The Complete Guide to Google Shopping Ads

POSTED BY Greg Keating ON Jan 11, 2021 7:01:05 AM

Complete guide to Google shopping ads.

What are Google Shopping ads?

Shopping ads have comprehensive information about the product like the name of the merchant, price, and image of the product. These ads are created using various data features from the product information submitted in the data feed of Merchant Center.

This information is visible to people looking for advertised products. Merchants can customize their ad content easily and conveniently. They can decide the price and set a budget convenient for them. It is also possible to measure the impact of ads using high-end performance tools and advanced reporting. 

These Shopping ads can be created in Google Ads, making it convenient for product advertising on Google. Running these shopping campaigns helps in managing, organizing, and optimizing Shopping ads. Further, using benchmarking tools and power-packed reporting, monitoring, and optimizing campaign performance becomes easier. 

Product data is important for merchants as it helps them in creating and managing Shopping campaigns. Making product data easy to access, these campaigns help in easy browsing and organizing of product inventory. Merchants can make well-informed decisions concerning the advertising strategy. Go through the Google Shopping ads guide and understand its nuances. 

Google Shopping Ad Types

1. Product Shopping Ads 

Product Shopping Ads are types of ads wherein product information such as its title, image, price, and link to the store is included. This information about the product is submitted using a Google Merchant Center account that is linked with the store. These ads can be easily created with Shopping campaigns. 

These ads appear on Google Search, Google Shopping Property, Google Search Partners, and Google Images. The merchant is allowed to create a unique ad using a business name, store name, pricing, title, and an image. 

2. Showcase Shopping Ads 

Shopping Showcase ads are a type of informative ad where information on several other related products is shared. When people search for a product in more general terms, these ads are shown. 

Thus, merchants can use these ads to introduce their business with special product selection or advertise a brand. These ads can be created in Shopping campaigns with the ads appearing on Google Search, Google Shopping Property, Google Search Partners, and Google Images.  

3. Local Catalog Ads (LCAs)

This is another type of ad wherein merchants can advertise the products they want to show in the form of a catalog. Such an ad comprises a title, product image, and a Call-to-Action link driving visitors to the website. 

These ads are used by merchants to reach mobile shoppers, drive store visits, and promote store deals. These are very easy to browse and check out ads showcasing multiple products. 

4. TrueView for Shopping (YouTube) 

Make interactive video ads using TrueView for Shopping Ads. It helps to connect products directly with the viewers and provide them with pertinent information helping the customers make a purchase decision. 

The existing Merchant Center Product Data is used by these ads to generate shopping cards. In a video at, as many as six shopping cards can be generated at a time. 

Merchants can select specific products or filter the inventory to be shown in the video ads.

5. Smart Shopping Campaigns

Smart Shopping Campaigns helps in simplifying campaign management, expanding your reach, and maximizing conversion value. This campaign is a blend of remarketing campaigns display and Standard Shopping campaign. 

It makes use of ad placement and automated bidding for the promotion of business and products across networks. 

How Does Google Shopping Work?

Google Shopping is used for browsing products from merchants and advertisers who have decided to feature their products on Google Shopping.  It is prudent to note that Google Shopping offers get ranked based on their relevance. It includes Google activity and other search terms. 

Data ads are also used to bring about an improvement in the quality of the result. ‘Sponsored’ label offers refers to advertiser payment to Google influencing grouping and ranking of items. Clicks on these ads are the way through which Google is compensated. 

Google also receives a commission for every purchase for Buy on Google offers appearing on Google Shopping. It is easy and convenient to customize the results of Google Shopping. 

The results can be filtered by categories like the product category, price, and brand. The entire activity can be viewed by going to My Activity on the Google Account. More information can be learned by visiting the Customer Ads Help Center on Google. The displayed products in the search results of Google Shopping may not display all available products. 

Advertisers and merchants featuring their products on this platform also participate in commercial activity. They need to be compliant with Google Shopping policies that give detailed information on what can and cannot be listed on Google Shopping. 

The items that are not compliant with their policies are removed by Google shopping. In some cases, the merchant violating these policies also gets suspended. Merchants and advertisers need to share the details of the products and keep the listings updated regularly. 

As soon as a listing is updated by the advertiser, there may be a slight delay in new information and data showing up on the Google Shopping listing. 

When a buyer finds something interesting on Google Shopping, check out the applicable taxes and item price. But on Google offers is an exception where the buyer can click on the product on the merchant’s site and buy the same. 

The costs of shipping vary immensely depending on the shipping method, destination, and merchant. Thus, it is good to keep checking the final cost on the website of the merchant. The information can be found on the merchant’s site about applicable warranties and insurance. 

How to Create a Profitable Google Shopping Ad?

In these present times, shopping has become very convenient, easier, and quicker, with eCommerce stores coming up in a big way. Whether it is buying shoes or clothes, electronics, or accessories, everything is available online. 

Today, the range of products available online has further expanded and home entertainment, groceries, office equipment, and educational products are also available for online purchase. 

Merchants and advertisers can reach out to a larger market by creating a Google Shopping Ad and displaying their products available for sale. Here check out The Complete Guide to Google Shopping Ads and understand how it can be done. 

#1. Make Product Photos and Listings look good.

It is imperative to note that Product images can make or break your ads. Thus, the images and listings need to be high in quality. Using watermarked or edited product images is a strict no-no. 

Ensure that the product images being uploaded are only of the products that are being sold. Family-friendly images are preferred as there are fewer chances of them getting suspended. 

#2. Make sure your store compiles all requirements & Policies for google shopping ads.

When setting up Shopping Campaigns, it is imperative to meet certain requirements. To begin with, accounts need to be set up with Google Ads and Google Merchant Center and link them together. 

The content in Shopping ads and campaigns must be compliant with Shopping ads policies which may differ from Google Ads policies. Product promotions, business types, website, etc., must meet Shopping ads requirements before advertising may begin. 

#3. Set up and Create Your Google Merchant Center Account 

Using a Gmail account, the advertisers and merchants need to sign up for Merchant Center. In the absence of a Google Account, it is recommended to visit accounts.google.com and create an account. 

When the account is set up, go to the Merchant Center, and use your Google Account, sign in to get started. Basic information needs to be shared to set up and create the account. The merchant also needs to agree to the Terms of Services. 

#4. Create your Product Feeds

It is easy, quick, and straightforward to create google shopping feeds. A data feed or product feed is a .txt, an excel, or .xml file containing pertinent information on the product. 

This information is shared with Google Shopping and other shopping channels to communicate what all product listing information will contain. 

It is important to review feed specifications for each channel and products are added. Keep price and inventory updated. Make search-friendly listings and keep data feed maintained. 

#5. Link Merchant Center Account to Google Ads 

Next, Google Ads and Merchant Center Account needs to be linked. For this, go to the Merchant Center Account, find the tools icon, and click on it and under ‘settings’, click on Linked Accounts. 

Now select Google Ads. Click 'Link Account' under 'Other Google Ad Accounts' and enter the Google Ads customer ID of the account that has to be linked and send the link request. 

#6. Set up these Google Shopping Campaign Settings. 

Next, the advertisers need to give a campaign name and then select the Merchant center Account having the products that need to be advertised. Next, select the country where products will be available for sale and will be shipped to. 

The advertiser also needs to select the bidding type to be used in the campaign and set a daily budget. Set aside the amount that is available for spending on this campaign. 

Next, set the campaign priority if the same product is being advertised in multiple campaigns in the same country where products are going to be sold and shipped. 

#7. Now your Google shopping ads are live now.

With all the steps followed perfectly, the Google shopping ads are live now that shall help in making the most of the online marketing efforts. Various tools can also be used to make this campaign successful, and look forward to attaining the desired results. 

Top Google Shopping Ads strategies to get more sales

#1. Optimize Your Product Titles

It is vital to understand here that there are no keywords in Google Shopping ads but still, the merchant needs to ensure Product Titles are optimized using the right selection of words. 

This way, the Google Search Engine can signal which product is shown during a specific search. Thus, ensure product titles, meta description, page titles, and image alt text has suitable keywords.

#2. Optimize Your Product Feed Descriptions & Categories

The right information must be curated in categories and product feed description as it will help Google know which products need to be shown. Specific details can be displayed in the description as it will help the ad stay ahead of the rest.

#3. Optimize Your Product Images

Ensure the chosen product image meets the specific requirements of the prospective buyer. The product must be easy to understand for the online customer, and that is possible with carefully optimized product images. 

#4. Use Google Shopping Ad Extensions

The next strategy that works well when hoping to get more sales is by using Google Shopping Ad Extensions. These extensions can be used to highlight the features and benefits of the products. 

The extensions that can be used are Local inventory advertisements, price drops, product ratings, and merchant promotions. These extensions help in making shopping real estate more competitive and competent. 

Check out this guide for 2023: Google Shopping Ad Extensions, Annotations, and Labels: A Complete Guide for 2023

#5. Use Products Rating & Reviews

Product ratings and reviews can also be used to ensure a direct connection with the customers. Marketing of goods is easier, faster, and convenient with word of mouth advertising. 

Thus, when leveraging Google Shopping ads and other platforms, it is important not to lose sight of classic marketing forms and incorporate them into campaigns and ads. 

#6. Implement a Negative Keywords strategy

In case when multiple campaigns are running, it is wise to categorize them into low, medium, and high priorities, and during separate searches, there will be varying keyword-centric priorities. 

For achieving this division, it is significant to have a negative keyword list associated with each campaign. Thus, when a customer looks for a product, the products that have to be shown are controlled and avoided. 

#7. Adjust Bids By Device Performance & Geo Location

Based on devices, the display and categorization of products are carried out. The bids can also be altered based on device performance. For instance, some products are searched primarily by smartphone users, and the traffic for such products is comparatively high on mobile devices. 

Google Shopping campaigns and ads can also be optimized based on geolocation. Thus, products can also be filtered as per the location. Thus, in case a product is not getting sold in a specific area, it can be skipped from the campaign. 

#8. Increase bids For High-Performing Products

The next strategy that works pretty well is an increase in ROAS for high-performing products. With this increase, the revenue-making chances also increase. Thus, for every penny spent on an ad, the products are likely to get an excellent return. 

With a boost in bids, there may be an impact on the conversion value. Thus, it is important to choose the bid while balancing the difference. Before increasing the bid, analyze historical conversion value vis-à-vis the cost. 

#9. Create a Remarketing Lists for Shopping Ads

Online users who have visited the store earlier can see Google shopping ads with the help of remarketing lists. This helps brands in segmenting their online visitors. The categories are made based on previous engagement patterns. 

The adjustment in online shipping bids for online users also helps in this regard. Thus, the bids for a cart abandoner, a repeat visitor, and a loyal customer will be different. 

Conclusion

Using these amazing Google Shopping Ads strategies, a successful ad campaign can be created and set up. If you are wondering how to boost sales using these strategies, this Google Shopping ads guide is sure going to help you. 

Many online stores place a lot of value on these strategies to drive more traffic to their store and increase their sales. Using well-designed and created Google Shopping Ads is the best way to make your business visible among the target audience and grow it in the chosen niche. 

The merchants and advertisers will be amazed to find highly targeted traffic towards their store and enjoying high-quality leads. The store can enjoy a broader online presence that gives a boost to their business. 

Thus, for every penny spent on the ad, the merchant can enjoy amazing returns. These ads are easy to manage and optimize using well-organized data. The amazing features on this platform also help in suitable optimization. 

There is no dearth of resources available that gives a lot of information on Google Shopping Ads and how to use them in such a way to gain the best advantages from them. Some resources include tutorials on troubleshooting and optimization, a beginner’s guide, and a lot more. 

Go through these resources, understand the nuances of Google Shopping ads, and enjoy amazing chances and opportunities of bagging more online opportunities. Check out the Complete Guide to Google Shopping Ads and take your business to greater heights. 

Guest Post Contribution from AdNabu

 AdNabu helps improve sales in Google Ads for Shopify stores. If you are running google search, google shopping, or display campaigns in Google Ads, Their apps help to increase your sales. 

Topics Advertising

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