Using Google Base

Google base conversion woes?

Craig — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 21:32:46 +0000

I need to do a bit more testing, but it looks like Google Base listings are starting to have some conversion problems.

Way back during the Christmas buying season, Google Base, or Froogle, was just awesome! The conversion rate from a click from Froogle was 2 to 3 times that from a Google adword ad. Now that we’re in 2nd quarter and in the summer retail slump, “Google Product Search” (as they’re now calling it) is hitting the retail wall as well.

(more…)

Google Checkout - More Free Money

Craig — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 19:39:05 +0000

Yes, I said that using Google Checkout is like getting free money. Here’s the announcement that leads me there:

“Free Transaction Processing for Google Checkout until 2008
Google Checkout is now free for merchants until 2008. That means all of your Google Checkout transactions for the next 11 months will be processed at no cost. Google Checkout is an alternative checkout process that works alongside your website’s existing checkout process, letting customers use a single name and password to buy from you quickly and securely. A safe and fast environment is a happy environment for buyers. And when they buy, you’ll process their orders for free. “

This means that if you spend $500.00 on your AdWords campaigns in a month, Google will process $5,000 worth of transactions through Google Checkout for free. When you figure that merchant account fees are anywhere from 2% to 4% depending on your credit risk, that’s an extra $100 - $200 that can flow down to the bottom line (or back into your advertising campaigns, which is where Google hopes it will go.) (more…)

New Feed Requirements for Google Base

Craig — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 19:21:01 +0000

Google has just released new requirements for submitting feeds to Froogle (Google Base.) If you don't have your file fixed by the end of February 2007, then your product listings will be dropped. Most of the attributes that Google wants merchants to have in their product listings are things that you should already be using in your file feed as a best practice. There were a couple of fields that I did not have in my feed (because they were pretty obvious to my customers/product set and not really necessary), but it only took me 5 minutes to update my template.

Shopping Search - Better than AdWords

Craig — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 23:01:48 +0000

Did you know that clicks from organic search results are not the most valuable?

While many web site owners are concerned mostly with getting to the top of the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) for their keywords, not as many are clamoring to get the best Pay Per Click (PPC) positioning or even product search positioning and that leaves me scratching my head.

Why? (more…)

Selling on Google Base: Video #1

Craig — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 23:00:37 +0000

I have had several questions on just how to set up a feed to Froogle to get products uploaded and into Google Base. While some things in the Google world can be very complicated (just try optimizing your adwords campaigns), getting your products listed in Google is not a complicated process.

I took a few minutes and created a video which shows you the Basics of Google Base and Uploading your products to Froogle. The video is a flash screencast, so you should be able to see it pretty easily. If you don’t want to hang out on this site to watch, you can download the iPod video from the page as well.

Once you take a look at the video, please email me or post a comment with any questions you have on creating your product file, uploading products, tracking your ROI or anything else that comes to mind that you would like some more information on.

Cheers,
Craig

Getting on Top of Google with the OneBox

Craig — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 15:16:28 +0000

The OneBox is Google’s term for the search results that show up above the organic search listings and below the “blue box” Adwords listings.

Google shows an example in their help file of the OneBox (H) being used to drive news results:

Now, seeing News results at the top of a search may not be too sexy to an ecommerce store owner, but it’s a peek at what you can get with a good Froogle listing. (more…)

Using Google Base

Craig — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 16:48:15 +0000

Google has been actively promoting its Google Base shopping search engine. This is really an extension of Froogle and Google has even kept the Froogle name in the product search areas. Google seems to finally want to make something of this product as they are linking product listings with adwords and also waiving all merchant processing fees when you use Google Checkout to process orders. (more…)