Google created Google Product Search as its comparison shopping engine, a place where people find the best deals and prices on products.  It delivers easily digested listings with a simple search interface and sortable results.

How it Works – Listing

Google populates Google Product Search in a number of ways:

• Google’s servers crawl sites around the Internet, seeking products and prices.
• Product comparison companies share information with Google
• Companies and people list items on Google Product Search

Individuals, or companies, list items through Google Base, either one at a time or in groups through data feeds – formatted product lists.  They also connect stores, such as eBay stores, to Google Product Search. 

For users searching for products this simply means they’ll find what they need.

How it Works – Searches Compared

As an example of how Google Products works, compare a product search on regular Google and Google Product Search.  This example seeks baseball bats.

• Google.com returns a Wikipedia (encyclopedia) entry about baseball bats (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_bat,) an online baseball bat store (http://www.baseball-bats.net/,) and Louisville Slugger’s site (http://www.slugger.com/) MLB’s official bat.
• Google Product Search’s results focus directly on bat products, comparing prices. For example, the first entry lists an Amish wooden bat for $34 (http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00638225000P?vName=Fitness%20&%20Sports&cName=Baseball,Softball&T-Ball&sName=Bats&psid=FROOGLE01&sid=IDx20070921x00003a)

People search Google when they want information about something, or if they don’t mind browsing through many links in search of products for sale, or if they don’t mind going from online store to online store searching for a product.  But Google Product Search gives a quick product comparison – it’s a time saver for shoppers.

Conclusion

Google Product Search is an example of the modern shopping experience.  If Google integrates it with the highly popular Google search site, they’ll have a revolutionary shopping service.

Categories: Glossary
Tags: comparison engines, comparison shopping engine, comparison shopping engines, cse's, google, google base, google product search, product search, wikipedia