If you are struggling to get to the first page of Google Search results, you must read what IronMonk Solutions just found out in its survey of 2000+ American respondents. An astonishingly high percentage of Americans feel that Google Page Ranking is a monetized game. 50.6% of respondents believe that it is most likely that websites would pay Google to rank on the first page during a search for a product or service.

The survey results appear to highlight an increasing distrust that the average American has towards big tech companies, which wasn’t the case a few years ago, largely in part to the numerous scandals that have come to light.

Page Ranking by Google: Money versus Quality versus Context/ Relevance

“These results are quite fascinating, and seem to show a shift in opinion that Americans have towards companies like Google,” stated Amine Rahal, CEO of Iron Monk.

The survey asked 2,000 Americans the following question:

How do you feel about the websites that rank on Google’s 1st page when you search for a product or service?

• It’s about money. All those sites pay Google.
• It’s legit. Google chooses the best sites
• It’s rigged. Google manually selects them

According to the findings of the survey, when asked their sentiment towards the website ranking for products and services on Google’s 1^st page during a search, 50.6% of respondents stated that they felt websites paid Google for the ranking. Interestingly, when demographic results were applied to the survey results targeting females, it rose to 52%, and soared to 59.4% with 45 and 54-years-olds.

What Millennials Think About Google’s Page Ranking Algorithms!

Millennials are mostly suspicious of how Google monetizes the first page ranking for brands and advertisers. Respondents in the age bracket of 18-24 think that Google’s first page ranking is actually rigged manually to suit certain brands and advertisers. Demographic filters show that men in this age cohort demonstrate the distrust on Google’s Page Ranking algorithms.

The survey results perhaps highlight the increasing displeasure that many Americans have towards monetization on the digital landscape.

The next popular response to the survey question, was that the ranking on Google’s first page was legitimate. Of the respondents to the survey, 29.8% indicated that they believed Google legitimately chooses the best websites for product and services searches. The percentage increased to 34.1% for 18 and 34-year-olds, and conversely decreased with older demographics. Considering Millennials were raised in the Digital Age, it would appear that this age bracket is generally more comfortable with and trusting of the digital environment.

The last survey response was that Google’s 1^st page ranking was rigged. 19.6% of respondents indicated that they believed Google manually selected the websites, which appear on the first page after a search for products or services. Interestingly, when demographic filters were applied to the survey results targeting only males, the percentage rose to 22.7%. It skyrocketed to 29.2% for males between 18 to 24-years-old.

As a tech company that leads the race in Search Intelligence and Content Discovery, Google continues to ensure that its machinery is fair, transparent and confirms to latest targeting and re-targeting compliance. Being a large data aggregating company and ruling the global Big Data scenario is not a cakewalk, but consumers trust in Google is not shaken.