Google is going to split its shopping service off as a standalone unit so it can comply with the requests of the European Union according to a new report by Bloomberg. As part of the separation, Google’s Shopping services will now apparently be using its own revenue to bid on ads in a fair and competitive manner, though it will still be part of Google and stick to being under its ownership. The changes that Google will seek to make in compliance with the EU’s request for the company should be proposed this Thursday, September 28th, which has been Google’s deadline to come up with a plan to compete fairly with other rival companies for shopping ads in Google’s own search results.
The date of this Thursday should mark the two-month time frame that Google was given to meet the EU’s request for a compliance proposal over its anti-competitive practices for shopping ads in Search results, after the EU reportedly reviewed Google’s initial proposal for compliance and offered up its approval back on September 5th. Though Google’s Shopping service will now apparently pay for its own ads, a recent report also mentions that Google had suggested that companies, its Shopping service included, bid for ad placement in Search results as part of an ad auction, and since Google’s shopping service is reportedly going to pay for the bids out of its own pocket and not use Google’s money, this would seem to make it for fair for everyone involved.
These changes are part of how Google will avoid having to pay more fines to the European Union, following the 2.4 Billion Euro fine it received from the EU back in June. More details about Google’s compliance plan are likely to surface in the coming days as the deadline gets closer, though there is no guarantee that there will be much more information than what is already available. What should surface though is a confirmation on Google’s plan to split off the shopping service into its own unit, and Google may offer up more information on how and when exactly these search ad auctions will take place. According to the report, shopping search ads will end up being displayed in a 10-slot order with links to relevant retailers, with those slots being filled by retailers who win the spot in the auctions, though this will only be for Google’s European websites.