Are you an online shopper? An online seller? Or both?



Either way, you may want to check out the shopping search engines this year. These websites are gaining in popularity because they compare prices, offer unique sorting abilities, and provide merchant reviews.

Who are the major and minor players in this shopping vertical? Here is a helpful list of shopping search engines and some basic information regarding them?

FROOGLE: We start here because it is connected to the ?almighty Google?. It is also the only major shopping search engine that is free to list in. Getting your products listed here will sometimes gets you an extra bonus ? a listing at the top of the Google SERPs under the heading ?Products?.

YAHOO SHOPPING: Probably one of the best shopping search engines out there. They have been at this a while and offer many extra features. Once listed, you pay a small pay per click fee.

SHOPPING.COM: Getting listed on Shopping.com also gets you listed on DealTime & MySimon. They also have 4 separate sites for USA, Britain, Germany, and France. They offer a great interface and merchant ratings.

BIZRATE: Getting listed here also gets you on Shopzilla.com. Check this site also for merchant ratings.

NEXTAG: Although mostly known for electronic products, they also list other products, Homes, and even Real Estate.

PRICEGRABBER: Another quality shopping search engine that offers information in English, Spanish, and Portugeese.

Although the above are the major shopping search engines, some of the minor engines are gaining in popularity. You might want to also check some of these?

PRICE WATCH: Mostly electronics/computer products.

SMARTER.COM: Newer site claiming to offer better ROI to merchants.

BECOME.COM: Another new engine. They include both research and shop buttons.

PRICESCAN: List on this engine for free. In fact, they don't even require a website.

SORT PRICE: Includes a unique search compare interface.

PRICELEAP: Another Shopping Search Engine worth checking out.

STREETPRICES: This site focuses on consumer electronics.

As you can see from the list above, shopping search engines are continually growing, evolving, and changing to meet both the consumer and merchant's needs. More and more online shoppers are using Shopping Search Engines to compare prices and find the products they are looking for. They want a good price. But even more importantly, they want to purchase from a reputable store.

Getting your products listed at these sites involves gathering important information, such as the product url, description, image url, and price. This information needs to be gathered and submitted in the right format to each engine. This can be done using a spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel or software such as MegaFeeder (www.MegaFeeder.com). You can also outsource this work.

As an online shopper, you should try the shopping search engines listed above. As an online seller, it's not too late. By acting quickly, you can get a jump on your competition and pull in the customers that you need.