I think someone may have missed a memo or three. Ever since the introduction of Google Base and the transition from Froogle Merchant feeds to Google Base feeds, any product information uploaded to Google Base automatically appear IN Froogle. Think of it this way. Froogle allowed product information to be uploaded with a limited set of information. Google Maps (Local) allowed business information to be uploaded with a limited set of information. More and more Google “verticals” were allowing users to upload their own information for inclusion in the vertical. Rather than managing these different sets of feeds, Google created Google Base - the generalized place to upload all sorts of information in a common format. Google Base also expanded the sheer amount of information you can provide and how this information can be organized. Therefore, I say again, if you are uploading products to Google Base, these appear on Froogle.

So, wondering why Google is asking everyone to upload using the Google Base format, then wondering why Google is not sending everyone to Google Base is missing the point. Google Base is for UPLOADING content, not VIEWING content. This is why they removed the search box from Google Base, because Google Base is not meant to be a destination for browsers… it is a destination for information PROVIDERS. This information is then distributed to Google’s various vertical systems.

The transition away from Froogle that Google talked about was not a transition from Froogle searches to Google Base searches… it is a transition from Froogle searches to Google.com searches. The plan is to make it so that product searches on Google.com provide users with a direct way to filter and sort to find products rather than just being led to Froogle.com as a secondary destination. Do a search on Google.com for HOMES and you will see what I mean. An extra box appears allowing users to refine their search. The data comes from Google Base. Do another search for JOBS. You see? Google doesn’t need to bother creating a JOBS SEARCH site and a HOMES SEARCH site when they can do everything within Google.com as the search engine for everything. Google Base provides this information and is considered the generic secondary vertical. However, in regards to products… again… any products uploaded to Google Base automatically appear on Froogle. So, the only difference between uploading directly to Froogle or using the Froogle feed format… and uploading to Google Base… was that Google Base allows you to provide richer product information and, as a result, will allow users to better refine their choices.

Traditionally, the holiday shopping season begins the day after Thanksgiving… so anyone who has been waiting for a miraculous change well before then might be jumping the gun a little. Just my two cents.
http://www.stareclips.com/?google-base-changes-everything

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