Fighting a battle with Amazon.com Inc. to be the preferred entry point for Internet shopping, Google Inc. last year retooled its lucrative search page. Its strategy is showing signs of progress.
在与亚马逊公司(Amazon.com Inc.)争夺首选网络购物入口地位的大战中，谷歌(Google Inc.)去年改造了其颇为赚钱的搜索页面。它的战略如今开始显示出取得进展的迹象。
The change allowed retailers to post pictures, descriptions and prices of products at the top of search results, both on desktop computers and, later, mobile devices. For example, a Google search for 'microwave oven' shows a grid of photos for specific models, sold online by retailers like Macy's Inc. and Target Corp., with prices clearly marked. The ads more closely resemble what Amazon shows shoppers than Google's typical text-based ads. The same search on an iPhone shows a carousel of such ads that users can swipe through.
谷歌的调整使零售商可以在搜索结果的顶部发布商品照片、产品描述和价格，先是台式电脑可以利用这一功能，随后推广至移动设备。举个例子，用谷歌搜索“微波炉”，会显示梅西百货(Macy's Inc.)和Target Corp.等零售商在网上销售的具体款型的照片，并明确标明价格。这种广告更像亚马逊面向购物者投放的广告，而非谷歌那种典型的基于文字的广告。用谷歌搜索iPhone，会显示一系列相关广告，用户可以滑动屏幕进行查看。
By directly helping searchers who know what they want, Google's 'product-listing ads,' as they are called, reduce the number of clicks before users get to the 'buy' button. Searchers click on product ads 34% more frequently than regular text ads, according to Adobe Systems Inc.'s research arm.
对于那些知道自己想要什么的搜索者，谷歌所谓的“产品列表广告”可以减少用户抵达“购买”按钮之前的点击次数。据奥多比系统公司(Adobe Systems Inc.)旗下的研究公司说，相比常规的文字广告，搜索者对这类产品广告的点击量要高出34%。
Recent data suggest that such product-listing ads are attracting advertisers and revenue-generating clicks. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and eBay Inc. are the top buyers of Google's product ads, according to AdGooroo, a search-advertising research firm. Marin Software Inc. says that its advertising clients more than doubled spending on Black Friday product ads, compared with last year.
最近的数据显示，这类产品列表广告开始吸引广告客户，还能带来可以创造收入的点击量。据搜索广告研究公司AdGooroo说，沃尔玛(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)和eBay Inc.是谷歌产品广告的最大买家。Marin Software Inc.说，其广告客户在今年黑色星期五的广告支出较去年增加了一倍以上。
One happy advertiser using Google's new ads is John James, chief executive of Acumen Brands, which owns retailer CountryOutfitter.com. The product-listing ads 'perform very well,' he says, particularly when searchers know what they are seeking, like the Ariat Rambler Cowboy Boots his company advertises on Google. 'They are definitely a way to unlock value compared to old text ads,' Mr. James says.
约翰・詹姆斯(John James)就是一位使用谷歌新广告并感到满意的广告客户。他是Acumen Brands的首席执行长，该公司旗下拥有零售商CountryOutfitter.com。詹姆斯说，产品列表广告表现非常好，尤其是当搜索者知道自己想要什么的时候，比如他的公司在谷歌打了广告的Ariat Rambler牛仔靴。詹姆斯说，相比过去的文字广告，这种产品列表广告毫无疑问是释放价值的一种途径。
At stake is supremacy in the U.S. e-commerce market, which comScore expects to grow 14% to around $210 billion this year. While many think of Amazon and Google as being in separate businesses, the two are locked in fierce competition to be the first search box shoppers turn to when they are browsing products online. As more Internet users begin searches on Amazon's marketplace--which comprises an array of vendors besides itself--Google loses an opportunity to show them ads.
广告客户争夺的是美国电子商务市场的霸主地位。comScore预计，美国电子商务市场的规模今年将增长14%，至约2,100亿美元。尽管很多人认为亚马逊和谷歌业务不同，但这两家公司却在激烈竞争成为购物者在网上浏览产品时首选的搜索提供商。随着更多的网络用户开始在亚马逊的集市上搜索产品――亚马逊的集市上除了亚马逊本身外还有很多零售商――谷歌失去了一个向这些用户显示广告的机会。
In a recent survey, analytics and software firm SDL asked people the top three places they intend to research gift purchases this holiday season. 'Online search' registered 45%, down from 49% a year ago. Meantime, the channel growing the most in popularity was the one that includes Amazon, jumping to 37% from 31%.
在最近的一项调查中，分析及软件公司SDL请受访者列出这个假日季首选的三个搜索网购礼物的地方。“网络搜索”占了45%，低于上年的49%。与此同时，人气增长最快的是包括亚马逊在内的渠道，从31%增至37%。
Many e-commerce experts say Google has a long way to catch up to Amazon when it comes to online-shopping searches. Jeff Jordan, a former eBay executive who is now a partner at venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, contends that Amazon thrives by offering a better shopping experience than Google. He says the formula of selection, price and convenience is 'radically in Amazon's favor,' with its large network of merchants, consistent low prices, one-click ordering and fast shipping.
很多电子商务专家说，在网络购物搜索方面，谷歌要赶上亚马逊还有很长一段距离。前eBay高管、现为风投公司Andreessen Horowitz合伙人的杰夫・乔丹(Jeff Jordan)承认，亚马逊通过提供比谷歌更好的购物体验而兴旺起来。他说，将商品选择、价格和便利性综合起来看，亚马逊占了明显优势，亚马逊拥有庞大的商户网络，一贯的低价格、一键点击下单和快速的发货。
ChannelAdvisor, which manages e-commerce efforts for retailers, says its clients' sales via Amazon increased about 25% in the third quarter, compared with a year earlier. Sales to users who arrived via search engines like Google increased about 1%.
为零售商管理电子商务活动的ChannelAdvisor说，第三季度其客户通过亚马逊实现的销售额较上年同期增加了约25%，对通过谷歌等搜索引擎而来的用户的销售额增长了约1%。