Should Webmasters Be Responsible For Google's Snippets?

Jun 3, 2009 - 8:20 am 1 by
Filed Under Google

Yesterday, I wrote at Search Engine Land about a report from The Register about how a Dutch company was sued over the snippet Google choose for a certain web page of theirs. Let me quickly explain what happened.

A web page on Miljoenhuizen.nl showed up in Google for the search phrase [Zwartepoorte] and [bankrupt]. When you read the snippet under the Miljoenhuizen.nl listing in Google, it basically read that Zwartepoorte was bankrupt. The issue is, Zwartepoorte was not bankrupt. So Zwartepoorte sued Miljoenhuizen.nl to make Google remove the snippet. The thing is, Miljoenhuizen.nl did not say Zwartepoorte was bankrupt, Google took several words on a page and mixed them together to completely make that up.

A Dutch court ordered Miljoenhuizen.nl to change the page, so Google's snippet would change. Miljoenhuizen.nl removed the page and the issue is now resolved.

Personally, I think it is crazy for a court to make such a request. But what do I know? I really want to see how you guys feel about this.

Should webmasters be responsible for what Google shows in their snippets about our web pages? Take our anonymous poll:

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
- YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: April 21, 2025

Apr 21, 2025 - 10:00 am
Google

Google Drops Event Rich Results Carousel On Desktop Search: Bug?

Apr 21, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google

Google Live Demo Of Android AR Glasses

Apr 21, 2025 - 7:41 am
Search News

IAB/PWC: U.S Search Ad Revenue Grew 15.9% With $102.9 Billion In 2024

Apr 21, 2025 - 7:31 am
Bing SEO

Bing Webmaster Tools Working To Streamline Email Notifications

Apr 21, 2025 - 7:21 am
Bing Search

Microsoft Launches Copilot Merchant Program

Apr 21, 2025 - 7:11 am
Previous Story: Google AdSense To Host Webinar On Channels/Advanced Reporting