If you conduct searches on Google, you've likely seen the sponsored links that often appear above the search results. Google has added a Product Plus Box in the ads that lets searchers expand the advertisements to show three product listings. You'll recall that we wrote a thought piece about the potential of Google Base and Google AdWords that has not yet been realized. This isn't exactly what we were hypothesizing, but it's getting closer!

Google has other types of "Plus Boxes" - including ones for stock information and for maps. For example, when you see a public company in Google search results, you can click on the Plus Box to bring up more information about the stock. Webmaster World and Search Engine Land have been speculating about Plus Boxes for product listings for some time. Search Engine Land spotted them live a few weeks ago and posted screenshots that show exactly how they work.

Despite the misinformation posted by an eBay employee in a recent thread stating that Google has refused to work with eBay and instead scrapes the site, and that exposure for eBay product listings on Google is somehow a bad thing, eBay does work closely with Google. eBay is, in fact, participating in Google's tests of the Plus Box for product listings, according to Matt Ackley, Vice President of International Marketing and Advertising at eBay. You can read more about how eBay works with Google and optimizes its listings for search-engine exposure in tomorrow's AuctionBytes-Update newsletter.

In the meantime, keep your eyes open for Product Plus Boxes that show product listings from eBay and online retailers, and send us a screenshot if you can.