Google Image Search Results Will Now Include Shopping Ads

You’re probably used to ads popping up at the top of Google’s search results, but not when you’re trying to find a photo of say, the gadget your friend has that you might also want to buy, but you’re not sure because you have to see what it looks like first. That’s about to change, now that Google is introducing ads in its Image search results.

Many consumers are shopping online with mobile devices these days and using apps for many e-commerce sites directly instead of searching on Google, as TechCrunch notes, citing a 2015 survey that found that 44% of online shoppers go straight to Amazon compared to 34% who use search.

To redirect consumers and appeal to advertisers, Google has decided to fight back with Shopping ads.

Now when you’re browsing Google Image search results you’ll see ads for products related to whatever you were looking for, at the top of the page above images sourced from the internet. Clicking on those ads will direct shoppers to the retailer’s site so they can buy the products, thus, circumventing competitors like Amazon.

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So far, Google says early adopters — like Swarovski, Fitbit, and Kohl’s — are already using Shopping ads, and that any advertiser’s ads are automatically eligible to show on image search as part of the Google Search Network.

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