What’s the most popular type of ad? Take a guess.
If you guessed Google shopping, you’d be right. Retailers spend over 75% of their search ad budget on Google Shopping ads. And their investment is paying off: Shopping ads represent 85% of all clicks.
If you’re an eCommerce brand, you need to be using Google Shopping ads. Read on to learn more about the benefits and how to set up your Google Shopping campaigns for success.
Sections
What Are Google Shopping Ads?
Google Shopping ads are a more visual ad type that look like an entry in your product catalog. The format of a Shopping ad is different from that of a standard text ad in that it packs in a ton of visual information that makes people want to buy. Shopping ads include a photo of your product, along with the title, price, and store name. You can even add other attributes like the product’s star rating, and if it has free shipping.
Google Shopping ads appear in multiple places on Google, including within the regular search results, in their own dedicated Google Shopping tab, and around the Google Display Network.
There are three types of Google Shopping ads: Product, Showcase, and Local Inventory ads.
Product ads feature one product and are designed for specific product searches, like “green v-neck sweater men’s”:
Showcase ads feature several related products and are designed for broader category searches, like “office furniture”. These ads can feature multiple retailers, and are good for brand awareness or highlighting a product collection:
Local Inventory ads let you create a virtual storefront within Google for your brick-and-mortar locations. Searchers can browse your products, check availability, and get directions! Here’s an example from Target:
3 Benefits of Google Shopping
There’s a reason why Google Shopping ads are so popular. Check out these benefits.
1. Shoppers get more info at-a-glance.
With Google Shopping ads, you can show a lot more information than your basic text ad. You can include a product photo, the price, how many reviews it has, and whether there’s been a price drop or current promotion.
2. You get more qualified clicks.
Even better, that information is easily digestible to the shopper. As a result, they have a much better idea of whether or not they’ll like your product before they click on your ad. If they do decide to click, they’re much more likely to complete their purchase!
3. Your ads get more reach.
The beauty of Google Shopping ads is that they’re available in all the same places traditional search ads are, and some. Google Shopping ads have their own special tab in the search results, pictured below. They can also appear at the same time as a text ad — giving you double the impressions for a single search!
Setting Up Your Google Shopping Campaign for Success
Get started on the right foot with these Google Shopping best practices:
- Maintain an accurate product inventory. After you’ve set up your product feed, find a way to keep it up to date. Google relies on it to understand which products are eligible for ads.
- Make your product titles keyword-friendly. From the example above, Banana Republic’s “Men’s washable merino wool V-neck sweater olive heather” tells us the material, style, color, and pattern of the men’s sweater.
- Use high-quality product photos. The better your product looks, the more likely people will click! Choose your best product photo for your Shopping ads.
- Take advantage of the additional fields. You can add a lot more than image, price, and brand — so why not do it? Add star ratings and review counts, shipping information, and current promotions into your product feed.
- Get expert help. With all the details you can add, managing Google Shopping campaigns can get complicated quick. Ensure you’re making the most of yours by calling in the experts. At Your Marketing People, our optimizations took a Google Shopping campaign from a negative 50% ROI back into the black, with a 10% revenue increase year-over-year. Contact us here.
