By Mikal E. Belicove|For Entrepreneur.com|August 16, 2012

Google currently accounts for over 66 percent of all online searches in the U.S. With this kind of market prominence, business owners should keep an eye on the slew of recent changes that Google has made to its search algorithm, especially one that may have serious implications for business search results.

Google is now taking into account the number of valid copyright removal notices it receives for a website. Sites receiving removal notices because they contain copyright-infringing content may now appear lower in search result pages, or worse, may be removed from Google’s index altogether.

Copyright removal notices are typically filed when a rights holder believes their content (photos, videos, illustrations, articles, audio files, etc.) has been used without their permission. So, a photo posted on your company’s blog that you lifted without permission from a Google Images search is likely to damage your search results.

The Google Transparency Report showcases all requests Google receives to remove copyright-infringing content from its search index. According to the report, the search giant has logged over 4.6 million such requests in just the last 30 days alone. That’s more than the total number of requests Google received in all of 2009.

While the majority of take down requests…

Continue Reading: What Google’s New Stance on Copyright Infringement Means to Your Business