What Grocerants Can Learn from Google

It seems that everyone uses Google, and obviously competitors like Yahoo and AOL know that all too well.  According to Engadget, one primary reason users may prefer Google is that the internet firm uses something it calls the "knowledge graph." It's part of what makes the powerful search engine provide search results far more useful than just a list of links. As a result, you can get lots of info right in Google without having to click on any search results.  

Why should your grocerant  -- and every department in your supermarket, come to think of it -- care? Well, the latest addition to Google’s food mobile search brings up a carousel of recipes at the top of the results page, too. 

Engadget explains that Google also added some filters to those recipe results. Right below the search bar are additional suggestions you can use to refine your results. For example, when searching for "fried chicken," Google then gives users the option to add other discriptives like "oven-fried," "buttermilk," and "southern fried" to filters, which can better narrow down recipes.  

You can also tap "view all" to move out of the standard search page and see a bigger, more detailed array of recipe cards accompanied by a picture and quick preview of the recipe. 

The opportunity is this: When you combine these recipes with the local food results and knowledge graph info that Google has already been serving up, Google ends up offering a whole lot of useful food information without having to tap into your website. So how can you fight to keep those clicks and customers? Make sure that your IT folks take a look at what Google is doing and be sure to offer similar, easy-to-sort offerings on your mobile app – or you can just pay Google a ton of money to move you to the top of the list.