Google Base Has Launched

Google Base Has Launched

Seems like the rumors were true, Google Base has launched this morning an is now accepting content. At first glance, Google Base may not be the “eBay Killer” everyone was beefing it up to be, but it will get there soon.

The Google Blog has also officially announced the launch of Google Base, along with testimonials from sites which has a chance to test it. “Google Base enables content owners to easily make their information searchable online. Anyone, from large companies to website owners and individuals, can use it to submit their content in the form of data items. We’ll host the items and make them searchable for free.”

Seems like Google Base is centered around the ability to upload content to the system, and in time, making that content instantly indexed and searchable via Google. Wonder how long it is going to take the Texas Hold’em Poker Squad to start spamming the Base?

The search index is separate from Google, but depending on the product of theme of the content, that content could appear in the normal Google index, Google Local or Froogle.

Greg Sterling of the Kelsey Group lends his experience and thoughts on Google Base:

Right now, it’s not going to trump Craigslist or eBay or Shopping.com or vertical sites. And it may never; it will depend on how the user experience evolves over time.

The consumer experience and the content offered will be critical. If the content isn’t there (especially local/offline content in many of these categories) then consumers won’t use it. I continue to believe that a structured user experience that creates and fulfills expectations regarding what content is present and how to access it is crucial to the user side of the equation here.

But, then again, is it a consumer destination or a content acquistion strategy or both? It’s really both—maybe with emphasis on the latter, which is primarily why it’s free to use. And, in fact, that’s where the site’s long-term value may reside for Google if it becomes a direct channel or content/listings acquisition tool for distribution to other Google sites.