Froogle: Google's shopping search engine, applies Google's search technology to locating sellers that offer the item users want to find and pointing them directly to the place where they can buy it. It also allows for product reviews and merchant ratings. Froogle also offers a "local shopping" search option to find deals at local merchants.
Google Base: A place to submit all types of online and offline content that Google will host and make searchable online. Users describe items they post with attributes, which will help people find it when they search Google Base. Based on the relevance of the items, they may also be included in the main Google search index and other Google products like Froogle, Google Base and Google Local. The cost is free, and Google Base claims that benefits for content providers include distribution, ease of use and free content hosting.
Google Music Search: Enables users to easily find discography, images, news and websites about musicians. Users can click on links to take them to iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Sony Connect, Napster and other stores to buy albums online.
Other players include
Shopping: Shopping.com, Nextag, Pricewatch, mySimon
Classifieds: Craigslist, ebay
What this could mean for marketers
Direct marketers take note. You've always known AdWords as a terrific tool, but new opportunities are cropping up at every turn. Are you taking advantage of them?
For example, marketers should already be setting competitive prices based on Froogle results. If you can see that competing goods or direct competitors are cheaper than you on Froogle, so can your customers. And if you haven't taken a trip to base.google.com, you're already behind the curve.
There's a reason that MSN just rolled out a beta version of its Windows Live Expo (a classifieds service), and the newspaper industry has launched a 50 million dollar campaign intended to "surprise advertisers with the truth" about advertising in newspapers. It could be argued that they're trying to cut off Google Base at the pass. Will it work? That remains to be seen, but for now, you should be considering, if not taking advantage of, the ad opportunities.
Already looked? Didn't see anything? Check again. Google Base offers bulk uploads so you can dump your entire product catalog into the program. Take a look at the vehicles section and notice how cars.com owns that space. Enter a search for "jacket" and you can see how shop.com is pushing new merchandise through this channel.
Products aside, consider placing discount codes or links to trial offers with Google Base. There's a "coupons" section that's just waiting for your latest deals.
Last but not least, there's Google Video. The new product puts Google on a crash course with Apple iTunes, and for the time being, that's good for marketers. As Google and Apple attempt to carve out market share, there's a good chance that advertisers selling a TV show or music act can find great distribution deals.
Next: Email, IM & Voice
