What is the main conflict in The Search by John Battelle?

Searching the Web is a commonplace activity for those who use the Web. Without the ability to search, the Web would likely be a smaller and less useful place. As Internet businesses grow, the competition to have high rankings in search engines becomes a consulting business in its own right, where Web pages are optimized with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques. This is all driven by the desire to increase a Web site's traffic, which in the Internet business world translates directly into more sales.