Google ad costs, not its alleged monopoly, irks businesses

NEW YORK: When asked about Google, Bryan Clayton voices a familiar lament among small business owners.

“You keep getting squeezed further and further down the search results page,” says Clayton, CEO of GreenPal, a company that operates an app to help homeowners find lawn care. “As a startup, you don’t have a million-dollar advertising budget.”

The Justice Department sued Google on Oct. 20 for anticompetitive behavior, saying the company’s dominance in online search and advertising harms rivals and consumers.