The always brilliant Ben Edelman has a new scathing study on Google and its self-promotional ways of late and comes to this conclusion:

Google Tying Google Plus and Many More: “My takeaway: Google’s tying tactics should not be permitted. Google’s dominant position in search requires that the company hold itself to a higher level of conduct, including avoiding tying its other products to its dominant search service. Google has repeatedly crossed the line, and antitrust enforcement action is required to put a stop to these practices.”

If Ben is right (and I think he is), this will have major implications for affiliate marketing and the search industry beyond just Google’s marketshare and experience. This potential case could literally re-write much of what affiliate managers do in terms of program promotions in regards to search traffic.

Head over to Ben’s site to read the entire detailed argument. I’m excited to hear Ben’s talk at the upcoming Affiliate Management Days where we’ll both be speaking in a couple of months.