There have been rumors floating about for some time that Google was going to be adding a buy button to their ad options. In a recent interview at the Re/Code Code Conference, however, that rumor was confirmed. Google’s Chief Business Officer, Omid Kordestani, commented that the buy buttons would be showing up soon, though he didn’t expand on what exactly soon really meant. He also didn’t provide much information as to how these buy buttons would operate.
With so little confirmed information it is natural that there is a lot of rumors and speculation being put forward. There are some things, however, that we can be fairly confident on based on some quality reports from the Wall Street Journal and other locations. While not technically confirmed by Google, let’s go over the items that we can expect to see when this new feature rolls out:
- Landing Page – Once users click the ‘buy’ button they will be directed to a landing page where they will complete the transaction. This landing page will be hosted by Google. What we don’t know, however, is exactly how much control the marketers will have on what that landing page looks like, what type of payment options there are or even what (if any) cut of the sale Google will take.
- Merchants Handle Shipping & Handling – The merchants who are actually selling the product will still handle all the shipping, handling and other logistical items involved. Google is just going to be serving as a ‘middle man’ where the transaction is made.
- Merchants Handle Support – In addition, the merchants will continue to handle all the support for the products or services they are selling.
- Some Information Gathering – There will be some options for merchants to gather information like emails and addresses on the buy page. Whether these emails will be able to be added to existing lists or other things, however, we don’t yet know.
What we Don’t Know
There is, of course, a lot we don’t know about the service. Of course, everyone will have a different set of questions and concerns to deal with, but these are the key questions I’d like to see answered by Google as soon as possible:
- When do Merchants see Money – When a purchase is made does the money immediately go into the merchant account, or does it go into some type of Google account for a time?
- How are Returns Handled – If a customer doesn’t like the product or service, do they work with Google at all for returns or go directly to the merchant? Does Google have any requirements on what type of return policies are in place?
- What does the Buy Page look like – Do merchants or marketers have the ability to create their own landing page, or does Google control that? How much flexibility is there?
- When will the Program Roll Out – Of course, when will this option officially launch?
While many people think the program will be rolling out in the coming weeks, we don’t know anything for sure. This is going to be an important feature to keep an eye on both now, and well after it has launched.
