Google Moves Toward Social Shopping

Last month, Google introduced seller ratings to its ad extensions. Now, in addition to titles, prices, and thumbnail images, users are able to view the customer satisfaction ratings of a merchant, graded on a 1 to 5 scale.

Google has developed ad extensions as an incentive for advertisers to educate themselves and follow Google’s best practices. In doing so, advertisers will obtain a strong ROI and allow for a smooth experience for the consumer. Google’s engineers also use ad extensions to understand search behavior and correct the search algorithm accordingly.

Google’s new additions have been compared the latest advertising additions of Facebook. Facebook’s advertising spend is a small share of the total United States search marketing spend, which was $3.94 billion in 2010. Their figure is around 11 to 12 of that, as estimated by eMarketer.

However, as online shopping behavior becomes more sophisticated, peer reviews will become an increasingly significant part of a pleasant online shopping experience. People are more likely to trust product reviews written by their friends versus those written by strangers.

The addition of seller ratings and ad extension benefits all parties in the long run. Consumers will experience a satisfying shopping environment, advertisers will be rewarded for practicing good customer service, and Google will have another way to eliminate less competent advertisers.

The only complaint for seller ratings is on how they only apply to merchants with an average rating of four stars or higher. Should Google give merchants with lower ratings an equal opportunity?