Green Signals for Google?

Green Searching

Could we see a company’s green credentials become a search ranking factor in the future?

Earlier this month, Google announced plans to help consumers make greener decisions, starting with travel/flights and electronic appliances. For travel, Google has created a dedicated team with the express intent of helping consumers find greener travel ideas,

… we’ve created a new team of engineers, designers and researchers focused solely on travel sustainability. Already, this team is working to highlight sustainable options within our travel tools that people use every day. 

https://blog.google/products/travel/building-sustainable-future-travel/

An update to Google’s flight search now includes carbon emission statistics per seat, offering the consumer the ability to see the different emissions and choose a more eco friendly provider.

Google Green Signals for Travel
We can also see example of ‘green flags’ on Google Finance results.

These ‘flags’ are examples of how Google can shape consumer consideration for different types of results by empowering them with more information.

As consumers start to consider sustainability and the environment as shopping factors, could we see Google offer ranking incentives to green companies? From an SEO perspective, could this mean an algorithm change in favour of companies or websites that can demonstrate their green credentials? Could B-Corps rank higher than companies without credentials?

Our thoughts may just be speculation at this point, but they are worth considering. As an SEO Consultancy, it is our job to look over the horizon at the changes coming from Google and providing clients with the knowledge they need to stay ahead of the pack and at the top of the results.

What do you think? Drop us a line if you have any thoughts.