As one industry insider stated in an email, Froogle’s new layout is “very comparison engine-esque!”

Froogle quietly updated its site yesterday. Scroll down for before and after pictures. There are a number of changes, but here are the basics:

1) The sponsored links (Google AdWords) are no longer flooding the right side of the page (note to Froogle: you need to update your About Us section to reflect this change), but rather have been more elegantly placed across the top of most Froogle pages (the ads do not show up on Merchant Ratings pages). This simple change makes the site a hell of a lot cleaner.

2) Search result pages and product pages have been streamlined and now look more like the pages of other comparison engines. See pictures below.

3) Google has moved beyond text links! Froogle is using a ‘Compare prices’ button as opposed to the standard text link.

4) If you type in iPod, an iPod actually comes up first. This is a major improvement. In the past, iPod accessories would show up above iPods. Hmmm…maybe Froogle has finally worked out some relevancy issues.

Froogle old search result page - Note AdWords ads on right hand side, clutter underneath product listings:

Froogle new search result page - Note AdWords ads on top of page, new button to compare prices, sorting options in drop down box, option to add to shopping list:

Froogle old product page - Note multiple listings (including images and descriptions) of same product, only 2 choices of how to sort (price low to high and price high to low):

Froogle new product page - Note single listing of image and expanded description at top of page, more choices of how to sort results, a much more standardized comparison engine approach: