Google Shopping not so Froogle Anymore

The one-time Froogle, now Google Product Search will be changing once again this Summer. Google has recently introduced Google Shopping to take over Google Product Search, a transition that should be completed by Fall 2012. Previously listing companies on Google Product Search for free, Google Shopping will be a Paid Inclusion format.

To appear on Google Shopping, it’s basically just like setting up an AdWords campaign. Add a product image, description, price, your daily budget and of course, the amount you’re willing to pay per-click or sale: your bid.

But what are the chances of your products actually appearing on Google Shopping? On the Google Shopping FAQ page, it clearly states, “…it’s important to note that bid is one factor in how products will be ranked on the page, along with relevance.”

So which products will show up first in the Google Shopping results page?

• The products that are most relevant to the searcher’s query, or
• The products that offer the highest bid (pay per-click or sale) to Google

Either way, it seems that the shopping experience on Google will no longer be offering the most relevant and unbiased results, and may be something to expect in the future with other Google products.

Here’s what Search Engine Land had to say about Google Product Search to Become Google Shopping.

What’s your experience with Google Product Search? What do you think of the transition to Google Shopping?

– Dave