Back in April, Google announced that all merchants can have their goods appear for free in the Shopping tab. Those free product listings are now coming to the main Google Search results page.
Google frames this move as a way for retailers to boost their digital commerce presence in light of physical store closures without having to pay for additional advertising. Meanwhile, Google benefits from having Search show more products as a way to better compete with Amazon.
Since implementing in the US, Google says that it has seen a 70% increase in clicks across both free listings and ads, while impressions are up 130%. Small and medium-sized businesses are particularly benefiting from the hundreds of millions of people that use Google to find products every day.
Free listings are now coming to the main Google Search results page. They will first appear in a product’s Knowledge Panel. The “Stores” list underneath the image carousel drops the “Sponsored” label as merchants no longer have to pay to appear. That said, Google is still promoting Shopping ads, which will appear at the top of the page and be labeled.
Meanwhile, the full “Stores” tab will surface more places to buy, thus giving shoppers expanded choice. The change will first apply to mobile and desktops will follow later. Google plans to make free listings available in more places around the world this year.