Google Shopping’s Transition to Pay-For-Play

Google Shopping’s Transition to Pay-For-Play

In last week’s class we learned that Google’s Product Search made the transition from a free search vertical, which ranked results by relevance only, to a paid listings service. I was appalled, and felt a little bit taken advantage of – I frequently used Google Shopping to search for purses, bathing suits, shirts, jewelry, etc.  Well a little bit of digging and it turns out that Google has been doing this for over a year. And while Google argues that the change will improve the search experience, and that it is about delivering the best answers for people searching for products and helping connect merchants with the right customers, I for one am highly skeptical. How can small, local merchants that specialize in specific products and target niche markets compete with the Targets and Macys of the world when selling bracelets, for instance? Unfortunately, they probably can’t…..