Warren Pattison: Search Engine Marketing & Internet Strategist

Google has formally announced a new feature within Search results for large sites such as Best Buy, Wikipedia Microsoft and the like.

Google explains:…

Through experimentation, we found that presenting users with a search box as part of the result increases their likelihood of finding the exact page they are looking for. So over the past few days we have been testing, and today we have fully rolled out, a search box that appears within some of the search results themselves. This feature will now occur when we detect a high probability that a user wants more refined search results within a specific site. Like the rest of our snippets, the sites that display the site search box are chosen algorithmically based on metrics that measure how useful the search box is to users.

Click the Best Buy example result here

Viewing the result above you’ll see the lawsuit for Google waiting to happen - competitor ads for laptops that could actually cause harm to Best Buy’s bottom line.

For Best Buy to control their internal SERPS on Google outside of SEO, Best Buy will have to control and monitor their paid ads for search within search SERPS - possibly bidding high in this new space to prevent competitors from appearing at the top of the fold.

That said, this isn’t anything new, Google already serves competitor ads for terms <bigbrand>.com

Although Google’s Quality Score algorithm has cleaned up most competitor ads due to high minimum bids, the threat of losing visitors to your site are a few fold.

First, search users who would naturally click your site to search what they are looking for are going to now take one less step by using Google and may not go to your site at all - this could be big trouble for content sites such as newspapers and sports sites who rely heavily on CPM advertising models where the home page drives the highest CPM rates.

Second, the threat of competitors or partners for advertising a lower price or special offer on specific products in competitor terms eg, Ipod site:bestbuy.com

Third, look who doesn’t have a search box, you guessed it - Google. So, what if a user wants to search, adwords site:google.com ? Sorry Yahoo and Microsoft you can’t advertise here.

So, What happened to Google’s iconic mantra of “do no evil?”

How about commen sense “treat others the way you wish to be treated?” Since Google doesn’t offer this on their site, perhaps they shouldn’t offer it on other sites.

I suppose when your stock drops a couple hundred dollars in the last six months and with a recession on the horizon - I suppose a large firm with a large market cap with one income stream must “test some evil.”

Let me know what you think…

I’m fairly certain newspapers will take notice that they will be losing ad revenue - newspapers and other large content portals will do what they do best - run editorials bashing and tarnishing Google’s new attempt at generating more revenue…I think by in large the criticisms will be based on similar points I’ve made above.