Google recently rolled out an update for its web search algorithm that makes it harder for people to find pirated media through torrent sites like Pirate Bay and Isohunt. This new software push comes soon after News Corp. chief executive Robert Thomson issued a letter blasting the search giant, referring to it as a “platform for piracy” and requesting that the EU enforce stricter policies against the company.
Earlier this month, Google outlined its new efforts to fight piracy, sharing how it would downrank sites with high levels of DMCA notices. Mountain View’s new update appears to take things to another level, with some sites seeing a decrease in SEO visibility of up to 98 percent, according to a analysis by Searchmetrics. Google’s new anti-piracy tool has a larger impact on sites that use keywords like: “download free movies”, “watch [movie name] online free”, “online free movies”, “movies download”, “watch [movie name]”, “where can I watch [movie name] online”
Sites like free-tv-video-online.me, movie4k.to and Kickass.to were hit the hardest by this new update and have taken a huge dip in search visibility.
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