Google has officially launched Product Listing Ads in India that include richer product information, such as product image, price, and merchant name, without requiring additional keywords or ad text from the advertiser.
We had earlier
reported that Google was testing the search feature in India, in May.
The feature is known as Google Shopping in the US and other markets.
"The new format on Google.co.in under 'product listing ads' menu will help users to find and compare products and prices with their images and links," the company said in a statement.
The new format will also help shoppers turn their intentions into actions benefiting e-commerce partners. For advertisers, clicks on Product Listing Ads are charged on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis, according to Google.
"As millions of shoppers across the country use our search facility to research and find products to buy online or offline, the format will enable merchants to showcase their products with price to shoppers for taking informed decision," the statement noted.
What this essentially means is that when you search for a product, Google displays product listings from online retailers on the right side of the results page complete with product images, pricing and direct links under "Shop for 'Product name' on Google."
When we entered the search term 'Samsung Galaxy S4', Google displayed shopping listings from Flipkart and Naaptol. It's not just limited to mobile phones and tablets and we got shopping results for a wide range of products including apparel, LED TVs, air conditioners, refrigerators, among others. Online apparel store, Myntra is another partner as we also spotted results from the site.
On clicking the information icon accompanying the listing Google elaborates the reason why it displayed these products as: "Based on your search query, we think you are trying to find a product. Clicking in this box will show you results from providers who can fulfil your request. Google may be compensated by some of these providers."
In June 2012, Google
announced that it would rename its Product Search feature for users in the US to Google Shopping. It also said that it was changing the way these search results worked.
The transition to the new model was completed in October.
Search results are now influenced by how much retailers and advertisers paid to Google under its Google Shopping program. In the past, product search results were based mainly on relevance and the program was free. Google offers an API to participating companies through which they can manage listings.
With inputs from IANS