ChannelAdvisor

Shopping.com Tries Out New Look

I noticed today that Shopping.com pages look a bit different, with a tighter overall feel and a new "sponsored results" area.  I may be oversimplifying things here, but aren't all the results sponsored? Not sure yet on how those placements are determined but they appear to be feed offers.

Verify and Claim Your Site with Google by May 18th

Google announced last week that every merchant sending product offer information into Google Merchant Center must verify their ownership of that domain by May 18 or face having their product data removed from Google Product Search. It's a relatively simple process but does require some action.

The most common question we've heard about this so far is, "can I use my existing verification?" Many merchants have already completed the verification process in order to gain access to Google's Webmaster Tools. The good news is, the answer to his is yes.

• If your Google Merchant Center login is the same as your login for Google Webmaster Tools, all you need to do is go into the Merchant Center account, go to Settings -> General and click to verify.
• If your logins to these areas are not the same, log in to Webmaster tools and click on the "verify" link under "verification" to see the verification details. Click "add a user" and enter your Merchant Center login. Then log in to Merchant Center, go to Setting -> general and click to verify.

 

CSE SELL MORE Video Tip: Google & Commerce

David Harris, Product Manager for CSEs is back in this video discussing Google's foray into e-commerce.

CSE SELL MORE Video Tip: ROI Management

Comparison Shopping Engines Product Manager David Harris shares some tips via video on getting the most ROI out of your CSEs.

First Thoughts on the New Yahoo Shopping, Powered by PriceGrabber

My first thought is that it looks an awful lot like the old Yahoo Shopping. The look and feel of Yahoo Shopping hasn't changed a bit, just the results and the URLs. Even the Yahoo rating system was retained. The search results are very similar to the PriceGrabber site, though I did see a few minor variations. Default rank on product pages is definitely different, probably due at least in part to the different rating systems.

Since this change was invisible to the average shopper, meaning the user experience hasn't changed, it's difficult to think the performance of this traffic will change drastically. I think PriceGrabber's results may  be perceived as more relevant and there is some additional navigation so it's possible that some improvement could come but only time will tell.