Google Responds To Accusations Of "Stealing" Publisher's Content - Search Engine Journal

SEO Trends 2024

If you’re looking to level up your SEO strategy and prepare for the year ahead, our SEO Trends 2024 ebook is the ultimate authoritative resource.

Download Your Copy

A publisher took to Twitter to share their reaction to what they felt was essentially a theft of their content for the benefit Google with what they felt was little to no benefit to the publisher.

Google’s response was surprising and probably not what publishers and SEOs expected.

The publisher showed a screenshot of a branded site:search for things to do in Denver with content directly from their site.

The publisher tweeted:

“Google is now stealing Travel Lemming’s own brand searches (even via site search).

They take our list — INCLUDING MY ORIGINAL PHOTOS — and present it in a rich result so people don’t click through.

I am literally IN that Red Rocks photo!…”

This wasn’t just happening to branded and site:searches, either.

Google was competing with the publisher with the publishers content for regular keyword searches like Mexico Travel Tips.

The publisher tweeted a screenshot of the SERPs with a huge search feature that uses all of the publisher’s content.

He tweeted:

“They are doing this across all travel searches – unbranded and branded alike.

Example: “Mexico Travel Tips” – they have an AI answer & also a rich result that basically just re-creates an entire blog post, including our stolen photos.

Again, I am IN that Mexico packing photo!”

Here’s the tweet:

They are doing this...

Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.