In what can only be described as an unusual turn of events, Google has demoted its Chrome web browser in search results obtained by its own search engine.
The surprise penalty comes after a Google ad campaign to promote the browser was found to be in violation of the search giant's paid links guidelines. The campaign, which entailed sponsored blog posts, included hyperlinks to the Chrome download page that could have helped increase the site's PageRank.
In response, Google's webspam team has "taken manual action to demote www.google.com/chrome for at least 60 days," with the company adding that "someone on the Chrome side can submit a reconsideration request documenting their clean-up just like any other company would" after the 60-day period is up.
The effects of the penalty are already being reflected in Google's search results. Chrome appeared as the second result for users searching for the term "browser" only yesterday, but a link to the browser now languishes somewhere on the seventh page.
In its defence, Google states that it found only one sponsored post that linked to www.google.com/chrome in a way that flowed PageRank, and the blame appears to be attributed to Essence Digital, a media-buying firm handling the campaign.
In a statement, Essence Digital insisted that "Google were subjected to this activity through media that encouraged bloggers to create what appeared to be paid posts, were often of poor quality and out of line with Google standards. We apologize to Google who clearly didn’t authorize this."
Despite a newly-lowered PageRank, Google's Chrome Browser continues to grow in popularity and now ranks as the world's second most popular browser, behind Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
