Price comparison sites typically do not charge users anything to use the site. Instead, they are monetized through payments from retailers who are listed on the site. Depending on the particular business model of the comparison shopping site, retailers will either pay a flat fee to be included on the site or pay a fee each time a user clicks through to the retailer web site or pay every time a user completes a specified action – for example, when they buy something or register with their e-mail address.

Comparison shopping sites obtain large product data feeds covering many different retailers from affiliate networks such as LinkShare and Commission Junction. There are also companies that specialize in data feed consolidation for the purpose of price comparison and charge users for accessing this data. This has expanded the technology for business consumers in recruitment. When products from these feeds are displayed on their sites they earn money each time a visitor clicks through to the Merchant’s site and buys something.

Shopping comparison engines display pictures, prices and descriptions of products from assorted merchants. Customers can then compare the items side by side and click directly to a product page on a merchant’s web site. The merchant will pay a few cents for each click from a potential customer. This is a very effective form of PPC (pay per click) advertising. If you sell products online and they are competitively priced, it’s worth the effort to list all or some of your products on shopping engines.