Google Shopping

Showcase your products to potential customers

Google Shopping is an advertising system which allows shoppers to find products quickly and easily through Product Listing Ads with identifying pictures and key product details. It operates on a pay-per-click (PPC) basis. Because Shopping works in conjunction with Google search, it can achieve high exposure and therefore sales.

How does it work?

Google Shopping uses a similar system to Google AdWords. Ad spaces are bid for under an auction system, with the highest bidders showing in the top positions on Google search results. However, charges only accrue when one of your ads is clicked. Unlike text ads, Product Listing Ads rely on images with a limited amount of text.

Rather than matching key words and phrases as it does with text ads, Google’s Shopping ads use product information provided by the advertiser to determine whether the advert shows. It is therefore essential to keep this information up-to-date and to provide clear, attractive images in order to ensure your campaign is successful.

Why choose Google Shopping?

Google’s dominant position means that it generates far more traffic than any other search engine, both in the UK and globally. Due to advances in online retailing in recent years, Google Shopping has expanded rapidly. Google Shopping Ads offer a chance to capitalise on this potential with the use of contextual advertising campaigns which offer the potential for impressive click through rates and sales.

Google Shopping has many advantages, which include:

• Showing an image of the product, rather than relying on text, which sometimes cannot fully describe a product
• Easy price comparison with other sellers, which makes it perfect for price-competitive companies
• Displaying adverts on Google results pages, giving access to the largest online audience
• Specific location targeting by countries, regions, counties, cities or postcode areas
• A language selection tool
• The ability to schedule ads to display only at certain times or on certain days of the week
• Low minimum bid prices with no minimum monthly campaign spend, making it perfect for businesses of all sizes
• A bid discount system which means that you don’t pay more than you need to
• Control over the bid amounts for mobile phones, tablets and computers
• No commission or transaction fee on sales, unlike websites such as eBay and Amazon

Thanks to these features, Google Shopping offers unparalleled control and reach for businesses selling products online.

Google Shopping is part of Google AdWords, ensuring the same in-depth reporting and monitoring services are available. Google Analytics can also be used to further fine-tune the campaign and improve results.

Pre-requisites for use

It is essential to provide accurate details about the product, because Google Shopping works by drawing on this information. In order to be listed on Google Shopping, you must be able to provide the manufacturer’s part number (MPN) and the Global Trade Identification Number (GTIN, or barcode), unless the product has never been assigned one. High quality, colour product images are also key to successful campaigns.

Google Shopping is designed for physical products which will be delivered to customers or collected from the retailer.

Is Google Shopping right for you?

Google attracts over 90% of UK search engine traffic, giving it the most complete coverage for advertisers.

Optillion has used Google Shopping advertising campaigns successfully for clients who have inventories of up to 30,000 products. Optillion offers planning, monitoring and optimisation of ad campaigns, ensuring that you achieve the best possible performance.

For more information on how using Google Shopping could improve your sales, call Optillion today on .