Google announces Commerce Search tool improvements, slashes price
Google’s search tool for online retailers, Commerce Search, was launched in November last year. It allows retailers to use the Google engine for item searches within their websites. While no figures have been forthcoming on just how many retailers have jumped onboard, there are success stories.
“Google Commerce Search really works and the results are highly relevant. Visitor volumes and revenue both jumped 6.4% since we switched,” according to Tim Horton, CEO, Discount Office Items.
A little over six months on from the launch and an upgrade has just been announced which includes improvements that benefit both online shoppers and retailers.
As well as search quality improvements Google has improved the shopper search experience by adding query auto-completion, spelling, stemming dictionaries and custom synonym options.
“As more consumers turn to online channels to purchase and research products, it is important for your site to keep up with them using the best technology out there,” said Google Senior Product Manager Nitin Mangtani in a recent blog post.
For retailers, Commerce Search 2.0 now features a “Merchandising Dashboard”. From here search results can be better controlled, allowing the implementation of time-limited promotions, and retailers have more flexibility adjusting rankings and can create custom product filters.
And finally, to ensure more retailers are able to benefit from Commerce Search, or perhaps to attract more customers, Google has cut the entry-level price in half to $25,000 per year for websites with up to 50,000 items and three million queries per year.
