Google is potentially breaking up. While the news is shocking and tentative, it opens the door for new channels with vertical search engines like Agora.

Let’s assume you sell shoes on the internet and have been paying hand over fist for Google ads. You've been primarily focused on promoting your best selling shoe but have had limited success and wonder why. You're not alone.

There are two key reasons why it’s difficult for online stores to compete on Google: 

1. When you promote your products on Google, you're competing against non-product results as well. For example, searching for "red shoes" on Google yields a combination of results spanning from products sold by large retailers to links for a movie produced in 1948 called "Red Shoes". Therefore, it’s tough for a merchant who sells red shoes to compete for the attention of a customer looking to buy that specific product.
2. Large retailers have large budgets. As a small or medium-sized store, you're competing against brand names like AllBirds, Nike, or Zara. This makes it challenging to get clicks to your store.

Agora was built because online merchants have limited options for distributing their products.

• Unless your brand is already established, it's difficult and expensive to drive traffic. Agora helps online shoppers find your products and your store.
• As explored above, given Google's current monopoly over "search", this yields limited results. Agora only shows products in search results, and provides a space for unknown brands to be discovered.
• Whether Amazon or Etsy, merchants may see more direct results while paying 15% to 25% in commission. Not to mention the time and energy spent managing yet another platform. Agora does not charge commission or referral fees. We also pull in your products and inventory directly from your Shopify and WooCommerce store, so there’s no extra work required on your end.

The potential breakup of Google offers an opportunity for new search engines like Agora to play a role in the future of online shopping. A new generation of tools and technology will build better ways to connect customers and merchants, and we have a chance to redefine what it means to prioritize relevance and purchase intent. As a search engine exclusively focused on e-commerce products, Agora provides customers searching for “red shoes” with a list of actual red shoes available for purchase (no more movies and no more competing with large retailers). With Agora, a merchant selling red shoes can confidently put their advertising dollars to work on a platform where their products are guaranteed to only compete with other products.

The end result? A positive experience for everyone: customers get highly-relevant product options and merchants make more money.