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Google Removes Checkout Badge From Ad Display
June 3rd, 2011 | | News Updates


Google Checkout logoGoogle announced that as of today they are no longer displaying Google Checkout logos in AdWords ads. You can read Google’s statement in a comment on their Merchant support site: Checkout Badges on AdWords ads. The logos will, however, continue to be displayed on product search result pages. This announcement coincides with Google’s efforts to ramp up the visibility of their new +1 button, which will include a +1 badge displayed in search results. When visitors click a +1 button on a site, the site’s URL will be displayed with a +1 badge in SERPs. So really the removal of the checkout badge from search results is just Google’s way of decluttering result pages.

Displaying the Google Checkout logo in AdWords ads was an easy way for e-commerce sites to quickly establish credibility with potential buyers, not only in terms of convenience for Google Checkout users, but also in terms of visible security in online transactions. Even though Google’s Checkout logo is still displayed on product search pages, most people are conducting their initial searches through Google’s main search interface, so viewing product search results is a second click away.

As far as e-commerce site owners are concerned, I think Google’s Checkout logo likely carries more weight than a +1 badge, so it will be interesting to see how this change effects traffic and sales for merchants using Google Checkout. Stating that you are a Google Checkout merchant in your ad text obviously uses up limited text space, and doesn’t seem worth sacrificing the character space.

Do you think the removal of Google’s Checkout logo from AdWords ads will have an impact on e-commerce advertisers’ sales or traffic? How heavily have you relied on the logo to give your ads some extra credibility? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more news updates from PPC Hero!

 

Sarah is an Account Manager at Hanapin Marketing, a search engine marketing firm focused on generating results through PPC advertising.

Related posts:

  1. Google Enhances Display Network Metrics
  2. Google Introduces The +1 Button To Display Ads
  3. Google Updates AdWords Display URL Policy
  4. Google AdWords Display Ad Builder Made Even Easier
  5. Massive Update to Google Display Network

This entry was posted on Friday, June 3rd, 2011 at 10:59 am and is filed under News Updates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • http://twitter.com/aaronluckie Aaron Luckie

    I think this could have an affect on those web stores that do not have significant brand value, for example those dropshipping sites that were trying to utilise the Google Checkout button as a means of an advantage to them.

    However, on the other hand, I don’t think that Google Checkout was widely known amoung consumers online, especially here in the UK to have that much of a significant impact on conversion rates.

    It also shows that as a business model, it was not worth Google displaying the button on their search results pages.

    • Sarah

      Hi Aaron – I agree about this being an asset for people without widespread brand recognition, though I agree about it not being the most widely used or known among consumers. But, as Jordan pointed out, it is frustrating that things like this are implemented and taken away with little notice to those who may have found some value. Thanks for reading!

  • http://twitter.com/PPCNI Jordan McClements

    I have a client here in the UK who saw a 10.3% increase in CTR once the badge started showing on their AdWords ads. OK – it wasn’t a split test – but there was a hell of a lot of impressions and clicks – enough to make me very confident that it was worth having the badges.
    The really annoying thing was that I had convinced another client to go through the painful process of implementing Google Checkout on their e-commerce site a matter of weeks before Google decided to remove them (with approximately 3 hours notice).
    This made me look pretty stupid to say the least, and to make matters worse – I had to find out about it from another client who forwarded me their email from Google as Google didn’t even have to courtesy to let  their certified partners know beforehand…
    Very very unimpressed with Google on this one…

    • Sarah

      Hi Jordan – I agree, it’s a disappointment from Google. It would have been courteous to make more of an announcement. I couldn’t find anything online from them aside from the comment in their support forum. Thanks for reading!