Over the last few months Google has been tinkering with its mobile search engine, most notably by introducing a new search engine algorithm that rewards mobile friendly sites, and punishes web pages that aren’t optimised for smaller screens. Many SEO and web design experts are suggesting that this marks a shift in the way we should think about our websites, and that from now on, mobile should be at the forefront of our minds. This week, the search engine continued on its quest towards full mobile optimisation by announcing that it is introducing a new ‘Buy Now’ button for mobile search results – so what does this mean?
Essentially, this update means that Google will now add a ‘Buy Now’ button next to paid mobile search result adverts for products and services. These adverts will be listed under a ‘Shop on Google’ heading at the top of the search results page. When clicked, the button will take the user to a brand new ‘Shop on Google’ page, where they can purchase the product or service without having to leave Google, putting the search engine in direct competition with e-commerce giants like Amazon and eBay, both of which currently pay for Google adverts. However, unlike Amazon and eBay, this new feature is not Google selling the products itself, it is just offering retailers a new space within which to sell their products themselves. Although it is currently only in its testing phase, reports suggest that Google is keen to press on with this new feature, and a full roll out could be coming later this year.
So what does this mean for your website? For the time being, these buttons will not be added to natural search results, and so only companies and brands taking out paid advertisements will be able to take advantage of the scheme. As a result, you shouldn’t have to worry about how this might affect your SEO just yet. What it does show, however, is that Google is continuing on its quest for full mobile optimisation, and therefore if you haven’t yet optimised your website for mobile, you should do this as soon as is possible, as it may harm your prospects in the long run.
