Google Testing Additional Search Box Within Search Results

[mandy]

Tamar tipped me off to people seeing secondary search boxes in the Google search results. I see them myself now. For example a search on amazon returns this search box directly under the snippet but above the URL, here is a picture:...

full article and screenshots: http://searchengineland.com/080304-162923.php

[jezebel]

I like it.

[Kristijntje]

A related article:

Search Within a Site is designed to streamline searching. And because it gives Internet users many more hyperlinks within a single destination to choose from, it could help boost traffic to retailers.

The feature, however, is drawing the ire of some merchants who raise two primary concerns. First, ads for competitors can be displayed on the Google results page of a site search. So in the Newegg example, a shopper looking for an iPod potentially could decide to click through to Circuit City, for instance, via a Circuit City ad on the search results page. This could mean lost traffic and sales for Newegg. And second, performing a site search on Google does not take into account merchandising rules retailers create for their own site search tool.

“This is really crossing the line—it is extremely intrusive,” says Neil Kugelman, CEO of online jeweler Goldspeed.com Inc., No. 362 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide. “Google started as a natural search engine and then migrated to pay-per-click advertising. They became the No. 1 search engine in the world with the support of their advertisers, and now they are stabbing their advertisers in the back by giving potential customers the ability to bypass your site and go to a competitor.” ...

full article: http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=25802

[mandy]

Related:

... for small e-tailers who may get their pay-per-click ad shown when shoppers are looking for a big-store site, it could mean more exposure. It could, however, also mean that bidding for those placements goes up, which is bad news for everyone but Google...

full article: http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/news/news...hp/3737336

"Chances are very good that I'll click on the top ad, and possibly all three PPC ads in the upper left before scanning the page for an organic result from Best Buy. If I'm Best Buy, I'm losing a potential customer to the PPC ads on this second search engine result page. My reaction? Buy the top spot (for the product) to counter the competition. The result? Bid competition heats up, and advertisers on that keyword phrase pay higher CPC's. The benefit to Google is obvious, as is the detriment to Best Buy."...

full article: http://www.straightupsearch.com/archives...prohi.html

[mandy]

Related: Google's Search Within A Site May Be Dangerous To Some Etailers' Health

A major concern for retailers is that Google will roll out the search-within-a-site across all brands it indexes, forcing wary retailers to actively opt out of the service. Amazon and Newegg no longer have search-within-a-site bars attached to their search results. This seems like an easy thing to do, but Google has also implied that should a retailer ask to turn off Google's new feature, there is no guarantee that it can retrieve the feature if, down the line, the company chooses to reverse their decision.

Pundits are correct in identifying the search-within-a-site feature as a boon to small, upstart retailers whose Web sites may leave a lot to be desired in terms of aesthetics and organization. However, even then, won't small sites run the risk of being usurped in brand equity and name recognition by larger companies whose AdWords results shout out in noticeable shaded letters?...

full article: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/Goog...63081.html