Stand out in search results with eye-catching Google Shopping Ads. Here’s how to get started and make the most of this powerful feature.
The vast majority of shoppers start their commercial searches on Google, and with Google Shopping ads driving 75% of clicks on searches for non-branded products, it’s a no-brainer to incorporate them into your brand’s marketing strategy.
Previously, if a shopper went to Google to search for a non-branded product they’d receive a boring text based ad that showcased a brand name versus the exact item they were looking for.
Now with Google Shopping, merchants are able to promote their products with ads that include the product title, image, price, and retailer name, making them much more compelling to shoppers.
Google Shopping ads are created via the Google Merchant Center where merchants can easily upload product data to be pulled into ads. Merchants then have the opportunity to choose relevant keywords to ensure their products show up under the appropriate search terms.
Google Shopping ads are displayed above organic search results and Google Search Ads, meaning they have optimal positioning on Google’s search engine results pages (SERP) to capture shoppers’ attention and encourage conversion.
For example, if a shopper searches for “vegan protein”, they are presented with a line of Google Shopping ads showcasing a variety of relevant products matching the search query. Someone looking to buy some vegan protein can quickly scan and compare their options based on the image, description, price, and star-rating in order to make a confident purchase decision.
When clicked on, these ads take shoppers directly to the merchant’s product page where shoppers can complete their purchase. Reducing any friction from browsing to checkout.
Highly-qualified traffic: shoppers that click on a Shopping Ad are far more likely to be further through the sales cycle with a high intent to buy. They can compare prices and products at a glance, which maintains shopping momentum
Hit the top results: merchants can get their products listed at the top of Google search results for highly-relevant search terms using keyword research and descriptive product information that can be input in the Merchant Center
Easy to manage: setting up and running Google Shopping Ads is straightforward. The Merchant Center allows sellers to pull product information into ads, upload high-quality images, and populate their ads with other information, like reviews and pricing
Stand out: merchants can increase their product’s visibility against competitors by incorporating reviews and key information into Shopping Ads that instill buyer confidence
Higher conversion rates: studies show Google Shopping Ads convert more shoppers than text-based ads since searchers are close to the bottom of the funnel and ready to buy
Start by creating an account in Google’s Merchant Center. This is where you’ll upload information about your products, your store, and your brand to help differentiate you from competitors.
You need to have a Google account to get started, as well as choose your location. Once you’ve verified and claimed your website URL, you can start uploading product information right away.
Once your account is ready to go, you can start to upload your product data. Here are some of the key data points you’ll need for best results:
The unique ID you use to identify your product
The name of your product to show in the title of your ad
A short description of your product
The predefined Google category your product falls under
The type of product A link to the product page
The availability of the product
The price
The sale price if appropriate
The final step is to create an ad campaign. Start by giving it a name and adding the products you want to include. You can always change your product selection and create groups as you go, building up a product feed with different identifiers, such as price, availability, and product type.
For best results:
Make sure your price and product data is clear to avoid confusion
Segment your campaigns to showcase similar products
Make it easy for shoppers to navigate your product pages
Retarget shoppers who have already shown an interest in your products
Optimize your product descriptions with keywords
Reviews form a vital part of the shopping journey. They instill buyer confidence and provide social proof, which is particularly important for lesser-known, smaller brands. In fact, shoppers who interact with social proof are 4-5x more likely to convert than those who don’t.
By incorporating reviews and ratings into your Google Shopping Ads, you provide shoppers with more information about your products and showcase their value.
When you’re competing against larger, well-known brands who sell similar products, it’s important to make sure your ads stand out. Reviews and ratings do exactly this.
Our preferred review and UGC platform, Okendo, helps merchants harness the power of social proof and improve conversions on Google Shopping ads by incorporating rich review data.
As a trusted Google Shopping Reviews partner, Okendo helps merchants collect customer reviews using a wide variety of content generation tools and successfully connects them to merchants’ Google Shopping feeds. As such, you can feel reassured that any challenges you face setting up along the way will be taken care of successfully by the Okendo team.
To stand a chance of competing in today’s fierce competition, merchants need to show up top in Google search results. Google Shopping allows you to do this through well-placed ad cards that detail your products’ key data points.
We recommend using Okendo to enhance your ads with ratings and reviews, you’ll encourage shoppers to click your products over your competitors, building credibility in your brand with new customers and boostings sales as a result.
Showcasing reviews as part of Google Shopping campaigns is a great way to capture attention and drive traffic. But that’s only half the battle. It’s critical that we continue that experience across the website so users can very simply see review scores of products throughout the browsing experience and read the reviews once they find a product they’re interested in.
Even if it’s only minor adding some branding to your review widgets is also a really nice touch. Learn more about reviews and conversion rates here.
With social media taking over the marketing space, gaining awareness, retaining attention, and converting people is a competitive space. So how does your business stand out and meet your goals through social media marketing?The key is having an effective digital marketing mix. Each platform is unique in its offering and its audience, requiring different marketing methods and tactics.
With changes in attribution models and numbers not adding up across platforms, how do we know what’s really working?
Don’t lose your powerful message in confusing, jargon-filled copy. One of the best tips for writing is to simply write clearly.Copywriting is about inciting action. If your message is entertaining, great! But if the call to action isn’t clear, you simply won’t see results.
