expertSEM

You may have noticed some additional placements in the Google Sponsored Results recently, particularly when doing a retail type search. Below is a screenshot of an exclusive beta offering by Google called Product Listing Ads. It is a CPA (Cost per Acquisition / Action) model, and it pulls from listings in the Google Merchant Center (Google Base/Google Product Search) so only clients with product listings will be eligible to participate in the beta if it opens up.

In my opinion I feel this is a positive route to go for Google, once again they are leading the way by at least testing out the option for a CPA model search results listing. With the vast amount of click fraud within the search industry a CPA model may be a more feasible route to go than all the lawsuits and resources set aside to maintain a system that monitors and refunds click fraud. Granted it could open up the door for another level of fraud, however if sites are set up in a manner that forms or shopping carts etc. are using validation, the level would be substantially less.

Additional details regarding this beta offering are available on the AdWords Blog.