Google Checkout glitch disconcerts advertisers

By Juan Carlos Perez

August 17, 2006 12:00 PM ET

Recommended

(1)

Digg

Twitter

Share/Email

IDG News Service - Google Inc. this week temporarily attached Google Checkout icons to ads from companies that haven't signed up for the online transaction system, a glitch that caused some confusion among advertisers.

"For a short period last night [Tuesday], the Google Checkout icon was inadvertently assigned to ads for U.S. AdWords clients who are not Checkout users. We resolved this very quickly and do not expect it to impact ad performance," a Google spokesman wrote via e-mail on Wednesday.

Merchants don't have to be Google AdWords advertisers to offer Google Checkout as a payment transaction option on their Web sites. However, merchants that are AdWords advertisers get a break on Google Checkout fees. Specifically, for every $1 merchants spend on AdWords, they can process $10 in sales through Google Checkout at no charge.

These merchants' ads also appear with a Google Checkout icon, to let potential shoppers know that they'll be able to complete the transaction using that Google system. This week's bug was noticed by various users and commented on in discussion boards and blogs.

Reprise Media Inc., a provider of search engine marketing services, wrote about the problem in its SearchViews blog after officials noticed on Wednesday morning an overabundance of Google Checkout shopping cart icons in AdWords ads.

"To see whether this truly was an explosion in the use of Checkout or just a weird glitch, we Googled ourselves, and sure enough ... the little blue cart denotes Reprise Media as a certified Google Checkout merchant, along with two other sites. We're not," the blog posting reads.

Over on ThreadWatch.org, others commented on the proliferation of Google Checkout icons and wondered if it was a bug or a sign of broad adoption of the service.

Google Checkout, launched in June and is seen by many as a potentially serious challenger to eBay Inc.'s PayPal, has been criticized recently by some merchants and shoppers that feel Google sometimes takes too long to review and approve sales orders.

Reprinted with permission from

IDG.net
Story copyright 2009 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Jump to comments

google checkout icons online transactions adwords advertisers web sites merchants search engine

Additional Resources

WHITE PAPER

Do You Know the 7 Steps to Successful Data Migration?

Approximately 60 percent of data migration projects overrun time or budget, while some fail completely. Download this white paper, "Enhancing Your Chance for Successful Data Migration," to learn the critical steps you need to take to execute a data migration project with minimum cost and risk to your business.

WHITE PAPER

Total Cost of Ownership of Server Computing Vs. PCs

Read the Gartner research note to learn why the TCO of a server-based computing deployment used to deliver all applications to users is around 50% lower than that of an unmanaged desktop deployment.

WHITE PAPER

IDC White Paper: Linux in a Global Recession

Economic downturns have a tendency to accelerate emerging technologies, boost the adoption of effective solutions, and punish solutions that are not cost competitive or that are out of synch with industry trends. This IDC White Paper presents the results of an IDC survey of 330 companies in Western Europe, Asia/Pacific and the Americas that measures the receptiveness to Linux and takes into consideration changing views driven by the disruptive economic environment that businesses face today.