Google has announced that it will add Buy buttons to sponsored product listings in mobile search results. This is likely an attempt to compete better with online marketplaces such as Amazon and Ebay, which have long been the leaders in mobile retail.
Shoppers can customise sizes, colours, and other features of their product when using this feature. Google will also let users store their card information to make future purchases easier. With this update, the search giant can accomplish three things.
- Improve market share – The addition of a Buy button will help Google capture a larger portion of the online shopping market. It allows them to provide what was once a monopoly of dedicated shopping websites: a way to search for and immediately buy products on one convenient platform.
- Boost search traffic – Mobile shoppers may start using Google instead of Amazon for looking up items. Product-related queries will rise, directly benefiting the search engine and its advertisers with the increased number of impressions.
- Generate advertising revenue – If this change significantly increases product sales, it will likely prompt more brands to begin advertising on Google. It gives merchants a viable alternative to the commission based fees of most shopping portals.
What Does this Mean for Online Merchants?
If your company relies greatly on online sales, especially from mobile users, then you might be wondering how this will affect your campaigns. Will you need to dedicate a larger portion of your budget to Google ads? Many of the details are still unclear, and Google still has several challenges it needs to address before it can compete with Amazon on equal footing.
First is that Buy buttons restrict purchases to a single item type; there is no shopping cart, and people will probably not see the rest of what your brand has to offer. The second issue is how Google will handle after-purchase concerns, such as customer service and product returns. The search giant has its work cut out for it, but this is ultimately a promising step in the right direction.
Whether or not this experiment pans out, Google will not stop trying to become more relevant in online shopping. Mobile commerce is far too large and important for them to ignore. If merchants wish to thrive, they need to have strategies that are flexible enough to adapt to these coming changes.
You do not have to wait for groundbreaking updates to bring your campaigns to the next level, however. Our PPC experts will optimise your strategy, and help your profits reach new heights. If you need our help, give us a call at any time.