Google Shopping Campaigns

The world has become an ever-changing scenario in which we are constantly integrating the physical and the digital. For retail businesses, this means that online sales have become an indispensable element and we can surely expect new retail models to emerge. 

There are multiple ways to generate sales for an e-commerce store. One that is often overlooked is Google Shopping Ads, in fact, shopping ads only constitute 20% of retail paid-search clicks, which means there is a lot of benefit with this marketing tool. 

Google Shopping Ads are easily recognisable, as you search for a product on Google, either above or next to the search results, images of the product you searched, or similar products, will be displayed with a price and a link to the e-commerce store that is selling them. Also, under the search bar, you can click on the “shopping” tab and all the listed products will be Google Shopping Ads from online retailers. 

How do Google Shopping Ads work? 

Unlike the Google Search Network Ads and the Google Display Network Ads, Google Shopping Ads, don’t work with keywords, so the first step, if you don’t already have one, is to create a Google Merchant Center account, and on this platform is where you submit the product data needed for the Google Shopping Campaign. 

So if you are not bidding for keywords, how do you get charged for Google Shopping Ads? 

That depends on the type of shopping ad, there are three different options: 

• Product Shopping Ads: these are created based on the product data that you submit in Merchant Center and they are charged using cost-per-click, so you’re charged only when someone clicks an ad that leads to the landing page where they can begin the purchasing process 
• Showcase Shopping Ads: these are created by grouping related products together in Google Ads, they can help people discover and explore your brand and products when they search for more general terms. This type of ad is charged using cost-per-engagement, which is when a user expands the collapsed ad and keeps it open for 10 seconds or more. 
• Local Catalog Ads: this type showcases your products and store information to nearby shoppers searching with Google, they can view in-store inventory, get store hours, find directions, and more. This type of ad can help drive traffic to local stores. Like the previous type, they are charged using cost-per-engagement measured by scrolling, tapping, or clicking on the ad. 
• There are plenty of benefits in using Google Shopping Ads, the most notable is that they enable merchants to reach prospective clients in the first stages of the purchasing process, when they make a search and featuring product information directly on the ads makes shoppers more likely to complete a purchase, therefore, the quality of the leads increases. Another great advantage is how easy and retail-centric managing campaigns becomes using the Merchant Center, retailers can simply browse through their product inventory directly in Google Ads and create product groups for the items they want to bid on. 

Ultimately, what makes any type of Google Ad a powerful marketing tool, is the realtime feedback on your campaigns and the control over your objectives and how you use your budget. For example, with Google Shopping Ads you can see how any of your products are performing at any level. 

Google Ads are accessible to everyone, but like any tool, it takes experience to master it, are you looking to take your retail business to the next level? Maybe you manage a local store and didn’t think Google Shopping Ads could be of any use? Let us help you add value to your business and optimise your marketing strategy, at Kenshō we specialise in transforming the companies of today into the companies of tomorrow through tailored marketing solutions. 

Visit our website www.kensho.marketing and say hi@kensho.marketing, we are happy to answer any inquiry 

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