Optimizing for Product Search
Google Product Search is less popular than some of the other Google-owned properties (reference the Experian Hitwise charts shown at the beginning of this chapter). However, top rankings for product-based businesses in Google Product Search are critical. This is because the top three Google Product Search results sometimes make their way into the main web search results, grouped together as a onebox (these are specially grouped vertical search results added to the SERPs along with the traditional 10 blue links). This Product Search onebox can appear anywhere on the page—top, middle, or bottom. Figure 9-9 shows an example for the search canon powershot.
Figure 9-9. Product Search onebox for “canon powershot”
Getting into Google Product Search
The first step toward optimizing your website for Google Product Search is to put together a feed for your products and submit them to the Google Merchant Center (http://www.google.com/merchants/termsofservice?conturl=http://www.google.com/merchants/default). Here, you can upload products in bulk and learn the specifics of the formatting of the feed.
To be included in Google Product Search, you need to upload true physical/tangible products. The Google Merchant Center will accept other types of items, such as flights, hotels, car rentals, travel packages, and real estate, but such items will not get into Google Product ...
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