[GUIDE] What is Google Shopping and how it works - Trustpilot

 [GUIDE] What is Google Shopping and how it works

Google Shopping is a platform for advertising products in search results. To do this, it uses an image, price and other attributes.

In this article, you’ll learn what Google Shopping is and how it works on Google Ads.

What is Google Shopping?

Google Shopping is a virtual display of products from multiple stores. That way, registered stores can display their products according to what people are looking for on Google. This feature makes stores more visible and also drives online sales.

Google Shopping was launched in 2011 and followed a trend defined by price comparisons like Buscape and others. This makes it easier for the user to find products and compare prices directly in Google's search results.

In addition to displaying the circular product directly on the results page, Google Shopping has its own page on the Shopping tab. It is next to news, photos, videos and other research resources.

Google Shopping ads delivery

On the shopping page, you can refine this search using price, brand and other features.

What the products look like in the shopping guide

Your Shopping campaign can also run on the Display Network (YouTube, Gmail, Google Discover) and on Google search partner sites, if your campaign is set up for that.

As such, Google Shopping offers more convenience for those looking for items to buy. Meanwhile, it shows registered stores promoting their products and presenting results.

What are Shopping campaigns and Google Ads?

A shopping campaign is created to promote products, showing information about them even before the ad is clicked. So, if you have an e-business, you can use Google Shopping campaigns to promote your products, increase site traffic and get qualified clicks.

How is your shopping ad?

To better understand how Google Shopping works, learn about ad formats in this mode. With a strong visual appeal, commercials include product image, title, price, store name and other information. In addition, in purchase mode, the advertiser only loads when the user clicks on the ad.

Because it is a type of ad with more features than typical text campaigns, on Google Shopping people learn about the product they are selling before they even click on it. Therefore, this is an economical strategy for advertisers.

Google Shopping: How does it work?

With Google Shopping, a person looking for a specific product will receive results at the top of the page, combined with paid search ads.

google shopping, how the results work

Therefore, for the result to be a retailer, you need to create a Shopping campaign on Google Ads. The product data for this campaign is provided through your Google Merchant Center account through your registered product feed.

Shopping ads use information about the products you offer, rather than keywords, as in other cases, to determine which stores and products will appear as a result. This product information is then used for user searches. Thus, the more detailed and convincing the product definition is, the more relevant the results will be for those looking for it. The following information is considered:

Product identifier (SKU);

Substantive;

To describe;

Main and additional images;

Availability

Full and promotional price;

Installment conditions

Home page in the store;

Dimensions, dimensions and other resources;

Brand, etc.

Paid vs. Free Shopping

Currently, Google Shopping has two aspects: paid advertising and free placement of ads. The free Google Shopping listing was announced in April 2020 due to the pandemic and was launched in Brazil from October of the same year. However, only the paid portion of purchases is shown directly on the results page. The free ad, in turn, is shown only on the 'Purchases' tab.

Google Shopping: Free and Paid

However, these unpaid spreads are listed on paid vs. free Google Shopping based on user search behavior and relevance (product data). Paid ads, in addition to these criteria, take into account the bids presented by advertisers.

The cost of advertising the shopping center

Like other Google Ads ads, Google Shopping ads participate in the auction. The charge is based on cost-per-click, which means that an advertiser is only charged when someone clicks on an ad, which takes them to a page on your site.

Smart Shopping x Standard

There are two types of campaigns: Smart Shopping campaigns, also known as Smart Shopping, and Standard Shopping campaigns.

Smart Shopping: Google's smart shopping campaign uses machine learning to provide the best experience. Then, check the target audience to determine which one is most likely to convert. Thus, CPC automatically becomes more competitive in auctions, which helps to better classify your products;

Standard business operations. In a standard campaign, the advertiser determines the amount of CPC he is willing to pay. In addition, it also defines the characteristics of the target audience, such as age, sex, airtime, etc.

Advertise your purchases on Google

Advertise on Google Shopping: Step by Step

Now that you know what Google Shopping is and how it works, it's time to learn how to advertise. A retailer who wishes to appear at the mall must meet the following requirements.

Linked Merchant Center and Google Ads accounts;

Customize your product feed in Merchant Center according to the criteria described in the product specifications on Google Feed.

Create campaigns with your Google Ads account;

Ads with content that complies with Google Shopping policies.

Check out our step-by-step instructions for placing ads on Google Shopping.

Why do we use Shopping campaigns? Know the main benefits

For those who still have questions about advertising on Google Shopping, we want to highlight the benefits of choosing these campaigns to shape your advertising strategy.

Increase the volume of traffic. Google Shopping ads appear in the first results, so they tend to receive more clicks than the results page. In this way, your store can receive more and more visitors;

More qualified leaders and more conversions: Because product information is clearly displayed, customers who click on your site are more likely to make a purchase on your site. After all, they are probably at a more advanced stage in their buying journey;

Ease of management: Since the mall uses the product data as a database, you don't have to worry about identifying keywords.

Wide search presence: your store can appear as a result in both Shopping ads and Search Network ads;

Monitor product performance: Purchase reports are very detailed, allowing you to analyze which products perform the best and create groups with those that convert the most, which increases convertibility.

In conclusion, Google Shopping is a great way to expand your store’s reach and sell more products.

If you want to partner with Google Ads professionals, we can help.

Effective Marketing is a Google Partner Premier agency, so we have a team that supports qualified analysts directly from Google to take care of your account. call us!