A war is unfolding online between two search behemoths: Amazon and Google.
This conflict extends well beyond smart home devices such as Google Home and Amazon Echo. It's far bigger than Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, which are both voice assistants. Today's consumer and the search queries they employ to make purchases are at odds.
Consumers, incidentally, use these two search engines in different ways.
Key Points
- People search differently on Amazon vs. Google, and their actions produce distinct results.
- From the first recognition of an issue to the final transaction, Google covers the full customer journey.
- Amazon is a conversion machine, focusing on customers who know exactly what they want.
Analysis of Amazon and Google Searches
Let's pretend you despise vacuuming so much that you've decided to look into robot vacuums. However, how can you pick the best one?
You go to Google to find an answer to that inquiry. To understand more about the technology, you conduct a search for "robot vacuums." Then you compare items by narrowing your searches to "best robot vacuum" and "robot vacuum reviews."
As a result, Google provides a slew of articles, reviews, and videos, as well as queries and answers that are identical! Google even includes a scrollable list of the "Top 16 Robotic Vacuums" in the search results.
Google provides both organic and paid options for you to consider while you investigate specific brands and models.
Your friend Jake was also looking into a robot vacuum while you were doing all of your Googling. Jake's adventure, on the other hand, took a different path. Jake, who was previously accustomed with magical robots, opted to get an iRobot Roomba. Jake needed his vacuum to arrive quickly. As a result, he went to Amazon, where his shopping experience would be efficient, dependable, and predictable.
He looked for Roomba and checked the "Prime" box. The findings included a variety of appealing options, including look-alike vacuums from Amazon's house brand.
Then he made his decision and left. But why didn't Jake look for the Roomba on Google?
Amazon vs. Google (Amazon vs. Google)
Google is a far superior search engine, making it the most common first point of contact for the vast majority of global searches. Why wasn't it Jake's fault?
So, think about when you'd utilise Google. Perhaps you simply despise vacuuming. Or perhaps you simply don't have the time. Or perhaps you've heard of Roombas and are wondering if they're worth the hype. In these circumstances, you believe Google to be a more trustworthy source of unbiased third-party information.
You will, on the other hand, only go to Amazon once you have decided that you want a robot Roomba.
As a result, while Google remains the most popular search engine, Amazon commands a 54 percent share of product queries. To put it another way, Amazon, not Google, is the world's most popular ecommerce search engine.
The Amazon vs. Google conflict is commonly misunderstood as a fight for global search domination. However, this is not the case. Different financial strategies and underlying motivations drive the two search behemoths. When consumers buy advertising, Google makes money. However, that ad space is only useful if people actually utilise the search engine. That is to say, Google's search algorithm has only one goal: to provide the best possible results for any sort of query.
On the other hand, what motivates Amazon's A9 search algorithm? Conversions and sales.
It's a divide that gives Amazon and Google two quite different search experiences. As a result, in order to master both, you must first master each one.
The goal of the search
The consumer's road to purchase is broken down into three phases: awareness, contemplation, and decision. We can observe how the Amazon vs Google dichotomy serves different search goals along the funnel by translating these stages into three unique actions - find, compare, and purchase.
More about funnel phases can be found in our article What the Heck is ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu?
Research and learn
When comparing Amazon with Google, it's clear that Amazon caters to a far smaller group of searchers: active shoppers.
A shopper might use Amazon to do product research and discovery (Google Home Max, for example). They must, however, have a general understanding of what they want. Is it a smart speaker, clothes, a kitchen timer, a white elephant present, a robot vacuum, or something else? They want to shop and buy, not sift through every piece of information available.
Furthermore, the purchaser should be aware of the following:
- That they are more concerned with ease and cost than with quality.
- That they're willing to tune out fresh possibilities in favour of familiar and trusted companies.
Nobody shops on Amazon because it is a haven for high-quality, expertly picked goods (arguably, the platform has the opposite reputation).
You'll find what you're looking for on Amazon's search engine if you know exactly what you're looking for. How do you narrow down your search, though? Typically, you begin with a considerably more extensive study and discovery phase. This is where Google has the upper hand. Not simply items, but also content and experiences are served by Google. As a result, even high-funnel searches about consumer pain spots and interests might lead to your products being discovered.
Compare
On the bottom of most product pages on Amazon, you'll find a comparison tool:
This utility primarily reformats Amazon's search results to make them more compact and user-friendly. Its functionality is otherwise limited. However, it isn't worthless if you have a certain notion of the thing you want.
When you compare Amazon with Google, you'll notice a pattern emerge.
Its comparison tool, like Amazon's product discovery features, is aimed at low-funnel buyers who have a good idea of what they want. Or they may already know what they want but are waiting for final confirmation. A quick-and-dirty comparison tool is a bit more effective than Google's organic listings for that audience. (However, a Google user might still go to Google Shopping to limit their search results to things that can be purchased.) They can then filter and sort using comparable comparison techniques).
Customers can also browse product reviews on Amazon. They can only read the reviews on each product page and must then connect the dots.
When a shopper compares possibilities using Google organic search, they're usually a little further down the funnel. They've agreed on a product, and now they need to figure out which brand sells it the best. At this point, they are more concerned with value and fit than with price. Which product gives them the best bang for their buck, or which ticks the most boxes? They'll look for outside input in the form of reviews, blog entries, articles, product roundups, and more.
It's also very likely that the user will gravitate toward third-party content that is objective. Google has the upper hand in this area. For comparative shoppers, Google's efforts to deliver valuable, neutral content without a purchase-driven goal are a better fit than Amazon's.
Purchase
Finally, we get at the stage of the funnel where Amazon outperforms Google: the purchase phase. Amazon's converting process is quite simple and straightforward. In fact, a person could most likely discover what they're looking for and check out in less than 60 seconds. Furthermore, utilising Prime gives you more control over things like shipping costs, delivery timelines, product returns, and purchase cancellations. On a platform where the response is the same every time, you won't have to ask any of these questions.
There are more stages to purchasing on Google. At the very least, you'll look for the item you want, go to the ecommerce site, add it to your cart, and fill out the checkout form. You may need to take additional procedures, such as looking for answers to shipping and return inquiries that you don't have to ask on Amazon. And your journey may be even more intricate than that; each ecommerce site offers a distinct experience.
However, there are a number of reasons why individuals could start their purchase on Google rather than Amazon, the most important of which is that not every merchant or brand uses the Amazon platform to sell their products. This is a particularly critical factor for brand-loyal customers when picking between Amazon and Google.
Things to Think About
Brand Reputation and Positioning
People shop on Amazon for two reasons: convenience and low prices, two attributes that aren't always associated with high-end items. As a result, evidence is emerging that Google is the preferred platform for high-end businesses, whereas Amazon is favoured for mid- and low-end brands.
During comparative or awareness-driven Google searches, brand reputation is even more crucial, since the company's voice and values can make or break a customer's decision.
By the time the user gets to Amazon, they've already decided whether or not they like a particular brand. Furthermore, through websites and material that may appear in the Google SERPs, a brand's capacity to sell in their own voice, tone, and personality is significantly larger.
Keyword analysis
When people are in different stages of the purchase funnel, they search for different keywords, and keyword searches on Amazon reflect that: they're quite specialised. They'll usually feature the product's name and brand, as well as any other qualities or attributes.
Google attracts keyword searches at every step of the funnel, giving you access to both high-funnel, awareness-driven searches and extremely targeted long-tail terms at the bottom. The number of keywords you can target is virtually limitless, as is the amount of optimised content you can create. On Amazon, however, the amount of content you may create is restricted by the number of things you sell.
Keyword relevance is a vital ranking element for both search engines in the Amazon vs Google struggle for today's customer.
Here's how to conduct intent-driven keyword research.
Quantity of searches
Google's volume of queries dwarfs Amazon's as the world's most popular search engine. However, keep in mind that Amazon accounts for 54% of all product searches. For millions of shoppers, both search engines are essential touch points.
Another reason Amazon's search traffic is inherently lower than Google's is that as users progress down the funnel, search volumes tend to decline. Many of the high-funnel rivals have already gone on to other questions by the time the user reaches the decision phase.
Reviews
While product reviews are a component in rankings and conversions on both Google and Amazon, Amazon's algorithm is less sophisticated, thus Amazon's reviews have more weight. Simply simple, Amazon only has to answer two major questions: 1) Is this the product that the user is looking for? Is it a decent product, too? The first question is answered by relevant keywords, CTR, and conversion rates; the second question is answered by online reviews.
Funnels for conversion
Amazon converts 6X better than the top ten retail sites in the United States, according to one survey. In addition, the platform converts at a far higher rate than Google. This is due to where customers are in the conversion funnel, as well as the mindset of the searcher. Many more sorts of searches are available on Google, resulting in a greater number of client touch points along the purchase cycle.
People convert well on Amazon because they go there when they're ready to make a purchase. This isn't necessarily the case on Google or even an ecommerce site, where you may use blog entries, look books, user-generated material, and other content to raise brand awareness and educate customers about your products.
Here are 41 ecommerce conversion rate optimization techniques to help you increase sales.
The encounter
Before purchasing a product, today's consumer journey entails multiple searches and visits to multiple pages. This occurs not just once, but several times, on multiple devices, and frequently over time. The Amazon search experience, on the other hand, is more direct and tactical, resulting in a faster path to buy.
However, this does not imply that Amazon is your golden key to sales. There would be no buy phase if there was no long, meandering discovery phase - no one would care about the brand or products in the first place.
Successful retail and brand tactics
Optimize for Amazon as well as Google.
In the end, buyers swing back and forth between Google and Amazon to fulfil their various wants. Both search engines are critical components of an omnichannel marketing strategy.
Consider ToFu MoFu BoFu as a keyword to target throughout the sales funnel for Google. Focus on low-funnel keywords on Amazon. On Amazon, keywords are usually basic and don't require the same level of keyword research as they do on Google; the brand and product name, as well as particular product qualities, is nearly always the best option. Consider the following keywords from two distinct Roomba titles:
Because some searchers already know exactly what they want, each title begins with the brand name and model number. Roomba, on the other hand, understands that most people aren't sure which vacuum they want down to the model. As a result, they incorporate the keyword "robot vacuum" as well as the precise features that a customer would be looking for. These products might appear if a shopper searched for "robot vacuum for pet hair," for example.
If you have a lot of similar products, create names that serve double duty and help you distinguish them at a look. Users can deduce from the title which Roomba is wifi-connected and interacts with Alexa in the example above. If the search results show how the product suits a customer's wants, you'll enhance your conversion rate.
You have the potential to rank for phrases that would not meet the search intent of a Googler because Amazon search results only give products, not products or content.
Take the term "robot vacuum" for example. A Roomba listing would suit the bill if someone searched for this on Amazon. Furthermore, there are various other forms of Amazon ads you may utilise to increase your search engine presence.
Google, on the other hand, has deduced that people searching for "robot vacuum" are looking for knowledge rather than items. As a result, the top Google results for the keyword are as follows:
Dominate the organic Google SERPs
When it comes to your ecommerce marketing plan, the Google SERP is one place where you may quadruple your profits. Whether your customers use desktop computers or smartphones, Android or Apple, text or voice instructions, Google will almost certainly be their first stop. Instead of asking, "How can I own as much SERP real estate as possible?" ask, "How can I own as much SERP real estate as possible?" (Just remember to say "hello Google" before asking).
Google frequently gives Amazon product sites a high ranking. This allows you to take up more space in the SERPs by improving your website's ecommerce product page as well as your Amazon page.
Then add Google Shopping Feeds, video, social media, and PPC to the mix, as well as optimising your category sites, creating enticing content, and producing spectacular videos. Conduct an outreach campaign to get the attention of periodicals and influencers. Claim listings and ask for favourable feedback. You'll be looking at near-total SERP dominance for a number of high-value keywords before you know it. And that is how the conflict is won.