Google has announced it’s bringing free listings to the main Google Search results page in the U.S. this summer.
After announcing that Google Shopping product results in the U.S. would soon consist mostly of primarily of free listings, Google is now bringing free listings to Google Search results. The new feature allows offers to be more accessible to the people who shop on Google every day, connecting businesses to more customers in more places.
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The addition of free listings on the Google Shopping tab has already brought a significant increase in engagement – both in terms of clicks and impressions.
This is because it’s often difficult to find the product people want, the best-seller, or the best-value product. There are often so many high-quality choices available to them, but can’t easily access them as they are not always aware of them all.
On the other hand, businesses often find it hard to connect with new or existing customers in the digital environment. Adding free listings to Google Search lets shoppers find and choose the products they are interested in, and the merchants who will give them the best experience.
“Sellers of all sizes are benefitting from this incremental traffic, particularly small and medium-sized businesses,” explains Bill Ready, President for Commerce at Google. “And we already see that these changes will help generate billions of dollars in sales for retailers and brands in the U.S., on an annual basis.”
Free retail listings on Google Search will start appearing in a product knowledge panel showing buying options for items. Until now, the buying options in the product knowledge panel are all sponsored links, but these listings will start to be free this summer. The feature is beginning to roll out in the U.S., on the mobile version first, and then later on desktop.
“Free listings on Google Search are a big step forward in democratizing access to digital commerce, benefitting shoppers and merchants with more choices across the board,” Ready explains. “We’ll have even more updates soon, so stay tuned.”