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Promotion Tip:
Send Your Catalog To Google
by Larisa Thomason,
Senior Web Analyst,
NetMechanic, Inc.
It sounds too good to be true. Get publicity for your business and sell products to Web shoppers. Appear in one of the largest, most popular search engines on the Web. It's free and it happens even before you post your Web site.
Are you in heaven? No, just in Google's new catalog search section.
Scanned And Delivered
Google has put together a sophisticated system that scans print catalogs into a JPEG format and then runs an optical character recognition (OCR) program over the JPEG image to convert it into a Web page. The scanned information is saved to a searchable database.
When searchers enter a search term that matches text in your catalog, Google's catalog search results page displays actual pages from your catalog. Visitors see a small version of the page with the search terms highlighted in yellow. They can then click on the small image to view the entire page.
Here's a results page from Google catalog search for the search term: "beeswax sheets." Click on the small catalog images to view the actual pages from the scanned catalogs.
Google is beta testing the system right now, so the only function supported is basic search. However, Google says it plans to add even more benefits in the future, including:
- Reporting information. Find our what keyword users search on and which keywords lead to sales. Google will give you information to help pinpoint how customers use your catalogs.
- Advertising. Google is developing advertising programs to "enhance your visibility" in Google Catalog Search pages.
- Direct linking to your website's product pages. Link products in the scanned catalogs to the same product on your web site, so users can order from you more easily. Google will also accept digital feeds of scanned catalogs.
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Since it's still being tested, the whole scanning and indexing process is free, but there's no guarantee that such a potentially valuable service will remain that way. When all the extra services get up and running, Google may not be able to keep the whole process free for all retailers.
Get your catalog to Google before the search engine decides (if they decide!) to use their catalog search as a money making project.
Head For The Post Office
Google offers you two ways to suggest a catalog. Either submit a form to Google recommending the catalog and including contact information or mail the catalog to Google directly.
Word spread quickly among catalog retailers when Google began testing this function. The list of retailers indexed by Google's catalog search includes such mail order powerhouses as Land's End down to niche retailers like Anything Left Handed.
Your small business gets a chance to compete with mail order giants without spending your entire promotional budget to print and mail catalogs to people who may never even look at them.
Not A Web Site Substitute
So take that money you've saved and use it to get a top-notch ecommerce site up and running. Catalog search isn't a substitute for either a Web site or site promotion plan.
One reason is that your catalog may not be welcome. Catalog topics and retailers not indexed by Google's Catalog Search include:
- Catalogs featuring liquor, tobacco, and firearms.
- Non-United States retailers
- Catalogs without product prices clearly noted.
- Catalogs with non-standard dimensions (unusually large or small) or pages printed horizontally instead of vertically.
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Even if you do meet the submission guidelines, an online catalog alone may not increase your sales by much. Many online visitors aren't willing to take the extra step to call and place an order. They may leave and find another site if they can't order from you online.
Once Google supports direct linking from the catalog to the Web site product page, visitors will be able to easily find what they want in your catalog, then immediately order it online. So be sure your Web site is ready to go when Google's ready for it!
Consider too, that Google's Catalog search is still in beta testing and many searchers don't know about yet. They'll still find you through traditional search methods by entering keyword phrases and visiting your site - not your catalog. If your site isn't near the top of the rankings, most searchers will never run across it.
But you know what to expect when submitting to search engines and working on site promotion! It takes time and effort - especially time. Even when you use a full-service tool like Search Engine Power Pack to optimize and submit your site, you may wait months for a listing.
So why not get your paper catalog online while you're waiting. It's a great way to get a Web presence at first. Then, when combined with your top search engine rank, you'll have another gateway leading interested visitors deep into your Web site.
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