A note on Google search results

From time to time we receive requests from people who would like to see a given website removed from our search results. This goes to the very core of how we view web search, so we wanted to shed more light on how we approach requests of this nature.

First, there is a subtle but very important distinction between Google’s search results and the web itself. When you type a query into Google, you are not searching the web directly, but rather our copy of the web, also called an ‘index’. To help people find whatever they may be looking for, we work very hard to ensure that our index is a comprehensive and accurate reflection of the world’s online information.

The comprehensiveness of our search index is also fundamental to our belief that the Internet provides an incredible opportunity to express ideas, share information, and communicate openly. While not every view expressed online is palatable to all of us, we believe that the Internet should remain an open platform for a diversity of opinions, whether we agree with them or not.

That said, we will remove pages from our results if we believe the page (or its site) violates our Webmaster Guidelines. This most often happens when a website uses unfair methods to try to appear higher in the search rankings, such as cloaking text so it can be seen by search engines but not by users, or setting up pages/links with the sole purpose of fooling search engines and manipulating search engine results. When this happens, a webmaster can fix the site to meet our guidelines and then ask for re-inclusion. We will also remove a site from our search results at the request of that site’s webmaster.

In addition, we will remove individual search results if we believe we are required to do so by applicable law--one well-known example is Germany, where Nazi content is illegal. We are transparent about this process and provide notice in our search results when we have removed URLs in response to a legal request. In their place is a link to chillingeffects.org, which catalogues these removals as well as the legal ground for the removal, e.g. a court decision or a decision by a governmental authority. Anyone can request this type of removal by contacting us. Note that we receive many of these requests -- some part of valid legal process, some not -- so we do take time to evaluate each request.

In all of these cases, it’s important to remember that removing a result from Google Search is not the same as deleting that site. Google is not, and should not become, an arbiter of what does or does not appear on the web, which is why we strive to protect the integrity of our search results. If search results were altered regularly according to individual preferences, whether they are those of Google or of the general public, there would be a risk that different voices on the web, from all walks of life, could be silenced.

Posted by Annie Baxter, Google corporate communications