Google Checkout

Posted on July 12, 2006, 2:12 am by E-junkieChef under E-commerce

Google Checkout is a new service launched by Google, which is meant to help online shoppers to buy things easily. Checkout can be added easily by online merchants to their websites in addition to their own payment systems and other payment options, like PayPal.

Checkout has been designed to work with Google AdWords and it may encourage merchants to spend more on advertising through Google.

Google AdWords is a search advertising program that helps merchants to reach people who are searching for their products or services. AdWords uses Cost-per-click (CPC) pricing, which allows you to control your advertising budget and pay only for the clicks your advertisement has received, at a price you have set. You can create and edit your own advertisements with ease.

Google and PayPal say that they are competitors as well as collaborators. The reason for this is that PayPal gets a large volume of traffic from Google and one of Google's largest AdWords customers is eBay, which owns PayPal.

At the same time, they are both entering each other's core markets. People who buy and sell on eBay are not permitted to use Checkout and must use PayPal to process payments.

What benefits does Google Checkout offer to sellers?

Online merchants are interested in boosting earnings and reducing expenses. Checkout is a new method of transaction processing that works together with AdWords to help merchants to fulfill both goals. Checkout provides comprehensive support to promote the sales of your goods or services and offers the following benefits:

Catch the attention of more customers: Shoppers who see the Google Checkout Badge on your AdWords advertisements will be able to find you easily while they are searching and this will generate more leads for you.
Convert more leads into sales: The Checkout buying process offers speed and security. This will encourage more customers to buy from your website and you will be able to convert more leads into sales.
Free processing: You can process $10,000 of sales for free for every $1,000 you spend on AdWords. If the sales exceed this amount, or if you don't use AdWords, your sales will be processed for as little as 2% plus $0.20 per transaction.
Fraud Protection: Google's payment guarantee policy provides protection from chargebacks and the fraud prevention tools prevent invalid orders form reaching you.

Search advertising is very popular among merchants, though it is getting expensive. If Google's Checkout is able to help merchants to sell more, they are more likely to increase spending on AdWords and this is in the interest of both.

How can I start accepting payments through Checkout?

Presently, only merchants with a United States address and bank account can use Checkout to process transactions.

Merchants who use Checkout have to comply with Google's content policies. They are not permitted to sell Items like adult goods and services, alcohol, body parts, etc.

All you have to do to get started is to complete the signup process by providing your contact details and business information. You can obtain free transaction processing by linking your AdWords account with Checkout thoughyou can sign up for Checkout even if you are not an AdWords advertiser.

After completing the signup process, you can integrate Checkout with your website and start receiving orders. You have a choice of three integration options, which are: Buy Now buttons, e-commerce partners and Google Checkout Application Programming Interface (API).

A Buy Now Button is displayed next to items on your website and it allows customers to proceed immediately to the buying process, without having to view a shopping cart summary first. As soon as a customer confirms a purchase, it will be displayed in the Google Checkout Merchant Center and you can process it.

You can use Buy Now buttons to integrate your website with Checkout quickly and easily by updating some HTML. You can also avoid setting up a shopping cart on your website. However, Buy Now buttons only allow you to sell single items at one time. To enable your customers to buy multiple items at one time, you will have to set up a shopping cart on your website and integrate it with Checkout.

Place Buy Now buttons on your website only if you are sure that you can fulfill the orders. Remove them if you don't intend to fulfill orders anymore, to avoid confusing buyers.

The e-commerce providers Checkout is presently partnering with are ChannelAdvisor, Infopia, Monster Commerce, Mercantec, Volusion and Shopsite. If you are already using an application from one of these e-commerce providers, you can easily integrate with Checkout, without needing any programming or API skills.

Checkout buttons allow you to use your existing shopping cart to sell multiple items to buyers. To use Checkout buttons on your website, you must associate with an e-commerce partner who has integrated with Checkout. You can also use Google Checkout API to integrate your website with Checkout.

The Google Checkout API is a protocol that enables your servers to exchange data directly with Checkout. You can post shopping carts directly from your website to Checkout. It allows you to charge credit cards, arrange refunds, process coupon codes, etc. You can use the API to manage order processing activities, which would otherwise be handled within the Google Checkout Merchant Center.

Integration of your website with Checkout can be completed in a matter of minutes if you do it via Buy Now buttons or via one of Checkout's e-commerce partners. Integrating via the Checkout API takes more time.

What benefits does Checkout offer to buyers?

Checkout is a free service and any buyer with a US address can open an account. Buyers can store their names, credit card details and shipping information, on Checkout once and avoid the need to submit the data to different merchants every time they make a purchase.

Buyers can rely on Google to process the credit card payment and to keep their personal data safe. They can select the preferred mode of payment during checkout and keep track of purchases they make. Buyers can also request a refund or cancel the order, though this depends on the policies of individual sellers.

Not all online stores accept Checkout at present. Some of the stores that accept it are Timberland, Buy.com and Starbucks Store.

If you are a Citi credit card member, you can register your credit card on Checkout and get $5 or 1000 ThankYou Points.

Checkout keeps credit card data safe and reimburses buyers for unauthorized transactions, as is done by other payment processing services. Buyers can keep their e-mail addresses confidential and choose to not receive e-mail from merchants.

Checkout is meant to make it easier for buyers to find things they want and to buy them. It is designed to make buyers feel more secure and to complete the buying process conveniently.