Glen Allsopp analyzed 250,000 English-language search results to find out whether large media companies outrank independent sites.
In 86.1% of cases, the site ranking #1 belonged to a media brand. Independent sites held only 13.9% of top spots.
Out of the 5,000 largest sites, 1,371 were independent (54.1%), and 1,166 belonged to media outlets (45.9%). However, independent sites secured only 13.9% of first-place rankings. Out of the top 500 sites, 49 were independent, while 287 belonged to media outlets.
Informational queries were studied
The author focused on informational keywords where content sites, rather than brand or e-commerce search engines, are most likely to rank. This yielded 326,000 keywords, which he filtered down to 250,000. They included «WHERE», «HOW», «BEST», «Recommended», etc., across many niches, excluding brand terms.
Media brands have more content
A logical reason for media brand dominance is content volume. The top 20 sites average 549,000 pages, while leading independent sites average 66,000 pages. A larger amount of content allows ranking for more keywords.
Media outlets dominate large niches
Media companies focus on large niches like beauty, travel, and sports. As a result, many specific niches remain open where independent sites can thrive. About 1.7% of search results belong to independent sites ranking without competing media brands.
Original article long read.
Even in SEO, there is a clear trend toward consolidation favoring large companies.