How To Sell On Google Shopping: 3 Optimization Tips
August 12, 2020Google Shopping is on the rise: Shopping Ad spending increased by 38 percent in 2019 while Search Ad spending fell by 12 percent. As such, it’s important to recognize the importance of Google Shopping and optimize your performance on this platform. We’ll explain what Google Shopping is, why it’s important, and 3 ways you can optimize your listings today.
What is Google Shopping?
Google Shopping is a Google service that helps consumers search for, compare, and purchase products provided by retailers who’ve paid to advertise their offerings.
Why Google Shopping Is Important
When it comes to naming the most popular search engine, you don’t even have to blink an eye before saying Google. Billions of users every day rely on Google to find information online. Google Shopping is valuable to retailers because if you optimize your strategy, you can appear on the main Google search engine results page (SERP). This gives you a great opportunity to expand the reach of your brand by connecting with customers who’ve started their shopping journey on Google.
Using Google Shopping is also another great way to maximize the space your brand takes up on the SERP. You can show up multiple times as a Shopping result, a website result, and a text-only pay-per-click result. Best of all, it is proven that Google Shopping ads have a 30% higher conversion rate than text ads on desktops.
But before you get excited and set up an account, take a moment to consider the following tips. They’ll help you maximize the effectiveness of your Google Shopping listings.
Google Shopping Tip #1: Update and Write Informative Listing Titles
Listing titles are crucial to the success of your Google Shopping ad. Without proper titling, your customers will not be able to find your product. They might also skip over your listing even if they do happen to find it. Include details like your brand name, color of the item, model, sizing, features and any other unique descriptors.
A good way to build a listing title is to look over competitors’ listings. Often, you’ll find they provide valuable insight into what prospective buyers are looking for. Look for what keywords are popular and make sure to incorporate them. After you’ve found great keywords, include them in your title and make your product description unique.
Take time to update your listings as well. Make sure your titles represent your items accurately and remove any listings that no longer exist. If not, Google will penalize you.
Google Shopping Tip #2: Add Clear Pricing and Include Special Offers
When you list your product, always make sure you give accurate prices and set the right expectation. For example, if you’re selling a pack of sodas, use an image of a pack of soda instead of a single soda. Ensure you include pricing per product to avoid any confusion.
Also, add special offers in order to set your listing apart. Special offers are displayed as blue text added at the bottom of listing to catch attention. Users will often click on your offer for fear of missing out on a deal.
The most common offers are usually:
- Free shipping
- Coupon codes
- Discounts for orders over a certain amount
Understand your customer base and adapt your offers accordingly. It’s also wise to include an expiration date when possible. This will increase the sense of urgency in your potential buyer.
Google Shopping Tip #3: Use High Quality Pictures
This tip is one many vendors tend to overlook at their own expense. Google on its own is already a very text heavy experience, making Google Shopping listings the only opportunity to show off your product visually. First impressions are everything when it comes to enticing shoppers, so take the time to find an image that will motivate your customer to click onto your product.
It’s recommended that you take photos of your products yourself. This way you can show off your items from different angles and touch up your photo in post-production. Stock images can’t capture the personality of your product like you can.
In Summary
Google Shopping is another powerful tool to include in your ecommerce strategy. Deliver a great checkout and customer experience afterwards and you’re sure to find increased sales and possibly even repeat customers.