Google Search in Europe: how the DMA changes searches

Google searches in Europe are visibly changing in several areas. For certain topics, users may see fewer direct Google interfaces, more aggregator pages and more extra clicks among the familiar results. This may be most noticeable when searching for accommodation, flights, restaurants or products, because instead of the more direct route users were used to, intermediary or comparison sites may more often come to the fore.

Behind this is the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, or DMA. According to the European Commission’s statement, the body fined Google €460 million because, in its view, the company breached the DMA rules on self-preferencing. The essence of the decision is that very large platforms should not be able to automatically favour their own services in search results.

What is changing for users in practice?

According to Google’s own statement, it has introduced more than 20 changes to Search in Europe in order to comply with the DMA. These do not amount to a single new feature, but rather several interface and ranking changes that together reshape the results page.

For everyday users, this may mainly be felt as a longer path to a decision for certain searches. When looking for accommodation, a flight or a local service, pages that aggregate multiple providers may appear more often, making the route to a direct provider page less straightforward.

Why did the EU intervene in how search works?

The aim of the DMA is to ensure that large technology platforms classified as gatekeepers under the regulation cannot use their market power to favour their own services. In the European Commission’s view, if a search engine highlights its own services over other players, it can distort competition.

This approach is based on the idea that a search results page is a crucial entry point for many businesses. If a platform’s own solutions receive preferential treatment on that surface, it affects not only the visibility of rival providers but also the way the market as a whole functions.

Why is the current overhaul disputed?

The aim of the regulation and its practical impact do not necessarily align. According to Google’s statement, the changes have worsened the user experience, and after earlier waves of changes, direct free booking clicks for hotels and airlines fell by as much as 30 per cent.

According to the official position of HOTREC, there is also a risk that the visibility of direct providers will decline while the role of large online intermediaries grows stronger. In other words, in practice it is not certain that smaller hotels, restaurants or other providers will benefit most, but rather the large players that are already strong in the comparison and aggregator model.

What does this mean for travel and local searches?

Travel searches are especially sensitive because users are often in a fast, direct decision-making situation. If someone is searching for a hotel, flight or restaurant, they typically do not want a long research process, but to see prices, availability and booking options as quickly as possible.

According to Quartz’s report, the European changes may add extra steps to the process for many searches, which can increase user friction. This does not necessarily mean that less information is available, but rather that more intermediate pages and more comparisons may lead to the same decision.

The impact could also be significant in e-commerce

The change does not affect only travel. According to Search Engine Roundtable’s report, Google has scaled back the display of free product listings in the European Economic Area, and the Popular Products blocks have also been phased out. The same industry report says that the decline in such free Shopping appearances in organic results may have been as much as 90–100 per cent.

This could be a particularly important development for smaller online shops. For many merchants, these surfaces were valuable because they provided visibility without paid advertising. If these appearances are reduced, traffic may more easily be channelled towards large marketplaces, price comparison sites or paid campaigns.

What will the everyday search user notice?

From a user perspective, the change may not necessarily appear as “Google has become worse”, but rather as a less direct route to the answer. There may be more intermediate clicks, and users may more often end up on a surface that does not lead directly to the selected provider.

In Google’s own view, the European changes driven by the DMA have significantly worsened the search experience. This is emphasised in the company’s communications, but it is important to add that this is Google’s assessment, not the result of an independent, unified European quality measurement.

Why does this matter for businesses and companies that rely on search?

In recent years, many businesses have built on the fact that Google offered more and more directly clickable surfaces for certain searches. If these positions are rearranged, this is not merely a technical issue but also a change in business model: the same attention must also be fought for through other channels.

This may be particularly important in hospitality, travel and e-commerce. In these sectors, traffic coming from search is often directly linked to bookings, enquiries or purchases, so even a few interface changes can materially reshape the path of traffic.

What adaptation might online businesses make?

One of the most obvious directions is to broaden traffic sources. Alongside direct search traffic, brand building, increasing the share of returning customers, newsletters, social presence and any channel that does not depend exclusively on a single results surface may become more valuable.

For players in travel and hospitality, it may also be important to manage aggregator sites more consciously. If these platforms gain more visibility, it is not enough from a business point of view to regard them only as competitors: in many cases they also become sales channels, while the role of a company’s own website and brand must also be strengthened.

In e-commerce, well-structured product data, a clear offer and stronger branded searches may become especially more valuable. If free product appearances are narrowing, it may become more important for the customer to search for a specific shop or brand from the outset, rather than simply entering a general product term.

The current situation is particularly interesting because it simultaneously concerns competition law, user experience and digital business strategy. The European Commission expects the regulation to reduce platform power, while Google and several industry players argue that the practical result may instead favour large intermediary sites.

Over the longer term, it will become clearer only later which effect proves stronger. What is already noticeable, however, is that search in Europe no longer offers exactly the same experience as before in every respect, and this change may reshape many things, from everyday search habits to businesses’ online strategies.

Whether viewed from the user side or the business side, one thing is certain to become more important: understanding what intermediate steps a visitor from search goes through before reaching a final decision, and with whom the customer relationship ultimately remains.