Search Engine Optimization News Blog

Google claims displaying their checkout icon in ads improves chances of clicks by 10% or more… and that traffic conversions can increase by as much as 40%! The cinsumer recognition is apparently a factor, as users recognize and trust the emblem.

It’s win-win for the website owner – when they buy an AdWords ad and use Google Checkout on their site, they can accept debit and credit card payments for free, have a guarantee of payment even in case of a charge back (in 98% of cases) and even get better rating by consumers.

The Google icon is displayed normally at the bottom of the ad, and you can add a ‘$5 off!’ tag or similar incentive as well instead of the usual ’buy now!’ The idea is that Google will completely run your business from search results, to ad display to checkout – not that bad of a deal if you liker Google, but it may hurt competitors like eBay / Paypal.

Cross integration is the future Google seems to be heading for – in addition to cataloguing the world, they seem willing to provide every service imaginable to ensure control over every possible aspect of the web.

It will take time to substantiate if the numbers reported by Google are actually correct. If the icon really can make that big of a difference, it may be the next big move for webmasters to add Google Checkout to their sites in hop of increasing clickthroughs and conversions.

The icon is eye-catching and obviously promotes sales, so it just remains to be seen if it can truly deliver as promised. Increases in sales depend on so many more factors than one simple change, and you have to have solid SEO for a gimmick like a checkout icon to make a huge impact.