Free listing of retail is an excellent way to connect consumers with more merchandise from businesses. Earlier, Google showed free listings in the Shopping Tab, but now will show them in the main Google Search results page, in a move to increase consumer interaction.
At the moment, listings on the Search results page is sponsored, which is not used by many small to medium businesses. When Google started showing free listings on the Shopping Tab, they observed a significant increase in user engagement, with both increased clicks and impressions.
Google is now deciding to bring these free listings directly to the Search results page. Initially, free listings on Google Search will appear in a product knowledge panel for a particular item. Ads in the Shopping tab will continue to be available to merchants, which will be shown at the top of the page.
The feature will first rollout to Google on mobile, followed by desktop for users in the US.