Search giant Google added music listings to its search results this week, allowing consumers to click to buy music within the results. This provides another option for music retailers and advertisers promoting anything music-related.
Even though Yahoo, MSN and others already offer music search results, Google's move could affect music marketers.
“Because of the market share they have…it makes it more intriguing. It certainly could impact those music retailers positively: if they now have the ability to capture traffic in that manner, it could free up their advertising budget for other things,” said Danielle Leitch, vice president of marketing and analytics at search marketing firm MoreVisiblity, Boca Raton, FL.
Google added music results because, “We found that a huge number of users conduct music-related searches,” according to a Google spokesman.
When a user enters a music search term on Google's home page, results include a “more music results” link. Users click through to a “Music Results” page, which includes the artist or band's Web site, album photos, song and album reviews, and links to sites where they can buy the album.
In one search, the iTunes Music Store, MSN Music and Amazon, were among the retailers listed, along with smaller, independent music sellers.
Though the Music Search feature primarily applies to artists popular in the U.S., Google plans to expand the results to classical music, worldwide artists and lesser-known performers, said David Alpert, search quality product manager at Google.
In addition, music retailers should get in touch with Google if they want to be listed in the results, Alpert said.
Christine Blank covers online marketing and advertising, including e-mail marketing and paid search, for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters
