Google is dropping free product listings in Europe
Unpaid Google Shopping results are vanishing across the European Economic Area, and comparison shopping sites are taking the space.
Free product listings from Google Shopping are disappearing across the European Economic Area. These are the unpaid product results that show up in Google search without you buying an ad. Glenn Gabe says the change is confirmed by Google, and that the space is going to price comparison services instead.
Barry Schwartz posted screenshots and data on what it looks like now, crediting @Adriaan_PPC, @hugohuijer, @adsliaison and Gabriel Baumgarten. His write up is headlined "Google drops free product listings from many European regions".
What is replacing them
Gabe says the space is going to price comparison services, known as CSS or comparison shopping services, also called vertical shopping services. He also points to a drop in the "Popular products" result box across EEA countries. That box is the row of product results Google shows inside search.
This follows the same direction as an earlier change in Europe, where Google started ranking comparison sites above hotels and restaurants under EU rules.
Not everyone thinks it is a good outcome for shops in Europe. Andrea Volpini's reaction to the news was short. "This is bad 馃嚜馃嚭".
This is bad 馃嚜馃嚭
Who this affects
If you sell products and you get traffic from shoppers in the EEA, some of your free visibility inside Google's product results is going away. The sources do not say the change applies outside the EEA, and they do not give a date when it finishes rolling out.
The sources also do not say what the traffic impact is per store. So do not assume a number. Check your own data instead.
What to do
Open Google Search Console, look at your Performance report, and filter by the European countries you sell to. Compare the last week to the same week a month ago. If product related queries are down, that is where the loss is showing up.
Then check Google Merchant Center if you use it, since that is where free listings are managed, and see whether your products still appear in search for shoppers in those countries. You can do the same check by running a product search on a Google domain for an EEA country.
If you find a drop, the practical option Google is pointing at is comparison shopping services, because that is where the space is going. The sources do not spell out how to join one, so treat that as research to do, not a step to rush.
Everything here is early. One SEO says Google confirmed it, and another posted the data. Nobody has published a full picture of the impact yet.
Free listings from Google Shopping look to be disappearing in the EEA. The space is going to price comparison services (CSS) instead.