutes ago, tradex said:

It's different though isn't it.l? My understanding is that Google promote their own products.

Alphabet own Google and countless other companies, from internet to life/medical science. If take a look at what Alphabet own it's simply staggering.

And, Autotrader have always given me exemplary service, at a reasonable price, always looking after their paying customers first*

 

 

 

*I'm a car dealer so you know you can trust what I say

It is different in a lot of respects however it is still promoting favouritism of some vehicles & companies and profiting in the process to the detriment of other paying dealers, no?

The process in my opinion is flawed and is misleading customers by not drawing their attention to the fact that it is 'sponsored adverts' first and explaining what is a sponsored advert!

It would be much better for customers to see clearly that they have a choice of how to search ie distance, value, price , monthly payment etc first. I mean really out of 100 customers GIVEN THE CHOICE how many of them would select sponsored adverts first?

[trade vet 696]

European Law - Companies (like AT) must treat competitors fairly when people make on line searches.AT could be guilty.However,as Brexit has started,I doubt Euro anti.trust police will bother with AT....Anyway,AT are now in decline and probably will have to come up with better deals like Sky announced yesterday.

[whitestone679231 113]

I am still laughing at a previous post where it was mentioned that Autotrader would piss on you and convince you that it was raining.. I can only thank Autotrader for making            customers think that all cars on their site are too expensive and making said customers look on car gurus, e-bay etc instead ;-))