Google Commerce Search is the latest addition to a formidable merchant-centric tool set.
I spend more time every week thinking about Google than I play with my kids. I know, that is a sad declaration on the state of my life, but, Google keeps expanding its universe, and I still have the same number of kids.
I know that I am forgetting a few things here, but Google has its fingers in an enormous portion of the merchant marketing pie:
- Google.com: Google controls the presentation layer before a searcher makes a click.
- Maps: Google controls who and what shows up where for local search.
- Google Affiliate Program: Yup, you heard that right, you can do affiliate programs through Google now.
- Google Shopping: A free (for now) comparison shopping engine.
- Google Checkout: Google wants to be your transaction partner.
- And starting today, Google has unleashed Google Commerce Search.
Google Commerce Search is Google’s first significant foray into site search for retailers. Leveraging what they’ve learned from the former Froogle (best pun-based product name ever, by the way…now sadly called Google Shopping) Google can offer merchants on site search. This is a big step for Google. They are becoming more integrated with merchants. From Google Analytics to AdWords to Adsense to Google Shopping to the emergent Google Checkout, Google is grabbing merchant-centric search land share.
The exciting thing about this development is that it gives merchants a turnkey merchandising and search solution. From a single analytics interface (Google Analytics) you can see your search, paid search, local search, product feed search, affiliate and now on-site search analytics. Google can be your hub of online advertising. That reduces the stress and strain on merchant marketing departments, and provides a data-centric solution for decision-making.
The flip side of this is how much control over the presentation and search layer do we want to give to Google? Now, I don’t think that Google would act untoward its merchants and advertiser partners in any way…but do we really want to put all of our eggs into Larry Page and Sergey Brin’s baskets?
If we give Google the power of controlling the presentation layer before the click (search engine results) are we comfortable with them controlling the presentation layer after the click (your onsite search results)?
The fundamental question is this: Is Google a trusted partner who will act as a tool to help you grow your business and sales, or will Google leverage its strength and market position to further its own agenda?
I don’t have an answer to this. I like Google. I have a huge respect for the enormity and complexity of what they do and appreciate the elegance with which they do it. But Googlizing the customer experience from the first click on a search engine result page to onsite search to checkout just seems a little frightening, don’t you think?
Tim Kilroy is Vice President of Natural Search at PM Digital.