Getting Started With Google Shopping Ads

Image-based shopping is rapidly reshaping how people shop online. In today’s Google search landscape, users can see detailed product descriptions that include reviews, ratings, prices and images at a glance. Advertisers must keep up to stay at the forefront of their industry and get in front of motivated shoppers who are searching for their products or those related to their offerings. Our paid advertising experts are here to help!

We dive into what Google Shopping ads are, the types of businesses that can benefit from making Shopping Ads a part of their multichannel eCommerce strategy and Google Shopping campaign best practices to create and monitor your product listings on Google effectively. By the end of this article, you will have the tools to reach more users, increase traffic to your product pages on your website and increase sales via Google Shopping ads.

What Are Google Shopping Ads?

Google Shopping, or product listing ads, is a form of paid advertising that reaches buyers on Google and other search platforms. In our fast-paced world, shopping advertising gives users a quick overview of product listings directly in search results and a streamlined buying experience.

Google pulls information about your products directly from your Google Merchant Center account to deliver tailored results to people shopping for the products your business offers. They are extremely valuable for businesses with an eCommerce website, whether big, small, local, or regional.

Product Listing Ads

A product listing ad is the specific ad format used in Google Shopping advertising. You may hear product listing ads and Google Shopping ads used interchangeably by digital marketing professionals and advertisers online. Some core elements of product listing ads make them unique:

• Product image: a high-quality visual representing your product to attract users and make your listing easily identifiable.
• Title: gives users a brief description of your product and is relevant to the search query, increasing its likelihood of showing up for your existing and potential buyers' search queries.
• Price: displays the current listing price of your product clearly to help influence a shopper's decision directly in search results.
• Store name: shows users who are selling the product. Displaying your store name builds brand trust and recognition with shoppers online.
• Product rating: prominently shows a one to five star rating in your product listings to help shoppers make an informed decision.

Each element automatically pulls information from your product feed in Google Merchant Center, so you don't have to create each ad manually, simplifying the advertising process.

Why Use Google Shopping Ads?

Unlike text ads, shopping ads offer users a comprehensive view of the items you sell before they click, leading to more qualified leads. When run in tandem with Performance Max Campaigns on Google, your product listings can show multiple times across various platforms, significantly increasing your brand’s reach and visibility.

The fact that 85% of retail ad clicks on Google are on shopping ads is a testament to their effectiveness. Google, recognizing the value of shopping ads, actively promotes them over Text Ads for product listings to ensure the best results.

Shopping Advertising Benefits

Product listing ads appear at the top of search results and are more visual than Text Ads, driving more attention from shoppers online. From higher click-through-rates (CTRs) to more opportunities to show across Google platforms, there are many benefits of advertising your product on Google via shopping ads, including:

Full Funnel Advertising Of Your Products

Reaching customers at multiple stages of the buying process. Shopping ads appear directly in Google’s search results and across shopping websites, making them highly visible. Targeting capabilities for shopping ads are versatile and enable you to reach users during the awareness, consideration and decision stages of their journey.

Increased Engagement

Increasing the click-through-rate to your product pages. The visual elements of a product listing make these ads eye-catching, grabbing users’ attention and enticing them to learn more about your product or make a purchase.

More Brand Awareness

Driving more visitors to your website. Advertising your products on Google is a great way to increase your brand awareness and trust with existing customers, encouraging more users to return to your site or refer your business to a family member or friend. Once a user reaches your product listing page, they are likely to visit other pages to learn more about your brand story or other products/services that you offer.

Multiple Touchpoints With Online Shoppers

Showing up in search results multiple times. Promoting your products via Responsive Search Ads or Performance Max Campaigns in tandem with your Product listing ads can make them eligible to show multiple times for the same search query, allowing them to dominate the top of search results.

How Google Shopping Ads Differ From Search & Performance Max Ads

Unlike Search and Performance Max Ads, where advertisers bid on specific keywords they want their products and services to appear for, Google Shopping ads offer a more convenient approach. These ads pull data directly from your Google Merchant Center account, eliminating the need for manual keyword bidding. When you advertise your products on Google, you simply need to upload a detailed product feed, which includes helpful information about your products like titles, descriptions, images, prices and more. These components are used to create visual ads and match your products to relevant searches, making the process more straightforward and less time-consuming.

Moreover, your Google Merchant Center product feed can be directly linked to Google Ads to create Performance Max campaigns. This advanced feature uses the information in your product feed and the Google Ads platform to automatically generate ads that can appear in various formats, such as Display, Text and YouTube Ads. You can provide assets, including relevant keywords based on keyword research, self-made videos and images, and chosen audience signals, to reach your most valuable users across all stages of the buyers’ journey.

Who Should Use Google Shopping Ads?

Whether you own a local or regional business or a retail store with a large product catalog, we encourage you to make Google Shopping ads a key part of your multichannel eCommerce strategy. Advertising your products on Google will help you get in front of motivated shoppers searching for your products. This strategy can give you a major advantage over your competitors by creating more touchpoints with online users across Google platforms, building your brand’s recognition and encouraging returning users and referrals, ultimately taking sales to the next level.

Retailers With Large Product Catalogs

For retailers with a diverse product range, shopping ads offer a practical solution. By grouping related products under a single campaign using ad groups, retailers can easily track and optimize individual products and product categories. This streamlined process not only makes managing the ads more efficient but also ensures that the right products are reaching the right customers.

Local & Regional Businesses

Local and regional businesses targeting specific geographic areas can greatly benefit from Google Shopping ads. The Google Ads platform allows you to focus your ads on users who live in specific locations and are likely to visit your store or buy your product. Marketers are able to target cities, states or even a radius around a particular location.

Brands With Visually Appealing Products

Businesses that sell visually-driven products—like fashion, home décor or beauty—can stand out in a crowded market because shopping ads highlight images first. By showcasing high-quality images of your products and including all of the other important elements of a product listing ad, you can deliver a more engaging and informative experience for users.

Best Practices For Google Shopping Campaigns

Now that you know what Google Shopping ads are and how they can give you an edge over competitors, let’s discuss how to get the most out of them! Check out these Google Shopping campaign best practices from our experts at Blue Compass:

• Use lifestyle images. Users feel more connected to photos that include real people. Especially when it comes to products! Showcasing the product being used can help answer a lot of potential questions a user might have the first time interacting with your business.
• Upload multiple images to boost your ads’ potential for more impressions and clicks, enhance the appeal of your product or products, and deliver an increased understanding of your products for potential customers.
• Ensure product titles are keyword-rich and accurately describe the product, while descriptions are concise and compelling, highlighting key features and benefits. Keywords can help you show what your target audience is searching and give Google a better understanding of what you’re selling, increasing the likelihood of your products showing up in Search.
• Provide accurate product data, including ID, title, description, price, availability and other relevant attributes. Trust is a powerful tool, especially online where users don’t have direct access to the people at your business. Keeping key information up to date and accurate helps build that trust and create an optimal experience for potential customers.

Measuring Shopping Advertising Success

There are several key metrics to help you assess how well your shopping ads are performing. Understanding them will empower you to effectively evaluate and enhance the performance of your Google Shopping campaigns:

• Click-Through Rate (CTR): CTR represents the percentage of viewers who click on your ad after seeing it. A high CTR suggests that your products are attracting attention, but it's crucial to balance this with the quality of the traffic. We recommend monitoring conversions closely with CTR in mind to ensure users' clicks are truly leading to your most valuable actions.
• Conversion Rate: This metric directly measures your campaign's effectiveness in driving sales. It represents the percentage of clicks on your ad that result in a purchase. A high conversion rate indicates a successful campaign that attracts attention and convinces customers to make a purchase.
• Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): ROAS measures the revenue generated for every dollar spent on the campaign. It's a vital metric for assessing your Google Shopping campaign's overall profitability. A high ROAS indicates that your campaign is generating sales cost-effectively.
• Shopping Campaign Performance by Product: Analyzing performance at the product level provides invaluable insights. It helps you understand which products are your best performers and which could be enhanced through optimizations and pricing adjustments. This practice can also help determine if a product campaign is worth removing.
• Average Order Value (AOV): This measures the average amount spent per transaction when customers click on your Shopping Ads. By analyzing AOV, you can gain valuable insights into customer purchasing behavior and preferences and optimize your campaigns to drive higher sales.

Simplify The Advertising Of Your Products With Shopping Ads

Google Shopping ads are a great option if you want to diversify your ad placements and drive more visibility to your products online. If you’re looking to start running shopping ad campaigns but don’t have the time and bandwidth to get started on your own, we're happy to help! Please reach out to our team of search engine marketing experts in Des Moines and let us know how we can assist.