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Roles and players

Price comparison site

Also called price comparison site, price portal, CSS (Comparison Shopping Service), price comparison engine.

Short answer

A price comparison site is a website that shows the same product at several retailers sorted by price, and sends the user on via affiliate links or pay-per-click. The site earns commission or CPC when the user clicks out and possibly buys from the chosen retailer.

Definition of Price comparison site.

A price comparison site gathers the same product from many retailers on one page and sorts the offers by price. The user already knows what to buy and is only looking for where – which is why the traffic is among the most purchase-ready an affiliate can send. Well-known examples are PriceRunner in the Nordics and Google Shopping globally.

Earnings come from clicks and sales: some retailers pay per click out of the site (CPC), others a commission on completed purchases (CPS) via affiliate links. Product data comes from the retailers' product feeds, which the site fetches automatically – prices and stock status must be updated continuously, because a wrong price is spotted by the user immediately.

The model works best for identical, comparable goods – electronics, white goods, tools – where an EAN number unambiguously matches the product across stores. For stores the channel is double-edged: the traffic converts well, but competition is on price, so the channel favours the cheapest offers.

How products are matched

The comparison rests on GTIN/EAN numbers: two offers with the same EAN are shown as one product with several retailers. If the number is missing from the feed or is wrong, the store's offer ends up as a separate, incomparable product – and loses exactly the position next to competitors' prices that the channel is all about.

In the Google Shopping ecosystem, price comparison sites also have a formal role as a CSS (Comparison Shopping Service): an approved CSS can place shopping ads on behalf of stores and compete for the same ad slots as Google's own service.

Price comparison as an affiliate model

The model can be built in niche format: a site that only compares one product category – for example robot vacuums or e-bikes – combines comparison tables from product feeds with reviews and guides. Traffic typically comes from searches such as 'best robot vacuums' and 'product name price', where buying intent is high. Earnings follow the clicks out of the site: every retailer button is an affiliate link, and the table updates automatically when the feed changes prices.

How it goes wrong

  • 01

    A feed without EAN

    Without correct GTIN/EAN numbers, the site cannot match the store's products with the identical products from other retailers. The offer is shown in isolation or not at all, and the store is effectively invisible in the comparison.

  • 02

    The price on the site does not match the price in the store

    If the feed is updated less often than the store's prices, the user sees one price on the comparison site and another at checkout. That costs conversions and, over time, the site's credibility.

  • 03

    Only the top gets clicks

    If the store is never in the top 3 on price, it gets impressions but few clicks. For affiliates it works the other way round: in niches with fierce price competition, a CPC deal can earn more than a commission that is rarely triggered.

Frequently asked questions

How does a price comparison site make money?

Mainly from clicks and sales: retailers pay either a fixed price per click through to their store or a commission on the purchases completed via the site's affiliate links. Some sites add featured placements and ads.

How does my web shop get onto a price comparison site?

By supplying a product feed with EAN numbers, prices, stock status and product links – either through a direct agreement with the site or via an affiliate network. The feed must be kept up to date, otherwise wrong prices are shown.

Is a price comparison site the same as a coupon site?

No. A price comparison site helps the user find the cheapest retailer of a particular product, while a coupon site collects codes and offers from individual stores. The intent differs: hunting for a product versus saving money in a store the user has already chosen.

Why does traffic from price comparison convert so well?

Because the user has decided to buy before the click happens – only the choice of retailer is missing. Clicks from a price comparison site happen directly on a specific offer with a known price, so a large share end up as orders.

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