Comparison shopping engines allow consumers to compare the prices and features of thousands of products, read online ratings and reviews, and make purchases directly from a third party site. As the number of consumers shopping online continues to grow, comparison shopping engines have become increasingly influential for merchants and consumers alike.
There are two types of comparison shopping engines; algorithm based and fee based. Algorithm based shopping engines are non-fee based (no set up fee or CPC cost) that rank products based on relevancy. The three major algorithm based comparison shopping engines are Google Shopping, TheFind, and Bing Shopping. These engines can benefit e-commerce merchants by improving the visibility of products in organic search results. They also allow companies to reach a vast number of customers since Google Product Search and TheFind make up the majority of the comparison shopping engine market.
The second type of comparison shopping engine is a paid or fee-based engine. These engines operate on cost-per-click or flat-rate inclusion models, and rank products based on bid amount and relevancy. There are numerous paid engines, including NexTag, PriceGrabber, Shopzilla, and BizRate. Paid shopping engines help businesses establish ratings and reviews, reach a more diverse audience, and can enhance product visibility in TheFind.
Each comparison shopping engine offers different benefits for consumers. Some have mobile applications that allow shoppers to compare prices on the go, while some offer “green” searches for environmentally conscience shoppers. Based on customer revenue, the top five engines are Google Shopping, TheFind, NexTag, Shopzilla, and Shopping.com. No matter which engines appeal to you, remember that savvy merchants list their products where shoppers are shopping.
Vertical Rail partners with the top comparison shopping engines, including:
- Google Shopping
- NexTag
- Shopzilla
- PriceGrabber
- Shopping.com
- BizRate
- TheFind
- Become.com
- Smarter.com
- Sortprice
Market your products to the shopping oriented searches on Google. No listing fees and no click fees.
Over 17 million viewers a shop deals on NexTag. It’s an efficient sales channel with highly qualified traffic and performance-based pricing.
An industry leader in comparison shopping, Shopzilla puts your products in front of 20 million unique viewers a year.
An innovative comparison shopping channel that provides sales opportunities to 26 million + ready to buy shoppers a month.
Coupled with Shopzilla and offers product reviews and merchant ratings system.
More efficient shopping enabling shoppers to find sales, online coupons, green brands or local stores.
Increasingly popular comparison shopping and product research engine that allows online shoppers to find information on products.
Factoring in relevance, price feedback and merchant reputation delivers your products smarter, though not always cheaper.
Pricing model is a Cost Per Action (CPA) type, which means guaranteed ROI.
Owned by eBay and ratings by Epinions, it is a CSE that boasts 20 million shoppers a month.
6 million shoppers per month and rising. See your products on Facebook apps.
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