Toll Free: 1-877-695-7388

GTA: (647) 699-2838

Search Engine People
  • SEO
  • SEM
  • CRO
  • Display
  • Blog
  • Why Us
  • Contact
  • Join Our Team
  • Get A Quote

Toll Free: 1-877-695-7388

GTA: (647) 699-2838

Google Boutiques & The Improved Google Vertical Model #monopoly #paytoplay

Ruud Hein | November 17th, 2010
Tweet19
Share3
Share
Pin
22 Shares

Google Boutiques sees a new Google pay-to-play model to insert itself into verticals.

3 different Google money making models

With Google Books Google said it was going to scan any book it could get. Not for private use (permitted under fair use) but to republish huge chunks of them. And, oh, maybe to put a Buy This link next to them.

That model meant a lot of trouble with numerous lawsuits which saw Google use its “oops, we didn’t really mean to” crawlback policy.

Like.com made money by using affiliate links when sending people to an online shop. The online shop would make the big bucks and – sale assured – would pay Like.com a percentage: the common affiliate model.

Google pay-to-play

Google Boutiques on the other hand has online shops pay Google to have their products available. Google Boutiques then might send traffic over which may or may not convert.

That wouldn’t be so bad or so weird if Google wasn’t the world’s largest search engine – but now we’re talking about a company that controls 80% of Internet traffic, so to say, and they run a “shop” where they ask brands to pay for inclusion in what essentially is a pay-to-play search engine.

That’s not good or at the least worrisome to online retailers everywhere.

And what’s with the whole non-branding thing?

Google Boutiques branding

They’re mentioned on the about page but play it off as something a company they bought happens to do but, really, no, it has nothing to do with us as a search engine.

Move along now, nothing to see here...

Sure.

Google Monopoly & Unfair Online Trade

“With Universal Search, we have chosen a [model], as a vendor of information, that produces the best end-user outcome — sometimes that's a Google source, sometimes that's another source.”
-- Eric Schmidt

No, not that knowing Google we would suspect them of promoting their own services through search.

Google ad

Or that they would put their own services on top of search results and call attention to them.

Google ad

 

Or that they would use predictive search paths to lead people down a slippery slope the road.

Google ad

Quick, here’s an envelope: how much can you bid on your fashion item Adwords term to outbid Google for those top spots?

Not enough? Awwww, how sad… 🙁 Oh well, how about you pay Google to be included in their fashion verticals online storefront?

shocked

Yeah, pretty amazing, isn’t it?

Tweet19
Share3
Share
Pin
22 Shares
Posted in SEO

About the Author: Ruud Hein

My paid passion at Search Engine People sees me applying my passions and knowledge to a wide array of problems, ones I usually experience as challenges. People who know me know I love coffee.

Ruud Hein

Comments are closed.

Recent Posts

  • Maximizing Your E-Commerce Sales:
    A CRO Audit Guide
  • Movin’ On Up! Why Migrating to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Should be a Priority
  • A Year in Review: The Digital Marketing Trends That Defined 2021
  • The Basics of Video Marketing
  • Just How Much Do Google Reviews Impact Your SEO Ranking?

Categories

  • Analytics & ROI Analysis
  • Company News
  • Content
  • Conversion Optimization
  • CRO
  • Display Advertising/RTB
  • Email Marketing
  • En Español
  • En Français
  • Inbound Marketing
  • Lead Nurture & Marketing Automation
  • Local Search
  • Marketing
  • Mobile
  • Partnership Marketing
  • PPC
  • PR
  • SEO
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Web Design

Additional Posts

What Google Boutiques Is & What It Does

November 17th, 2010 | by Ruud Hein

Google Hotpot: Rate Any Place #googlefail

November 16th, 2010 | by Ruud Hein

The Agency SEO Process – Part 1

November 16th, 2010 | by Taylor Pratt

LET'S TALK

Need more information or want to get in touch?

Get in touch!
  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Display
  • Blog
  • Why Us
  • Join Our Team
  • Contact Us
  • Local SEO
  • Small Business SEO
  • Enterprise SEO
  • International SEO

LOCATION

1305 Pickering Parkway,
5th Floor Pickering, L1V 3P2

PHONE

Toll Free: 1-877-695-7388
Greater Toronto Area: (647) 699-2838

Social

© Search Engine People Inc. 2023 – Canada’s Top Digital Agency
© SEP 2023 – A Search Engine People Company | Privacy Policy

Search Engine People