Google have made much of their Checkout promotions where they’re basically buying market share. Spend £30 and Google will bung you a tenner so you’ll only pay £20 – a great deal for buyers and retailers with the promotion in place have reported great results. Rather than place a large order buyers are making multiple purchases of just over the £30 limit. Google have no limit on the number of transactions you can make with a particular retailer, or the number of £10s you can receive back. The more you spend the more you get.
However it’s not all great for retailers struggling to attract custom and jump through the checkout hoops. On the Checkout website it states that “merchant sites are selected for inclusion in promotions based on Google Checkout sales and the overall Google Checkout experience they offer“. Signing up for a Checkout account isn’t the universal panacea for sales rolling through the door from delighted customers with an unlimited £10 discount card.
Unless you’re invited to participate (or my take is “Unless Google think you’re going to get them enough new signups to checkout”) you’ll be hard pressed to fulfil all the criteria, which are so nebulous there is no sure way to tell if you’ll qualify or not anyway. Below is a typical email being sent out to merchants requesting more information on how to promote checkout with their promotion:
Thank you for your email.
I understand that you would like to {participate in a Google Checkout promotion/list your website XXX in our store directory.} I forwarded your information to our marketing team, who will review your website and Google Checkout account to determine your eligibility. Among other criteria (which may vary from promotion to promotion), we select sites based on their Google Checkout sales and the overall user experience they offer. To improve your chances of being selected, you may wish to try the following:
1. Place a Google Checkout button immediately beside, above or below every existing checkout button or link on your website. (Learn more about button placement at https://checkout.google.com/seller/checkout_buttons.html.)
2. Display ‘or checkout with’ between the Google Checkout button and your existing checkout button.
3. Display a ‘What is Google Checkout?’ link below the Google Checkout button. Direct this link to a page where you can explain Google Checkout benefits to your buyers.
4. Use a Google Checkout button that is the same size as your existing checkout button. If possible, make sure that these buttons are side-by-side.
If you are selected to participate in a future Google Checkout promotion, we will contact you by email. Please do not market any Google Checkout promotions unless you have received an invitation from Google.
Thank you for your interest in Google Checkout.
Transparency and straight answers about the promotion are what retailers are calling for. If anyone has more information on how to ensure a retailer qualifies for the checkout promotions please add a comment below.
