5 December 2012

Googlebase (formerly froogle) Has Switched to
Product Ad Listings, or Google Shopping

Google has changed the playing field once again. Merchants who previously used googlebase to get their products listed have noticed a marked drop in their rank on the search engine result pages since the October 2012 switch.

Google's Product Search has been replaced with Product Ad Listings, or Google Shopping, a CSE (Comparison Shopping Engine). A product's ranking is now determined by relevancy and what the merchant is bidding for each cost per click (CPC).

Google is presenting this as a better way to produce richer product information without requiring keywords or ad text. Previously, there were no checks in place for merchants uploading to googlebase with outdated information and obsolete inventory. Shoppers would click on links only to find the product was not available, or priced differently.

Like it or not, this is the wave of the future. Savvy online shoppers do comparison shopping. If you want to be included in CSEs, you will have to pay.

Google does offer merchants the option of a low .01 bid on all products and categories. This low amount allows merchants to get their products into the database and have a chance of showing up on the search result pages. The rank may be lower, but at least you have a chance of your products appearing. Google also offers the ability to group your products and allow a higher bid to your most popular or most profitable products.

CDM offers complete Data Feed Management Services for VP-ASP storefronts. We will customize your shop to produce a daily feed, which can be automatically submitted to several channels.