Google ends paid listing options to compete against Amazon
- Google has made listings of hotel free in order to compete with Amazon
- The free listing is expected to attract more brands and to strengthen the search engine's position
- Users will have a more comprehensive set of options as they research their trips
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Google has made listings of hotel free in order to compete with Amazon. Google has been losing e-commerce traffic, as Amazon emerged as users preference recently. In order to prevent more losses in hospitality and flight, the search engine has been making some listings free.
Two years ago, listing e-commerce, hotels and travels on Google.com/travel attract payment as paid ads, but the internet giant is changing that policy to attract more users to its shopping tabs, as Amazon lure users.
This means there will no longer be paid product listings, allowing companies to list without charges. From next week, hotels and travels, regardless of location, will be able to list on Google.
The first free listing by Google was e-commerce, where Amazon is actively competing against the internet giant despite its paid ad. But with the free listing enabled, Google has seen clicks on its shopping tab increase by 70% according to TechCrunch.
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Impressions on Google shopping tab rose 130%. Gradually, the free listing is expected to attract more brands that have prioritised the e-commerce market leader for shopping information. The free listing for travel by Google is also expected to strengthen the search engine's position when travels and tours begin fully globally.
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Commenting to the free listing for travels, Richard Holden, vice president of product management for search engine, said in an announcement:
"While the past 12 months have been difficult for both travelers and the travel industry, we’re optimistic about the road ahead. People are eager to know when they can travel again, and travel companies are wondering how they can best meet consumer needs once the pandemic subsides. We’ve been helping answer some of these questions with data-driven tools for users and the travel industry – but this is only one piece of the puzzle.
"When travel does resume in earnest, it’s crucial that people can find the information they’re looking for and easily connect with travel companies online. For many years, we’ve helped travelers choose the right hotel by providing a list of relevant properties, along with information like reviews, photos, and hotel amenities.
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"Hotel booking links have been offered via Hotel Ads, which display real-time pricing and availability for specific dates of travel. We've seen that users find these hotel booking links to be highly useful, and partners find them to be a valuable source of potential customers.
"Now, we’re improving this experience by making it free for hotels and travel companies around the world to appear in hotel booking links, beginning this week on google.com/travel. With full access to a wider range of hotel prices, users will have a more comprehensive set of options as they research their trip and ultimately decide where to book."
Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Nigeria's total trade last year failed to surpass that of 2019, having slumped by 10.3% when both periods were compared. The country's total trade recorded N32.42 trillion, with value of total import rising, while total export value dropped.
Fakoyejo Olalekan is a Business and Financial Journalist with over three years of experience in covering finance and business activities within Nigeria and offshore. Prior to joining Legit.ng, he worked at Nairametrics where he wrote financial and investments analysis articles. Olalekan is a resourceful and result-driven journalist with a track record for conducting extensive research and interviews to produce articles that provide different perspectives to market activities.
Source: Legit.ng
