Google retail their Product PlusBox

July 1, 2009
by Mark Johnson

Google are currently Beta testing its Plusbox tool for retail products in the UK and we at Latitude are one of the first to be able to test it out with one of our clients IT247.com recently being accepted for the trial.

Plusbox has in fact been around for a couple of years now in areas such as maps and finance, but Google has only recently decided to expand this into retail in the UK.

Much like its other Plusbox offerings on maps and finance, clicking on the Plusbox icon gives the user an expanded view of related products with further information on each and the option to land on the specific product landing pages.

Collapsed View:

collapsed

Expanded View:

expanded

How does it work?

By uploading a product feed to Google Base including prices, inventory and product images Google then incorporates this into AdWords and then allows its system to automatically match an advertiser’s offer with the most appropriate ad for the user’s query.

Why is Google trialling Plusbox in the retail sector?

Google has always strived to offer the most relevant search results for their users and this is just another one of their products they hope will help them achieve this. By allowing advertisers to offer multiple products for a single ad Google believes it will increase conversion, and therefore increase their spend too. If this is the case, then trialling this product now seems the most sensible option as Q4 is by far the biggest spending quarter for retail and any product that helps advertisers spend more money on Google is ultimately their goal. We will wait and see if this turns out to be reality for IT247.com and our other clients.