Trust Us? Google on Transparency and Labeling Advertisements Clearly (IMAGE)

Over the last few days, we’ve been taking a look at Google’s operating principles.

Google is quick to say that it labels its advertisements clearly but what about its sponsored products, like Maps, Places and Shopping.

These results aren’t organic; in fact they’re hard-coded to appear at the top of the page but without any indication that these results are sponsored Google links or ads.

So how transparent is Google?

Can Google be trusted on issues like transparency? Decide for yourself.