Shopping Datafeed Optimization- Attracting Buyers Not Shoppers

Shopping comparison Websites have generated a lot of interest by marketers and advertisers in recent years. And why shouldn't they? Vertical shopping search engines have been springing up left and right to capture more of what the major search engines are leaving behind. This is not to say that the major search players are not playing the game. Google has Froogle, Yahoo! has Yahoo Shopping, and MSN even has even its own Shopping Network. But its fair to say, that this is only the beginning because some of the largest Shopping networks aren�t backed by the major search destinations such as Shopping.com and BizRate/Shopzilla. However, up to this point, there hasn't been a clear winner that has swept the table leaving only a few crumbs for the rest to jockey for position.

So without a clear leader in the pack, the question becomes which shopping Websites should we pay attention to� Furthermore, how does one optimize for shopping Website arena� And that's exactly the focus of this writing.

A Basic Model of Arbitrage
Lets first discuss the basic model of a shopping comparison site arbitrage. That is buying one resource only to sell it again for a profitable margin. Most likely, if you use search engines, you have come across shopping ads offering the products that you're interested in. Just a coincidence� Of course not! And here is the kicker, the shopping comparison Website wants you because each listing you click upon is pure revenue to their bottom line.

Example: Google and Shopping.com
Lets say you are looking for a pair of "reebok shoes" on Google and happen to click on a Google Adwords ad for Shopping.com. Shopping.com pays a small click charge of lets say $0.25 to get you to their site. But once there, any listing you click upon is a revenue opportunity. While there you decide to click on three attractively priced listings to compare worth $0.40 a piece to their advertisers, Shopping.com just made $0.95 without doing anything besides grouping advertisers that want to sell you the same pair of shoes at the best prices! Talk about wanting to be on that side of the equation!

Playing the Price Game
Given the above example, you probably noted how important it is to be the one that is chosen for the ultimate purchase and just compared. Does this just mean being the lowest price? Although, that may seem like only good strategy employ, I warn you not to compete solely on price for a variety of reasons:

1. Hard to compete and sustain
2. Lowers your profit margin which ultimately encourages competitors to follow and eventually erodes margins for the entire market as a whole ( The Lose-Lose scenario)
3. As prices for advertising rise, profit margins will continue to decrease

Price is important, however, is not the only variable that comparison shoppers will use to evaluate your offering. Most businesses find it difficult to compete solely on price. I recommend that prices be competitive with similar online merchants selling the same type of products or services. Your ultimate goal should be to offer a good perceived value when compared with your competitors.

So Many Options, How do you Choose?
With so many shopping comparison websites to choose from, choosing the right ones can prove to be a challenge. If you're just beginning, I recommend Froogle as your first choice. Although it doesn't have the largest audience, its free and probably has the most written literature written about it. To get started, you'll need to be somewhat familiar with Microsoft Excel and get a FTP (Define) program like FileZilla. Once you open an account, the instructions that Google provides are pretty straight forward.

If your comfortable with the items above, here is a list of other shopping comparison Websites ranked by market share by Hitwise:
Rank Name Market Share
1 Shopping.com 18.38%
2 BizRate.com 17.35%
3 Yahoo! Shopping 14.39%
4 Shopzilla 13.60%
5� Froogle 8.49%

Optimizing for Buyers Not Shoppers
Optimizing your datafeed for shopping comparison Websites is similar to search engine optimization (Define), however do exhibit unique differences. Unlike search engine optimization, the goal shouldn't be to get highly popular search phrases ranked in these engines, but product specific phrases that likely will attract highly motivated buyers. Remember, that most of shoppers that visit shopping comparison sites already know what they want. In fact, many shoppers will even search by a model name like "Sony RMV2000." So it's best not to waste your time being overly concerned about optimizing for generic phrases such as television, VCR, Shoes, etc.

There are 3 major datafeed variables I recommend focusing your efforts on:

1. Title- the most critical of all three and should be short and descriptive as possible. Here are some tips to make your title the most effective: Include the brand/manufacture, model number, category, and a generic description of the product. Hint: most shopping comparison sites use reverse prominence in their algorithm, that is place more emphasis on the last token of your title. For example: Sony FWD-50PX1 50" Plasma Screen TV gives more prominence to the phrase "Plasma Screen TV" than "Sony FWD-50PX1."
2. Description- the second most important feed variable should reinforce your title and repeat the most important keyword phrases. In addition, descriptions are most effective if it address the ultimate buying motives of your potential buyers. Try to limit your description to 200 characters or less.
3. Price and shipping- as I stated above, this variable is important, however should not be the only value proposition. Again, be competitive but focus on a good value. On the other hand, most consumers that shop online these days expect free shipping as part of the overall offering. After all, if you're the same price as the local merchant down the street, why would they buy from you?

Merchant Ratings
Merchant Ratings are no doubt important to your overall credibility. So make sure to employ the survey codes as part of the shopping experience. Moreover, all the same fundamentals of providing a great shopping experience apply. If you continue to treat your customers with great service and respect, the payoff will be happy customers who will likely return and tell others.

In Summary
The above tips and tactics are designed to give you the fundamentals in getting started with shopping comparison Websites. With patience and some effort, you can expect a significant uptake in sales results in just a matter of days after its implementation. If you're serious about attracting buyers, adding shopping comparison websites to your search engine marketing arsenal, you'll likely reap the pay-off in no time!

[tags] shopping comparison websites, internet marketing, earn revenue [/tags]