Dive Brief:
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Google has launched a blog post for shoppers to check how busy stores are and whether items are in stock on Black Friday.
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The search engine company is also sharing search data with advertisers, supplying them key words regarding what people are searching for on their phones and data on whether they go to the store to find it. The feature is part of Google AdWords.
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Google says that retailers using its footfall metrics have quadrupled their conversions overall and see 10 times as many conversions on mobile. Sephora, for example, found that that mobile search correlates to 18% more store visits than desktop search. In response, the beauty retailer optimized its mobile-bidding strategy and now sees 25% more ROI than when it just measured e-commerce sales, reports Search Engine Watch.
Dive Insight:
Google has been in search of ways to make its search data important to advertisers, and this refinement helps it get there. Re/Code notes that Facebook, which also shares data on store traffic, has advantage in the space in that it knows who’s buying, whereas Google’s advantage is knowing where shoppers are. That’s especially valuable tied with search.
Google says that data on the rate of store visits based on keywords is anonymous and secure.