Google has recently added two new widgets that online stores can use to verify they are reliable sellers and win over online shoppers. 

E-commerce retailers can now add two new store widgets to their sites, which highlight their store quality to shoppers. 

Specifically, Google is adding a store quality widget and a store ratings widget to the existing top quality store widget so that brands can choose the most effective and relevant widget for their online store. 

What Do They Do

Each widget is designed to highlight specific performance ratings based on stores’ online sales, which in turn helps shoppers easily identify stores they can trust. As Google said in the announcement:

It addresses two fundamental challenges ecommerce retailers face: boosting visibility and establishing legitimacy. The widget helps you attract customers and encourage them to make a purchase. Businesses using the store widget on their websites saw up to 8% higher sales within 90 days compared to similar businesses without it.

Here’s a little more about each widget:

Top Quality Store Widget

Once a store has earned a Top Quality Store badge, the retailer can then add this widget to their site. The widget highlights top-quality reviews, shipping and return performance, and highly competitive pricing options. 

Store Ratings Widget

The Store Ratings widget is similar to the Top Quality Store widget in that it highlights your performance for the same set of metrics. However, the Store Ratings widget can be added to your website even if you have not earned a Top Quality Store badge yet. 

Store Quality Widget

The Store Quality widget is a streamlined version of the store widget intended for brands that do not have store ratings yet. Instead, it solely showcases your performance ratings for shipping, returns, pricing, and payment options. 

These widgets may not seem like gamechangers, but in a crowded online marketplace with scores of shady businesses, widgets like these can go a long way towards earning consumers’ trust and driving new sales.

TikTok says its Search Ads campaigns help drive big increases to both engagement and purchases as its search engine grows in popularity. Since their launch in September, the search ads have helped advertisers claim high-value opportunities on search results with high purchase intent. 

In new data from the company, the campaigns contributed to significantly better performance than mid-funnel campaigns without search ads, including:

  • 2.0x higher purchase lift compared to TikTok initiatives without search campaigns.
  • Enterprise advertisers saw 2.2x purchase lift compared to initiatives without search campaigns. 
  • Enterprise retailers received 1.9x purchase lift and notably higher return on ad spend compared to those without search campaigns. 

While data from social networks themselves will likely always paint a rosy picture, these numbers suggest that Search Ads Campaigns are effective at capturing the attention of high-value searchers and turning those into purchases for advertisers. 

Why It Matters

TikTok is rapidly growing as not just a major social network, but also as a search engine. Younger internet users are increasingly turning to social search engines like one offered by the social network rather than using Google. Recent numbers indicate that TikTok is now processing billions of searches every day – including many with high purchase intent. 

Sissi Xu, TikTok’s Search Ads Product Strategy Lead, says this shift is driven by a desire for more perspectives and more diverse sources compared to traditional search. 

“Every query on TikTok is not only ‘What’s the Answer?’ but also ‘Whose take can I trust?’ Users scan a chorus of creators, friends, experts, and brands before deciding what resonates.”

This mindset may speak to why the company’s data drives 61% more action than other search tools and why 75% of TikTok search users think TikTok is the best place to discover new brands and products.

Search Ads Campaigns are one of TikTok’s first steps into search advertising, and it is already showing to be a powerful tool for those looking to capitalize on the popularity of TikTok search.