Google product search will no longer be free for retailers
Internet giant Google has announced major changes in its shopping business, which will see retailers and advertisers having to pay for appearing on product search results.
According to the new strategy, product search results on Google in the US will be very much influenced by how much retailers and advertisers pay.
Earlier product search results would appear mainly on the basis of their relevance and the service was free for retailers as well as advertisers.
"We are starting to transition Google Product Search in the US to a purely commercial model. This will give merchants greater control over where their products appear on Google Shopping," said Sameer Samat, vice president of product management at Google Shopping.
Samat said that the world's most popular Internet search engine has also decided to rename its service Google Shopping from the current Google Product Search.
The changes are likely to take effect from the fall.
The Internet major has been in the product listing and search business for about a decade now, providing access to shoppers to listed products for which merchants were not charged.
"Today, that model goes away. It's a very big deal," said Eric Best, CEO of Mercent.
Mercent helps retailers sell through Google and other e-commerce websites such as Amazon.com and eBay.
Best said the changes in the strategy would ultimately help Google get more revenue and profit from its retail advertisers, which account for up to 40 per cent of Google's advertising base.
Reuters citing ChannelAdvisor, an e-commerce catalyst firm, said Google Product Search drives about $650 million in annual sales in the US and about $1.3 billion globally.
"That's the free sales that are going to disappear unless they decide to pay," Scot Wingo, CEO of ChannelAdvisor, was quoted by Reuters as saying.
But under Google's new system, retailers may have to spend an extra $130 million a year in the US and $270 million globally, to fill that sales hole, he estimated.
Soruce: San Francisco News.Net
- 426 reads
