Google to Upgrade its Product Search Engine

Just in time for the holiday shopping season, Google plans to upgrade its product search capabilities via its main search engine. A Google official publicly revealed the news early last week at the Professional eBay Sellers Alliance (PESA) Summit in San Francisco. (Source: pcadvisor.co.uk)

How Will the Upgrade Work?

According to analysts at Bear Stearns & Co, when users search for products on Google, the engine will present them with a second search box so that they can narrow their query. Once users have focused their search, Google brings them to another page that includes product results from the Google Base listings service, a "place where you can easily submit all types of online and offline content, which [becomes] ... searchable on Google." (Source: google.com)

Google Base, which was introduced last October, allows web users to freely list items that they are selling. Items that are submitted to Google Base can be found on Google channels such as Froogle and Google Maps.

In a recent report, the Bear Stearns analysts write that with Google's new product search upgrade "ranking will be determined by the attributes that the sellers listed for the product as well as by relevancy." (Source: pcadvisor.co.uk)

Deemphasizing Froogle

Simultaneous to introducing the product search upgrade, Google is planning to deemphasize its own shopping website, Froogle. Froogle, which currently features paid listings from eBay and similar online retailers, will no longer be a standalone site. In short, Froogle's current listings would be integrated into Google's other search features. (Source: marketwatch.com)

Benefits for Buyers and Sellers

PESA's executive director Jonathan Garriss seemed excited about the news of Google's planned initiative: "Anything that improves product search and helps shoppers find what they want is always positive for a merchant like me." (Source: pcadvisor.co.uk)