Google to launch equivalent to Paypal - GBuy?

[Paz]

Hi,

I've been hearing rumours and discussions after the announcement that Google will launch an online payment service similar to Paypal called GBuy.

http://www.forbes.com/markets/equities/2006/06/09/google-0609markets09.html

The service will be launched on June 28th. No doubt Google have been planning this for sometime, certainly before Yahoo announced that they were teaming up with E-Bay; the owner of PayPal.
http://forums.digital-m.co.za/showthread.php?t=49

The article says that people with GBuy accounts will be listed in the search engine results as a "trusted GBuy merchant".

This is dynamite for me...... I'm pretty confident that if it's true then this will mean an enormous increase in click-through rates for a GBuy merchant - it's like a vote of approval from Google after all.

It's generally believed that a high click through rate can boost your site in the SERPS, but what about merchants who don't want to be a part of GBuy, or won't be able to join because they are from a country that won't be included in the scheme?
Take South Africa for example, which is pretty much excluded from PayPal. If South African sites are excluded from GBuy too; does this mean that they will be effectively excluded from the SERPS as well?

Anyway, I'm sure the guys at PayPal are sleeping a little less soundly at the moment!

Cheers,
Paz.

[BSolveIT]

Hi Paz!

Yes indeed, this has been quite some time in the planning. I first heard about it late last year. I'll be interested to see if they will bring something new and unique with their service - whatever that could be.

You mention click through rates (CTR) affecting position in SERPS? Thats related to AdWords. Oh - I'm a Google AdWords Qualified Professional (Logo and everything! Woohooo! hehe)

Yeah, if you want to spend less on adwords, but still be at the top of the ppc positions, then you need to increase your CTR. The formula for positioning is actually MAX CPC (Cost Per Click) x CTR. So for example, if my CTR is 20%, and my max cpc is £0.10, and you are also running ppc for the same keyword with ctr of 5% but max cpc of £0.30 - my listing will still appear above yours.

So people generally ask, "How can I increase my CTR??"

Obviously, by making your listing appear LESS often - and only when it's most relevant to the search thats been done. Use phrase matching instead of borad matching, use negative keywords to stop your ads from displaying when it shouldn't - even use exact matching where you can. This is the process of optimising your ppc campaigns. It can say you fortunes if you do it correctly.

BTW, the online training from Google is free, so we should all know how to do this stuff expertly. It's only the exam you have to pay for. I warn you though - it's not an easy exam. If you fail it, and want to retake it, you have to pay for it again. But, if you pass it and want to use it for attracting more business and profits, Google issue you with units of credit that you can give to new clients. In the UK, they are worth £50 each. So you can give a new client £50 of credit to start their PPC campaigns. You get these credits 5 at a time. They don't issue more until the first 5 are used up, and all clients meet their target spend, ... but all in all it's a good deal.

Anyway, Google insists that nothing relating to adwords will or can affect your organic serps. Unfortunately, I think thats true. :cry:

Have Google been sending out invitations to use their new GPay system? I wonder if they're going to offer insentives to switch from current merchant solutions. We use WorldPay at the moment, which I have to say is brilliant - but very expensive - and the admin system leaves a lot to be desired.

Cheers for now!
:razz:

[Paz]

Hi,

there's some excellent PPC advice there.

I mentioned high click through rates from the serps possibly boosting you in ranking.

It's been a rumour for as long as I can remember, but the only people who know for sure are Google - and they're not saying. They're certainly tracking organic serps' click-throughs though, as are Yahoo and MSN.

Cheers,
Paz.