Google to Transition from Google Product Search to Google Shopping – What This Means for Retailers

On May 31, Google announced that the free ride on Google Product Search would soon be over. Over the course of Summer 2012, they will be rolling out small changes to Google Product Search, and the way products are displayed in SERPs to eventually complete the transition to Google Shopping through the Fall.

How it Works

Google Shopping will essentially be an amalgamation of current Google Product Listings and Google Product Search results, and will appear in SERPs similar to the way Google Product Listings presently do. The items that show up just above or to the side of organic listings will come from only from online merchants who pay to be there; campaigns will be set up through AdWords, however rather than bidding on specific keywords, eretailers will instead bid on the maximum cost per click or action they are willing to incur.  In addition, eretailers who pay to show up in Google Shopping results can also enlist in the Google Trusted Websites program with which they will be able to have badges shown in their Google Shopping results indicating their status. However, payment alone is not the key to success with Google Shopping.

Google asserts that the transition aims to provide a better user experience. As such, their hope is that merchants who choose to pay for their inclusion into Google Shopping results will understand that this means they need to feature quality content, and up-to-date content and pricing to prove that their listing should be shown. With only limited space in the proposed Google Shopping area in SERPs, just because a retailer pays, doesn’t mean their ad will show up – the information must be relevant

What it Does

The new Google Shopping results will aim to make it easier to access more content in one space, building on the previous Search Plus Your World changes to Google Search. The tool will be able to identify broad terms and present sub-categories, should they be necessary, as well as additional filters to further narrow results.  Product listings will also feature Buying Guides in a pop-up tab, providing information for high-level product research on features and benefits without having to leave the Google Shopping arena.

What It Means for Online Retailers

As mentioned above, just because a retailer chooses to pay for inclusion into Google Shopping listings, it doesn’t mean they are guaranteed to be displayed. Also worth mentioning is this payment has no effect on organic search listings – rank won’t decrease by not paying, but it won’t increase with payment either. Google has increasingly been emphasizing the importance of quality content and its disapproval of spamming, notably with the Google Penguin algorithm. This means not only will retailers need to incur the extra cost for inclusion, but they will also need to step up their efforts in regards to producing content that will be useful to searchers.  An argument by Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Land contends that Google Shopping is counter-productive with its additional emphasis in content because many retailers may be willing to make the transition to Google Shopping without ever having that money help them. With content being a blatant necessity for Google rank anyway, it may make sense to bypass the financial investment and focus whole-heartedly on SEO alone.

Alternatively, those who are accustomed to the current Google Product Search and Google Product Listing models may not be ready to let go of the type of SERP exposure they yield from these services, and will be entirely willing to pay. Google has taken this into account by stating on their blog incentives to encourage retailers to enlist in Google Shopping:

•  Retailers currently utilizing Google Product Listing ads, and those who enlist in them prior to August 15 will be granted a monthly 10% credit on their total spend until year end.

• Retailers who currently upload products through the Merchant Centre to Google Product Search will receive a $100 credit toward setting up an AdWords account to begin their Google Shopping initiatives, needing only fill out a form with Google prior to August 15.

Google Shopping will be in full effect through Fall 2012, officially phasing out Google Product Search, merging Google Product Listing, and taking on the Google Shopping name.