Google Shopping Ads: What are Shopping Ads
Google Shopping ads
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- What are Shopping ads?
- How Shopping ads work
- Placement of shopping ads
- Benefits of using shopping ads
- Disadvantages of shopping ads
- Shopping Ads Flow
1. #What are shopping ads
Shopping Ads is one of the advertising menus provided by Google Ads. The number of display spaces has increased, and the number of products displayed at once by carousel display has increased, and the ad space continues to increase.
In response to these changes, many business operators may be restless, thinking, "Is it time to start doing this?"
Since shopping ads have been released recently, let's hold down the basic information that is difficult to hear.
Shopping Ads are advertisements that are mainly posted on Google search results, and can display detailed information such as images, prices, and availability of specific products.
They can be delivered using Google Ads Shopping campaigns, and can run separately from text ads even in accounts running Search campaigns.
2. #How Shopping ads work
Search ads place ads by bidding on specified keywords, but shopping ads do not specify keywords. Items with relevant information to the user's search terms are given an auction opportunity.
Product information is uploaded to Google Merchant Center as a product feed, and linked to shopping campaigns by linking with Google Ads.
When a user searches on Google, the Google Ads system analyzes the search term and retrieves product data related to the search term from the Google Merchant Center.
The products displayed as Shopping ads are determined through an auction based on factors such as the quality of the auctioned product data and the bid price.
3. #Placement of shopping ads
- Google search "All" tab (top or right ad space)
- Google Search "Shopping" tab
- Google Search Image Tab
- Google search partner sites (if set to include search partners)
- Google Display Network, including YouTube, Gmail, and Google Discover (optional)
4. #Benefits of using shopping ads
Shopping ads may seem complicated when you look only at how they work, but they have the following advantages.
No need to set keywords
Search campaigns specify keywords for bidding, but Shopping ads do not. Based on product information, the system is designed to display ads for highly relevant search terms. Therefore, you can operate without making detailed bid adjustments for each keyword.
In addition, if you use Shopping ads in parallel with search ads, you can use Shopping ads to supplement keywords that are missing from search campaigns.
Can display specific product information with images
Search ads use text such as titles and descriptions to convey the attractiveness of products and services in a straightforward manner, but shopping ads can include a variety of information such as product images, names, prices, and store or company names.
Before the user clicks on the ad, detailed information such as the product image, price, and brand can be conveyed, so it is possible to attract users with high purchasing intent to the site.
You can lead directly to the product detail page
On an EC site that handles multiple items, there may be cases where not all product pages can be set as landing destinations and transitions to the site TOP or category pages. On the other hand, shopping ads are products that specialize in sales promotion, so the product detail page is used as the final page URL of the ad so that the user who clicks on the ad can purchase the product with a simpler route.
Products can be placed at the top of search results
Shopping ads appear at the top or bottom of Google Search.
Most of them are displayed above organic search results and search ads, and on small screen devices such as smartphones, first view often occupies most of shopping ads.
Therefore, shopping ads are useful for placing ads in positions that are more visible to users.
5. #Disadvantages of shopping ads
On the other hand, there are some disadvantages to be aware of when using shopping ads. All of them are inextricably linked with the merits mentioned above, but after understanding the demerits as a set, consider whether they match the service characteristics and operation system of your company.
I need to have a product feed
To use Shopping ads, you must upload a product feed. Especially if you have a lot of products, I think creating a feed at the beginning will be a big hurdle.
On the other hand, once the feed is ready, there are many cases where maintenance after the start becomes much easier.
After confirming how much you need to process your company's product master data, if it becomes complicated, consider using the linkage function of the cart system you are using or using an external service.
Bid control by keyword is difficult
Unlike search campaigns, Shopping Ads cannot be adjusted, such as controlling the keywords you want to advertise on or changing detailed bids for each keyword. Search terms that trigger Shopping ads are based on information in your product feed and landing pages.
By setting negative keywords for keywords that you do not want to be displayed, you can reduce unnecessary advertisement exposure.
6. #Shopping Ads Flow
To use Shopping Ads, send product data to Merchant Center and create a campaign to distribute ads with Google Ads.
Merchant Center settings
First, let's prepare a Merchant Center account and register a data feed.
Reference: Sign up for Google Merchant Center Google Merchant Center Help
① Get a Google account for Merchant Center
②Sign up for Merchant Center
From the Merchant Center account settings page , log in with the Google account you want to link and create a Merchant Center account.
③ Enter shop information and manager information
Enter the shipping cost and website URL.
"Delivery service" is the name displayed when the product is posted. Register with an easy-to-understand name such as "National free shipping" and link settings such as delivery area, currency, and shipping fee.
In the shipping calculation table, branching conditions can be created using the purchase amount, delivery area, weight, and number of items.
Reference: Set up shipping Google Merchant Center Help
Create/upload product feed
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| courtesy: Google images |
From "Add product data", register the product information you want to publish.
Product data can be registered directly in Merchant Center or by uploading feed data.
Select "Add a single product" to register directly with Merchant Center, or select "Upload multiple products" to use a feed. If you have more than 100 products, or if the manual input is heavy, we recommend "Upload multiple products".
Once you've made your selection, proceed to the next feed creation, including "Shopping Ads" as the destination.
When using a feed, create the feed in one of the following file formats.
- Tab delimited text file (.txt)
- XML file (RSS2.0, Atom 1.0)
- Google Spreadsheet
Create the feed data by referring to "Minimum Attributes Required for Data Feeds" below.
Once the feed upload is complete, the Merchant Center side of the setup is complete. After uploading, it may take up to 3 business days for the product review to be completed.
Create a shopping campaign in Google Ads
After setting up Google Merchant Center, create a Shopping campaign in Google Ads.
① Proceed to the campaign creation screen and select a shopping campaign
Select one of the following campaign goals for which Shopping ads can be used: promotion, lead acquisition, or website traffic.
② Select campaign sub-type "Normal shopping campaign"
If you select "Smart Shopping Campaign", creative generation, targeting, ad delivery location, and bid adjustment will be automated, and in addition to the above-mentioned placements, ads will also be delivered to the Google Display Network.
Reference: What is a Google Smart Shopping campaign? Explains the difference from normal, advantages, and setting method
(3) Create a campaign by setting the campaign name, bid unit price, budget, etc.
After creating a campaign, a product group called "All Products" will be created automatically. If you want to adjust bids with finer granularity, you can also divide product groups.
Minimum required attributes for data feeds
Things to keep in mind when running Shopping Ads
Shopping ads don't require keyword management, but that doesn't mean you don't have to. In particular, be sure to thoroughly check for policy violations at the stage of feed preparation, and take prompt action if disapproved after launch.
Keep your feed up-to-date
What and when your Shopping ads appear is based on your product feed, so it's important to keep your feed up-to-date.
As a minimum line, product data has a 30-day expiration date, and any product that has not been updated for more than 30 days will be disapproved. (Re-upload is required even if there is no change in product information)
In addition, products whose feed content, such as price and availability, is not up-to-date and different from the landing page will be disapproved and will not be able to run ads.
Feed maintenance is also important in terms of advertising performance. Since the opportunity to participate in the auction of Shopping Ads is based on the information of the product feed, fill in the items that can be set as much as possible, including optional items, to enrich the information of the product feed.
Shopping ads have their own policies
Shopping ads must comply with the Google Ads policies below, which also have unique requirements for Shopping ads.
Prohibited Content: Content that is not allowed to be promoted on the Google Network
Prohibited conduct: Prohibited conduct for advertising on Google
Restricted Content: Content that allows advertising but has restrictions
Editorial Standards and Technical Requirements: Quality Standards for Ads and Websites
Reference: Shopping ads policy Google Merchant Center Help
In addition, there are certain products that are not available in Shopping ads.
For example, businesses such as ticket sales and ride sales cannot use Shopping ads.
Violations of policies can result in a Merchant Center account suspension, so be sure to review the policies in advance and act quickly in the event of a disapproval.
Conclusion
Many people may be reluctant to prepare because they need a feed, but if you have a product feed, you can use dynamic remarketing and prospecting delivery, as well as start free listings without advertising costs.
Maybe launching shopping ads will have a bigger impact on sales than worrying about how to increase sales from search ads by 5%. If you haven't installed it yet, give it a try.
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