Friday, November 05, 2010 7:50 AM/EST

Google Preps Product Search Overhaul to Battle Amazon, eBay

Google is reportedly close to releasing a refreshed Google Product Search service leveraging the technology it acquired from Like.com, which it picked up in August.

Like.com makes a visual search engine that helps consumers match clothes and other apparel online and purchase them from retailers. It's part comparison shopping site and part fashion consultant. Google said after the deal:

"While Like.com will operate its Websites separately in the near term, we're excited about the technology they've built and the domain expertise they'll bring to Google as we continue to work on building great e-commerce experiences for our users, advertisers and partners."

Why would Google do this? The Wall Street Journal, which said Google could add Like.com capabilities to Product Search as soon as this year, said (paywall) Google desires to "become a key player in a market dominated by sites like Amazon.com Inc. and eBay Inc."

Good luck with that, especially trying to launch smack dab in the middle of a holiday season. Trying to vie for share versus Amazon is like trying to tackle Facebook from miles away in social, or like trying to launch a music service to compete with Apple iTunes.

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