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    Home > News > Digital Marketing – Google’s Shopping Offerings

24^th Jan 2012 | Author: James Knight

Digital Marketing – Google’s Shopping Offerings

Eight years ago, when Google launched Froogle, it was clear that shopping and product search would be ‘big’ in the future. Over the years, Google has made various changes to the way it presents its shopping product, both in the offering itself, as well as in the links/information shown on SERPs.

In April 2010, Google incorporated customer reviews to enhance the shopping experience of users. According to various digital marketing surveys, more than 80 percent of online shoppers consult reviews/ratings before making a purchase. Google incorporated customer reviews in four places: Google product ads, Google shopping, the Google OneBox (with product photos) on search result pages, and through Rich Snippets used by companies in organic search.

In January 2011, Google changed the look of its SERPs to include left hand navigation. This was expected to deliver better value to online shoppers, as it featured prominent links to shopping, local search and product availability. Unlike before, Google began returning top digital marketing brands for product related searches. For example, it showed listings for Frigidaire, Sears and Amazon for the digital marketing keyword ‘refrigerator’. It also began including customer reviews/ratings in the Shopping OneBox.

Here, an important thing to note is that customers who clicked on an Amazon link in related searches, would be taken to the Google shopping page rather than to Amazon.com. This is even if Amazon had paid for placing a digital marketing ad. Google continued its digital marketing experiments with shopping in 2011, by acquiring Like.com, launching Boutiques.com, and making brand refinements in search results.

In July 2011, Google introduced Google+. Through this product, Google aimed to show the world that it was as good as Facebook, in the increasingly important social networking space. Google+ was not only a run at Facebook, it was also a reflection of the importance that Google places on social signals, and how they can help improve the relevancy of search results. While a ‘+1’ button is not as noticeable as a ‘Like’ button, it is still too early to gauge its value.

Many digital marketing researchers believe that Google can easily reach the level of omnipresence that Facebook currently has. Here, their main ladder would be: search. Google is a brand that has more customers engaging with it, than with any other brand, worldwide. After Google incorporates signals from +1’s in their search algorithm, it will be able to offer consumers more relevant digital marketing content.

Qudos Digital is a leading digital marketing agency, and can be contacted on 0845 388 5583 or info@qudosdigital.co.uk.

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