Google Hightlighting Advertisers With Google Checkout

Isn't anyone concerned about where this might go? I've had my issues with Paypal over the years, but Paypal does not control the most used search engine out there. Sounds like an awful lotta power for Google to have - the top search engine, top PPC program, AND (they are hoping) top payment processor.

So...what will this mean in the long run for non-Adsense ecommerce sites, not to mention those who use AdSense but don't offer GCO?

It'll be an uphill battle, but probably one worth fighting for. I know a number of people that are unhappy [1] with PayPal and [2] that there isn't a viable alternative.

I like to see Google always trying new things. YPN is very slow to do anything.

They've been doing this for a while. I think the icons used to be green actually... the gray looks better- it blends in more.

noticed it to..

I think it is great Google is providing some competition to PayPal...all they need to do now is come out with an auction site.

Interesting catch, John. However, what about this oddity that I've spotted twice in row this week:

http://www.ronaldlewis.com/blog/2007/02/ads-by-g-g...

Why are there variations in the presentation of the "Ads by Google" moniker? It's odd.

I've seen them doing this for some time now, but Google has yet to figure out how to make PayPal "broken" for the people (like me) that use it for pretty much all online transactions.

Showing the little icon is nice, but does it really factor into a user clicking on the ad? I'm sure it doesn't yet, but it might in the future.

Google won't get me to switch over until they show me that PayPal is broken and I can't live without Google Checkout. Until then they're going to be spinning their wheels, I'm afraid.

Its about time that Paypal has a decent competitor. Google has some really good promos to get everyone to convert to them including free transactions until 2008 for AdWords advertisers.

Google Checkout has offered the $10 promotion as well as the cart icon for quite some time now in their search results, but this is the first I have seen the cart icon in an Adsense ad. Any competition for PayPal will be helpful to the market.

I believe that they've been doing this for months already. I remember seeing some of the shopping cart adwords icons back in December.

Yeah, I noticed this a few days ago on my own blog.

They've had a blue shopping cart on normal AdWords ads (on google.com) for a while...

But does AdSense "accept" credit cards? Or does it just apply to the domain?

Excellent idea on Google's part. Though it will be bad for websites that promote themselves and don't sell any products.

At last some competiton for EBAY AND PAYPAL! About TIME. I cant wait till CHeckOUT IS more famous than Paypal.

Yeah it looks like they have esculated the battle with PayPal. Unless we are getting paid more for stores with the checkout mark, it is badly done by Google, but very very smart. It is in theese moments one understand what kind of power Google actually has.

It wouldn't surprise me if the amount of checkout stores that use checkout will increase a lot the comming weeks. That, in turn, will increase consumers with checkout. This will probably end with a monopoly owned by checkout, unless Google removes the checkout mark at the ads.

Looks like a good way to get more click throughs to. Those ads get my attention more than the others, personally.

It's a smart but logical way to advertise their service, however I still like Paypal more; I can't even sign up on Checkout without entering credit card info - it's not that common to have a credit card here in Europe, it's quite a market they're missing.

John this is good, and I have no apology for the conservatism of PayPal.

PayPal did not recognize transactions in my country (Nigeria), for whatever reason. Imagine if PayPal had monopoly of online transactions!

Bravo Google.