Which price comparison sites are right for your business? (Beyond Google and Yahoo!)

For products where competitive pricing is a defining factor, price comparison sites can be a huge opportunity for brands and retailers. They have the SEO and brand recognition that can capture massive audiences. Whatever product you’re selling, and in whichever region, there are going to be hundreds of different price comparison platform options to choose from. This will help you decipher which of these sites are more (or less) useful for you.
By getting on the right comparison shopping engines (CSEs), you can reach new users in your current markets, expand to new markets, and even better understand your offering compared to competitors. So let’s get started.

Defining the value of a price comparison site

Some price comparison platforms have an obvious value. Google is the most visited site in the world, and, for many businesses, there’s an obvious value in Google Shopping. However, what happens when you start to look into less-obvious options? You’ll want to be sure they give you access to the right audience and put you against the right competitors.

To find the right channels, there are a few general ecommerce-related questions to ask.

• How can you reach the target region and audience?
• Which sites are most popular for your most important products?
• Can you pay for listings or clicks or do you need free platforms?
• Can you bid competitively for sponsored space in order to gain visibility?

While, with the right product feed management and syndication tool, a business could quite easily get on countless channels fast - that isn’t exactly practical. Succeeding with price comparison pages will require a careful weighing of opportunities and costs. And there are a few different directions to go in…

Step #1: go niche

Maybe you sell handmade pet products. Or perhaps it’s vintage jewelry. Chances are, some of the products you sell have an audience of devout shoppers. This is why it’s critical to pinpoint which product types are most likely to have enthusiastic niche markets.
This is also why service providers are also now on price comparison sites! It can be hard to compare offerings like insurance, travel, or telecom contracts. Price comparison sites are a necessity for not only obvious industries like fashion, but just about everything. So how can you determine which products will best match price comparison channels?

Common contenders include products that are:

• Highly unique to personal preferences
• Complicated or highly specific
• Often intertwined with lifestyle
• Particularly expensive or difficult to find (but not luxury items)

Of course, technology comes to mind. Anyone who has ever bought a laptop or smartphone has likely scoured the web for the cheapest possible price. However, people are also very likely to hang around sites that focus on products that are personally important to them. For some, wine selection is an art. It’s an important part of their lifestyle. For others, maybe there’s a pet they love and want to give it the best, personally-selected toys and knick knacks.
In other words, don’t just stop at the obvious channels. Modern consumers are all about communities. They prefer concentrated groups that share values and ideas - and that includes their shopping habits. Not everyone will be on the pet toy price comparison shop, but some of your most valuable audiences will.

Step #2: cast a wide net

When you first think about price comparison sites, you probably think big: Google Shopping, Yahoo Shopping, or ShopSavvy. Massive sites like these have their own unique benefits like:

• Large user bases
• Shops in numerous countries and regions
• Strong advertising opportunities and tools
• Great SEO and surfacing in search

There are seemingly countless large price comparison sites out there, so here are some of the most important to get you started.

Step #3: get local

Big sites cast big nets - but that’s not always the best course of action, especially when you’re going into different markets. 72.4% of consumers are more likely to purchase products when the information is provided in their native language. This doesn’t just tell us that language and cultural localization is important. It reminds that different regions will use completely different sites.

For example: while ShopMania or Shopping.com may operate in numerous countries, they aren’t necessarily the native choice. Price comparison engines that are native (or more tightly tied) to a specific country are often the channel of choice.
In this example, if a retailer is looking to appear more in Germany, they will want to not only consider Shopping.com but also sites like:

• Billiger.de
• Guenstiger.de
• Geizhals.de

This means, once you can determine the regions or markets you want to reach, the next step is to discover which sites are really being used specifically in those areas.

Get testing!

Now, it’s time to round up a shortlist of your most relevant sites and get testing. Businesses will often start with just a couple (maybe pushing one campaign or certain set of products) for a few weeks. Then, it’s time to stop and analyze the results. Price comparison sites can really fluctuate, so it’s important to do this on an ongoing basis rather than see it as a once off.
While there is no magic answer for “which price comparison site will serve your business best,” the right product feed management tool can help. These platforms make it easy to tailor a retailer’s data to the specific channel and its requirements. The Productsup platform combines easy data tailoring and optimization with fast syndication, so you can get to new markets quickly. For businesses looking to compete and grow market share, this kind of solution opens up all new possibilities while reducing the workload. So be sure to both check out your best CSE opportunities and take stock of your current product feed management.