Google today announced that businesses can now list their products in the company’s search results for free. This move expectedly will stoke the fire of rivalry already kindled between Google and Amazon.
Before today’s announcement, Google displayed shopping lists as a panel of sponsored links from advertisers bidding on specific search terms, like air fryers or home gyms. However, from today that panel will be free, though the company will also show paid ads elsewhere on the page.
The new gesture comes after Google in April had brought free retail listings to the search engine’s shopping tab. Today’s update puts the listings directly in Google’s search results, some of the most prized real estate on the internet. The change will debut first in the US before it is rolled out to other regions globally.
The new listing feature puts Google in more direct competition with Amazon. The two tech giants have already been warring on multiple fronts, including smart home technology. Google’s Home smart speaker and Assistant voice software have been sprinting to catch up to Amazon’s Echo and Alexa.
The new move is a big step for Google into the shopping turf. Last year, the company launched a revamped version of Google Shopping the search giant’s retail hub. The updated offering lets people browse items and gives them options to buy things either from a retailer’s website, from a nearby physical store, or on Google’s site itself.
