26 September 2006 | Author: David Fothergill

Product Search shake-up in the pipeline at Google

It is widely reported that Google is set to change the way it includes the Froogle price-comparison service in its general search.

Until recently Froogle was privileged enough to be given a link above the main search box on the Google home page, but was then replaced by the 'Video' search link and could only be accessed through an expandable 'More' link. In June Google also changed the process by which retailers could submit product details to Froogle by only allowing this to be done through the Google Base system, completely removing the dedicated Froogle submission service.

A Google official speaking at the Professional eBay Sellers Alliance (PESA) Summit in the US last week explained that these changes to the Froogle system were in preparation for a change in the way that Google will present product details. Rather than have a dedicated page for this purpose, it would appear that Google will begin integrating product comparisons into the main search results page.

IDG reported the news from a note published on Friday by Bear Stearns & Co analysts:

"A Google official shared the news with attendees at the Professional eBay Sellers Alliance (PESA) Summit in San Francisco this week, according to people at the conference.

"When people search for products on Google.com, the system will present them with another search box so that they can refine their query. After people refine their query, Google takes them to a second page populated with product results from the Google Base listings service, wrote the analysts who attended the Google official's presentation."

The Analysts also noted that:

"Ranking will be determined by the attributes that the seller listed for the product as well as relevancy."

It was reported that the Google official stated that most product searches were performed through Google.com, which would suggest that the motivation for making these changes is to improve the experience for a larger number of users looking to purchase products online.

This proposed format sounds very similar to the way Google integrates Google Base feeds into real estate searches in the US. Google automatically recognizes when a search is made related to the real estate vertical and offers a box which allows you to refine the search, before taking you to a page showing relevant details accompanied by a Google Map.















These latest reports suggest that 'Vertical Search' may become more and more integrated within Google's homepage, with Google Base acting as the main information hub.

Juan Carlos Perez of IDG spoke to Jonathan Garriss, executive director of PESA, who reacted very positively to Google's plans: "Anything that improves product search and helps shoppers find what they want is always positive for a merchant like me". Garriss also commented that the new integration of Froogle into the main search page will give him a lot more reason to improve his current retail site's Google Base feed.

Giving the retailers this impetus to supply as much product information as possible can only be a good thing as it will allow Google to compile a hugely comprehensive list of products available and draw on this to improve and streamline the online product search experience for shoppers.

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