More than ever, today’s web-savvy consumers use comparison shopping engines (CSEs)
to research products before they make buying decisions. Since CSEs place the offerings
of many merchants side by side, shoppers can compare prices and features at a glance.
Are your products well represented in these search engines? This article reviews the
major CSEs and provides some tactics to help web merchants get listed.
The Leading CSEs
The list of leading shopping engines in the United States includes Shopping.com™,
Yahoo® Shopping, BizRate®, DealTime®, Shopzilla, NexTag®, MSN® Shopping, PriceGrabber,
Froogle™, AOL Shopping, and mySimon. Shopping.com is the most popular CSE, followed by
Yahoo Shopping and Froogle.
Kelkoo is the leading comparison shopping search engine for the United Kingdom and
Europe. According to the company, 16 out of the top 20 e-commerce sites in the UK
currently advertise through the engine.
Brief descriptions of the major CSEs and other engines are available
from SearchEngineWatch.com
Choosing the Right CSEs for Your Business
While it is recommended that you list your products in as many CSEs as possible, web
merchants should weigh the options carefully to determine which CSEs are the most
appropriate and most effective for your online business.
You can start by researching all of the popular engines to determine which are the most
popular with your customer base. All CSEs are not created equal; and some engines are
more popular for some products than others. You should also determine where your
competition is listed and ensure that your most competitive products are listed in that
engine as well. If you are represented well by a search engine that is frequently
visited by customers looking for your products, your chances of making a sale will be
better!
For many merchants, a key differentiator is user-friendliness. Your products and their
specifications have to be uploaded into the CSE. How easy is it for you to update data
about your products? Is the process automatic or does it require that you log in to the
site each time you want to make updates? The ease with which you can update your data
will be in an important factor in determining how often you will upload products to the
CSE. The level of complexity of the CSE will be sure to have an impact the effectiveness
of your campaigns.
Tactics for Success
Set a budget – Some of the CSEs offer basic listings for free. For example, Yahoo
Shopping, Froogle, and PriceGrabber all offer free basic membership. However, in order
to really leverage the benefits of these engines (and more advanced selling tools and
privileges), you’ll want to participate in the paid listing programs. Note that some
of the comparison engines require you to pay a commission when a sale is made. Others
charge the merchant every time a user clicks through to one of your products. It is
advisable that you find out which search engine offers the most ideal arrangement for
you and then set a budget accordingly.
Leverage product feeds – Most of the CSEs allow you to submit information about the
products you want to sell via a “feed.” The feed is typically provided to the shopping
site in a text or CSV file and includes product specifications such as name, description,
price, image location, and shipping charges. The feeds make it easier for you to keep your
product listings current on the CSEs. (Note: GoECart has automated product data feeds for
Yahoo® Shopping, Froogle™, Shopping.com™, Shopzilla, and Shop.com.).
Carefully monitor and manage campaigns – All of the CSEs provide a web interface that
lets you manage your listings and typically the cost-per-click (CPC) bidding process. It
is recommended that merchants monitor their campaigns on a weekly or even daily basis and
make adjustments as needed. The goal is to ensure products receive competitive listings on
an ongoing basis.
Differentiate – Since you’ll be going head-to-head with the competition on CSE sites,
you need to do everything you can to make your products stand out. Advertising free
shipping or a free gift with purchase could be the deciding factor that makes a shopper
click through to your site instead of another merchant’s. Another way to differentiate is
to use the ratings features on these sites to achieve high ratings. These rating systems
can go a long way toward building trust with potential buyers.
Stay current – The ever-widening world of CSEs changes often—and fast. You can stay
current on the latest CSE news and strategies by reviewing sites like
www.comparisonengines.com and www.searchenginewatch.com
Get going now!
It today’s highly competitive world of web marketing and ecommerce, comparison shopping
engines are a must if you want to compete effectively. If you are not already listed with
these engines, it’s time to get going! This way, you can reap the benefits of increased
traffic and sales these hugely popular sites can bring your online business.
