News from Google Actions: pricing and updates

Is Google abandoning the launch of its Google Actions MarketPlace? *

Like us, you're no doubt following the development of Google Actions, which aims to position Google against Amazon by assimilating it to a marketplace. A quick reminder: in the midst of the Google Shopping ads that appear on the SERP, certain products can be paid for directly on Google.

In May 2020, in response to the Covid-19 crisis, Google launched free ads** alongside Google Shopping ads (paid on a cost-per-click basis) and Google Actions ads (paid by commission). The disguised aim of this new feature was to attract more e-merchants to Google's Merchant Center (the back-office interface where you can import your product catalog and choose from these 3 Google display options). The gamble paid off, with Google announcing a 70% increase in its product catalog and an 80% rise in the number of e-merchants advertising on its platform.. But Google no longer advertises on Google Action. It would seem that this marketplace functionality has not benefited from this growth lever.

In May 2021, interviewed by the ModernRetail podcast, Bill Ready President Commerce at Google said, "We're not a retailer, we're not a marketplace and we're not trying to be." At the same time Google even discontinued its mobile shopping app***.

How will Google Action evolve? Is this the end of this attempt to compete directly with Amazon? Perhaps we're witnessing a reversal of fortunes, which would finally confirm Google in its role as a search engine: as always, the platform redirects Internet users to sellers... without taking their place! To be continued...

I would like support in using Google Shopping

Advertising via Google Ads has cost more since May 2021. An increase of 2% which, according to Google, is intended to "cover part of the costs involved in complying with tax legislation on digital services in France and Spain". Indeed, France and Spain recently imposed a 3% tax on GAFAs (Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple) on sales generated in our countries.

So don't be surprised if you notice an increase in the cost of your campaigns in your latest quarterly report!

Optimize your Google Ads campaigns with a webmarketing expert

This summer, Google made several updates to its SERP (Search Engine Result Page). Here are the 3 must-haves according to the webmarketing experts at Soledis:

• Breaking News If the results of a given query change very quickly, a message will now be displayed in the SERPs: "it looks like these results are changing quickly. The aim is to encourage the surfer to come back later, when more information, from more diversified and reliable sources, will be available. (Read on the Abondance.com blog)

• About this result In this new window, Google gives an indication of the reasons why the algorithm has ranked this result in this way. This can give you an indication of the keywords, related terms and netlinking that work in your page's favor. (To find out more, click here)

• Snippet title The title that appears in Google search results is no longer systematically the title identified by your page's Title tags. Google chooses from your page an extract of content, an H1 or H2 title, a date... in short, it pushes what it considers to be the most relevant to the user's query. This only modifies the title, but not the page ranking... phew! If you're not happy with this modification, don't hesitate to tell us about it! on the thread opened by Google. (Read the article here)

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* https://www.marketplacepulse.com/articles/google-promised-a-marketplace-but-then-gave-up
**https://www.blogdumoderateur.com/google-shopping-gratuit-france/
***https://blog.google/products/shopping/more-ways-to-shop/
****https://www.clubic.com/pro/entreprises/google/actualite-368185-google-abandonne-son-application-mobile-google-shopping.html