Selling products successfully with Google Shopping: Here's how it works!
Are you an online retailer and want your products to be at the top of Google search queries? Do you want to sell products directly via the search engine? Then read on!
In this article, I'll tell you how you can increase the reach and sales of your online shop with Google Shopping.
And the best thing is: As a shop owner, you don't need a large advertising budget for this!
How does it work? Just read on!
What is Google Shopping?
Google Shopping is a search engine for products that is directly integrated into Google.
You have probably already seen the shopping results that are displayed above or next to the search results in the search engine for some search queries.
Similar to an online shop, Google shows you a whole range of products that match your search query. Complete with image, price and availability. These adverts are displayed as a carousel ad or as a product box on the results page and in larger numbers in the shopping tab of the search engine.
But: Google Shopping is NOT an independent shop. The service merely shows you various providers and redirects you to their product page.
For you as a shop operator, this means that Google Shopping offers you a huge pool of potential customers. Used sensibly, you can direct a lot of traffic to your online shop and significantly increase your sales.
What are Google Shopping Ads?
Google Shopping Ads are part of Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords), but do not show adverts created by the shop operator in the traditional sense. Unlike AdWords, Google collects the required data and images for the respective products itself, provided you have released them in the form of a product data feed.
Google then uses this data to create the familiar adverts, product boxes or carousels, including prices and reviews, in order to display your products to potential buyers.
How much does Google Shopping cost?
For "normal" users, there are no costs for using the product search; shop operators have been able to use the service free of charge again since last autumn.
In a way, this is a return to the roots of the product search engine when the service was still called Froogle. The service, later known as Google Product Search, was launched in the USA in December 2002 and was originally free to use for all online retailers. In its tenth year, it was then switched to paid PLA.
Since October 2020, both are now possible. However, the paid PLAs appear higher up and are visually separated from the organic search results.
What is a PLA?
Today, PLAs are usually referred to as Google Shopping ads. PLA stands for Product Listing Ad. A PLA is a paid product advert in Google AdWords and Google Shopping that appears as soon as users, i.e. potential buyers or customers, search for a product with a suitable keyword.
Payment is based on CPC (cost per click). With the CPC model, the shop operator himself determines how much he is prepared to pay per click. If you so wish, the most prominent places for PLA are auctioned off using the CPC method. The more you bid as a retailer, the better your chances of a prominent placement in the search engine results.
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How to register with Google Shopping
You need two accounts, namely a classic Google account and a Google AdWords account. In order for your online shop's products to be displayed on Google Shopping, you must log in to the Google Merchant Centre with your Google account.
Click here to go to the Google Merchant Centre
In the Merchant Centre, fill in your company information and confirm the URL of your site or online shop.
You can then link your new Merchant Centre account to a Google Ads account - and even to multiple Google Ads accounts.
Now comes the most important step: transferring the product data to Google.
This is done in the Merchant Centre using so-called data feeds or product data feeds.
What are data feeds?
Data feeds are lists that contain all the products in your online shop along with the most important information about each individual product (product data). This information includes the name, price and an image of each product. The item dimensions or size may also be relevant.
However, which product data, attributes and properties you need to enter in the feed varies from product to product.
For this purpose, Google has compiled a detailed list of mandatory and optional product information. I recommend that you take a good look at it before or during the creation of your data feed.
Not all feeds are the same
Google differentiates between main feeds and sub-feeds.
The main feed is the shop owner's most important source of data. If every product in the main feed fulfils the data requirements and eligibility requirements of the Merchants Centre, you don't need any other feeds for the time being. Google recommends uploading the entire inventory, i.e. all products, in a main feed.
Nevertheless, sub-feeds can be useful as a supplement to the main feed. You can use them to update data from products that are listed in the main feed.
What format should the feed have?
You can upload your feeds in various formats. You can choose from
- txt: Text
- .xml: XML
- .gz: Gnu-Zip, compressed text or XML file
- .zip: Zip, compressed text or XML file
- .bz2: Bzip2, compressed text or XML file
With many shop systems, such a feed can now be read out quite easily
If that went a little too quickly for you, I can recommend Google's detailed guide to creating and uploading feeds. Here you will be guided step by step.
Once you've uploaded your feeds, you can start creating your campaign in Google Ads.
The type of Shopping campaign you choose is ultimately up to you. It certainly makes sense to start with a free campaign to begin with.
In many cases, it makes sense to use the free and paid Shopping campaigns in parallel. Especially if there is a lot of competition in the product search. However, this depends on many factors.
Our Google Ads team will be happy to advise you on which Shopping campaign is right for you.
3 quick tips to sell more products as a retailer on Google Shopping
Success on Google Shopping stands and falls with the quality of your feeds on Merchant. The better the data sheets are compiled, the more you will sell via the search engine. You should definitely take these 3 tips to heart when creating your listings.
- Use meaningful titles
Search queries are often very specific. Make sure that you name your products as precisely as possible. Of course, this includes the exact product name, but other information can also be relevant. Bad: "Samsung Galaxy mobile phone". Good: "Samsung Galaxy S20 5 GB black - Pay attention to relevant search terms
As mentioned, Google gets the information about your products from your data sheet. Google also decides which keywords your adverts appear for. You should therefore make sure that the search terms relevant to you appear in your product data. - Use high-quality images
Especially in the free area, the competition for search queries is now very high. You only have a fraction of a second to get the attention of your potential buyers. The first glance ALWAYS goes to the image first. So make sure that you present your product well and professionally.
For whom and when is a paid Google Shopping campaign worthwhile?
The service can be an excellent way to increase the reach of retailers and thus generate traffic and therefore more sales. Paid PLA can effectively boost your business.
To be really successful, it's worth taking a closer look. Which campaign makes sense and when? When is it worth investing in a paid campaign (PLA)?
In principle, Product Listing Ads are worthwhile for every online retailer and every product type. Especially when other marketing measures do not work or are too expensive and time-consuming.
Here are 2 examples:
Example 1: SEO
SEO for individual products is hardly worthwhile, as the top rankings are usually dominated by large brands (Amazon, Zalando, Ebay, etc.). The time (and therefore the money) you invest in optimising product descriptions is wasted in such cases.
Example 2: SEA
Setting up Google Ads campaigns is time-consuming. The ad texts have to be written and extensive keyword research has to be carried out beforehand. In addition, the landing page must be optimised. This must fulfil Google's quality criteria, otherwise it will have a negative impact on the quality score and the click prices will increase. This can be expensive.
PLA saves you this time and financial effort. You set up the data feeds and you're done.
This type of advertising is also worthwhile if you can keep up with your competitors' prices.
In the shopping results boxes or display carousels, the price is displayed alongside the product image and other information.
If you are much more expensive than the competition, nobody will click on your Shopping result.
Another reason why shopping campaigns are (still) worthwhile is that this type of advert is not yet so well known among the broad mass of shop operators. This could be a competitive advantage for you.
In addition, some big players are no longer involved. Amazon, for example, does not place Shopping adverts.
For whom and when are Product Listing Ads not worthwhile?
In a nutshell:
- If you can't keep up with your competitors' prices
- If you sell a niche product that nobody is looking for
- If there is no category in which your offer fits exactly
Conclusion:
In this article, I've explained Google Shopping and shown you how you can use it to attract more customers and increase your sales.
You have learnt
- what Google Shopping is,
- how to sign up for it,
- how to create a data feed of your products and
- for whom and when Google Shopping is worthwhile.
If you still have questions or would like professional support in creating Google Shopping campaigns, please contact us. Write to our email address
Any questions?
If you have any further questions on the topic or would like professional support, feel free to get in touch with us. Send an email to office@ithelps-digital.com, call us at +43 1 353 2 353, or reach out for us on our contact page.
