Google Shopping Campaigns Have Changed The Game For eCommerce.
Google Shopping Ads Offer Better Conversion-rate, Revenue, Brand Recognition and eCommerce Results.
Google Shopping Campaigns have changed the game for eCommerce stores. They not only target quality traffic and attract valuable leads, but they also promote your products by displaying detailed information to users before they click the ad.
What is Google Shopping?
Google Shopping is a brand-new product discovery platform.
If the user clicks on your ad, she will be taken directly to the product page.
7 Great Benefits of Google Shopping Ads
Amazing visibility for your products
Greater advertising ROI
Broader reach for your ads
Better qualified leads
Easy setup and simple management
Valuable reporting tools
Mobile-friendly display
How Does Google Shopping Work?
There are thousands of eCommerce stores available, but the average consumer is unaware of them. Even major brands, such as Etsy, are still relatively unknown in some circles.
How to Add Your Products to Google Shopping?
Set up a Google Merchant Center Account
Optimize Your Product Imagery
Collect and Input Your Product Feed Data
Link Your Google AdWords Account
Create a Google Shopping Campaign
Place Bids on Your Shopping Campaign
Target and Schedule Your Shopping Campaign
Build Ad Groups
Let’s talk about how to get your products listed on Google Shopping. Below, we’ll walk through the steps required to set up your account manually.
1. SET UP A GOOGLE MERCHANT CENTER ACCOUNT
To have your products appear in Google Shopping results, you must first create a Google Merchant Center account.
Google Merchant Center is simple to set up and navigate, and it essentially serves as your home base for your products and product information.
2. OPTIMIZE YOUR PRODUCT IMAGERY
Google Shopping indexes search results using uploaded product feeds, but the featured images are pulled from the respective retail sites. As a result, before you market your products on Google Shopping, you should optimize your product imagery and listings on your website.
Google Shopping is a visually appealing experience. Your product photos are arguably the most important aspect of your listing, and they may influence which product shoppers click on and purchase. Google is aware of this, and to provide a great shopping experience for consumers, it will reject Google Shopping campaigns if the images are of poor quality.
3. COLLECT AND INPUT YOUR PRODUCT DATA FEED
After you've optimized your images, it's time to create your product data feed. Your product feed tells Google everything there is to know about your products. This information is critical because it assists Google in finding and displaying your products when people search for specific product terms or attributes.
Go to your Google Merchant Center account to configure your product feed. Click Products > Feeds, followed by the blue "+" icon.
To begin, select your country and language. This information is crucial because it determines which demographic(s) will see your products.
Next, give your product feed a name and decide how you'll enter product information.
If you use Google Sheets, you can upload your spreadsheet or use one provided by Google Merchant Center. This step also gives you the option of creating an upload schedule based on how frequently you update your inventory.
If you want to make your spreadsheet, use the product attributes you want as column headers. Fill in the blanks with each product as its row. Leave a cell blank if an attribute does not apply to a product. Simply upload the completed document to Google Merchant Center.
From then on, you can find your product feed in your Google Merchant Center account by going to Products > Feeds > Primary feeds.
4. LINK YOUR GOOGLE ADWORDS ACCOUNT
The Google Shopping results that appear when you search for a product on Google are advertisements.
That's right — you have to pay to have your products listed on Google Shopping. While Google Merchant Center is where Google gets your product information, Google AdWords is where consumers see your products via Shopping campaigns, which we'll cover next.
You'll need to link your Google AdWords account to get your products in front of shoppers via Google Shopping.
Enter your Google Merchant Center username and password. Three vertical dots appear in the upper right-hand corner. Click those to expand the menu, then select Account linking.
If you do not already have a Google AdWords account, you can sign up for one from this screen. Alternatively, click Link account and enter your Google AdWords customer ID. Your AdWords account should be linked once you're finished.
5. CREATE A GOOGLE SHOPPING CAMPAIGN
You'll be able to create a Google Shopping campaign and advertise your products once your Google AdWords account is linked. There are a few options for getting started.
A Google Shopping campaign can be created using your Google Merchant Center account. You should be able to access your Google AdWords account from the same location after linking it via the account linking page. Simply click Create Shopping Campaign from there.
After that, enter the name of the campaign, the country of sale, and the daily budget. After clicking Create, you'll be prompted to continue managing your campaign in Google AdWords.
Another option for creating a Google Shopping campaign is to use Google AdWords. Access your Google AdWords account. Navigate to the Campaigns tab on the left-hand side menu, click the blue "+" icon, and then select New campaign.
6. PLACE BIDS ON YOUR SHOPPING CAMPAIGN
Following that, you'll be prompted to choose your bidding strategy and set your campaign budget in your Google Shopping settings.
Bidding is how you pay for people to see, click on, and interact with your advertisements. "A sufficient bid and high-quality product data will earn your ad a higher rank," Google claims.
7. TARGET AND SCHEDULE YOUR SHOPPING CAMPAIGN
The final section of the Google Shopping campaign settings is dedicated to campaign targeting and scheduling. This section is critical because it determines who will see your product advertisements and when they appear.
The first two options - Networks and Devices - should remain unchanged. They're essentially telling you where your product ads will appear.
8. BUILD AD GROUPS
After you've finished configuring your Google Shopping campaign, you'll be prompted to create ad groups for your campaign. Ad groups dictate the types of ads you'll run and how you'll organize bidding for those ads.
You can run two ad groups: Product Shopping ads and Showcase Shopping ads. Product Shopping advertisements promote a single item. Showcase Shopping ads are a new advertising format that allows you to promote multiple products as part of a product or lifestyle ad representing your brand or business.
If you select a Product Shopping ad group, enter a name for the ad group and a maximum CPC bid.
If you select a Showcase Shopping ad group, enter a name for the ad group and a maximum CPE (cost per engagement) bid. Finally, decide which products to promote as part of the Showcase Shopping ad.
Conclusion
Google Shopping is a refreshing change from the usual text-heavy online shopping experience. It's almost like a digital mall — customers can enter, search for what they want, and see various brands and product types on one screen. As a result, many people prefer shopping for products on a marketplace rather than on a standalone eCommerce site.