Why Google may be shepherding clients to the big firms

Google called the series of changes Panda, but reaction on global chat rooms has been less cuddly. It has been introducing the algorithm changes, which aim to strip out poor quality, low value sites from search results, in the UK since April. Like a giant digital schoolteacher, Google is trying to discourage the cheats - those sites which list search terms just to fool the spiders. However, by tinkering with Google's original, organic search-driven ranking process, the outcome, whether intended or not, seems to be that the big brands emerge as the winners. Google declined to com...