Google Moving to Pay-to-Play Model in the Fall...TAKE THE SURVEY

[iwiw60]

From the Editor

By Ina Steiner
EcommerceBytes.com
June 03, 2012

Google made a stunning announcement on Thursday when it said it would move Google Shopping to a pay-to-play model. Once the transition is completed this fall, individual merchants and online marketplaces such as eBay and Bonanza will no longer be able to send product feeds to Google and expect them to show up in search results. Instead, they will have to use Google Product Listing Ads, a paid-advertising program.

Is Google moving toward a marketplace model? Analysts from Wall Street firm Janney Montgomery Scott wrote, "As Google displays products from multiple retailers in a more visual display it begs the question when/if Google would introduce a "shopping cart" to potentially close the transactions which was denied by the head of GPS."

Many merchants, small sellers in particular, count on getting traffic from Google through the Google Shopping widget that appears in Google.com search results. And small online marketplaces count on the exposure their merchants' listings receive in Google to help them compete with giants eBay and Amazon.com. (I can tell you that they were caught off guard like everyone else.)

Google's Sameer Samat told me that moving to a purely commercial model would make Google Shopping results more reliable - it will ensure that when shoppers click on a product listing, the site will have the product in-stock and be available at the same price as advertised on Google Shopping.

eBay's Robert Chatwani said he was still evaluating the impact of Google's announcement and that eBay planned to fully participate in the new Google Shopping offering and would "continue to harness the power of Google's ad offerings on behalf of our sellers and merchants."

We're conducting a SURVEY to see how online sellers believe this change will impact them. It's fascinating to read the comments that have come in so far, such as this one from an online seller: "They may be shooting themselves in the foot. Fewer Google Shopping hits = fewer purchases by shoppers = less revenue fees for Google Checkout. Good bye Google search, hello Bing."

[JimmyCee]

I once used yahoo's search engine, long before google was an idea.
Last night I tried yahoo search for some of my products we list on ebid and our web site.
Lo and behold one of our items was listed 2nd on their search page.
My opinion is google has become such a giant that in time it will be devoured by smaller programs.
Just an opinion, and as Bill say's....."what say you"

[JaBek1]

I once used yahoo's search engine, long before google was an idea.
Last night I tried yahoo search for some of my products we list on ebid and our web site.
Lo and behold one of our items was listed 2nd on their search page.
My opinion is google has become such a giant that in time it will be devoured by smaller programs.
Just an opinion, and as Bill say's....."what say you"

You have a valid point. Just like the dinosaurs, that as companies grow large natural selection comes up with predators feed off of them. How many sites have sprung up to attack the bays' once seeming monopoly of the online auction market? The problem with being the big kid on the block is that there is always someone out there that wants a piece of you in order to make a name for themselves.

[minervabird]

I have always been pleased that my items listed on eBid.net have always shown up on Google shopping within a couple of hours, and on regular Google search as well. Ebid.net gave us the last round of information necessary to apply for an exemption for a seller ID or store ID that sells vintage or antique items that never had or never will have a UPC code or such number. I was very pleased with the results, and thank this venue for looking out for its sellers of the OLD UNIQUE AND UNUSUAL.

I am concerned as to whether the new round of google changes will send my listings to oblivion. Perhaps once people realize Google results only portray those that PAID FOR THEM, other search engines will become more widely used.

[darklisruthven]

will I use it when it becomes a paid for feature? I voted no.

[suesjools]

Thanks for the heads up, will take the survey.

I agree with the poster who said: "They may be shooting themselves in the foot. Fewer Google Shopping hits = fewer purchases by shoppers = less revenue fees for Google Checkout. Good bye Google search, hello Bing."

Just my 2 cents...

Best wishes for many sales to all,