How much are you using Google Shopping’s Paid Service? Not much I bet, especially because it is only just being rolled out in the UK and free Google Shopping listings being gradually phased out over the next few months. This infographic might help you get on the way. (more…)
State of Search
Posts About ‘Google Shopping’
Paid Google Shopping – Another Step Towards Google’s Master Plan
Whether you call it Google Products, Google Shopping or Froogle (yeh I forgot they called it that before, too) things are about to change in a BIG way, again! Google has always been seen as a level playing field where small and huge companies alike could compete on equal terms. Google Products (that’s what I’ve always called it) was a big part of creating this level playing field and was a fantastic free service that allowed retailers of all sizes to display their products in the organic SERPs. It was another reason that we all fell in love with Google – they helped David fight Goliath. It didn’t matter that you didn’t have a ‘Nike’ sized search budget because results were driven on the basis of relevance and quality – things we could all control with good content and a solid search strategy. In fact, Google’s early “shopping” system allowed retailers to sell their products online even if they didn’t have a website. It was an all-inclusive service that was available to everybody, at zero cost. It was perfect, it was progressive and despite being quite difficult to use, retailers loved it. (more…)
A Sign of Things to Come
I think for many people that have been doing this business for a while, but last week marked a milestone we have expected Google to do at any minute – and to be honest I can truthfully say its come a lot later than I thought it would. In a symbolic move Google announced that Google Product Search (ex Froogle) is getting a brand new name – that of Google Shopping. However that is not the big news – Google Shopping comes with a twist – and a significant change in direction for Google – with Google Shopping now following the framework of other recent Google products such as Google Compare by moving to a paid model. Yes – moving forward Google Shopping is being moved towards a paid inclusion model – which for me suggests the writing is on the wall for a number of previously ‘safe haven’ search opportunities towards a model more in line with Google’s new ‘commercially focussed’ mindset – and even more away from the mantra and philosophy of the Google that burst onto the scene over a decade ago. (more…)
Google to change product search to paid Google Shopping system
Yesterday Google announced it will change its Product Search to a new Google Shopping system, which will require merchants to pay for inclusion.
Since its launch as Froogle, later named Merchant Center, ecommerce sites could see their products included in Google’s Product Search for free. As the database of products and sellers fueled Google’s universal shopping results, this proved to be a very effective way to gain traffic and conversions from Google’s search engine users.
SEO for Ecommerce
On November 24th I gave a talk on SEO for Ecommerce at the annual SAScon mini-conference. Below I will expand on some of the points I made during that talk.
Focus on the money
While for many sites a solid long-tail SEO strategy is important, budgets are often tight and we need to make decisions about where to spend our efforts. For ecommerce sites this is a relatively straightforward decision: focus on the keywords that bring in the biggest rewards.
So you need to identify your top earning keywords and make sure your on-page optimisation and linkbuilding efforts are directed there, aiming for top rankings and a maximum share of search volume. (more…)
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