Having been developed over the past 3 years, Google has recently introduced the Adwords Product PlusBox into the UK in beta. Originally used for Maps and Stock results, it is now being tested on retail results. Although the current availability is limited to those Google has cherry picked to test it, it is a significant step for PPC adverts. The PlusBox acts as an extension to PPC adverts which allow products related to the search query, to be shown in a drop down section, directly below the retailers website.
As you can see above, this is done by adding an additional line underneath the title and description of the company with a small plus button to show products. Once clicked this plus button expands out to show typically 4-6 products from the above site which are relevant to the search query.
This is all part of Google’s ongoing mission to provide Google users with the maximum amount of relevant information. By introducing this, they hope Google users will see the product they originally searched for and convert directly to that page, thus meaning Google has achieved its goal. By allowing advertisers to show multiple products under one advert, they believe it will increase conversions and therefore advertisers spend, thus expanding Google’s ownership of online advertising.
The products listed show the name and price against an image and they are hyperlinked to the specific product page rather than the adverts landing page. This information comes from Google Product Listings previously known as Google Base and you must have an account to supply this information.
So what are the advantages of using Product PlusBox?
On the forefront it looks to be a fantastic idea which will allow advertisers to provide additional information directly from their site to advertise their products within the search results. This draws the customer’s attention and makes it much easier for them to click through to the exact page they need. This extension to the ad also differentiates it from the competitors therefore gaining a slight competitive advantage, which for some environments is absolutely essential in winning the conversion. It allows consumers to read through this extra information, know what they are looking for and therefore, hypothetically they are more likely to convert to your site.
However there are many unanswered questions.
Where does this type of advertising stop? Google currently selects who gets to use this tool; will they be rolling this out for all PPC adverts? Will this work to the advertiser’s advantage or simply just clutter the search results with an overload of information? Are these extensions improving click-through rates and attracting new business or simply an unused resource?
Another negative would be that the Google user must first click on the ‘plus’ button to view the drop down section. If every sponsored result has a click down option, what is the likelihood that a potential customer will click on every button to view more products?
Unfortunately only Google will know this information due to the newness of the Product PlusBox and only time will tell which companies gain access to this extension and if it can used successfully!
