Google Shopping is changing – how can you adapt?
On 13 February, 2013, Google Shopping changed to a commercial model built on Product Listing Ads in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Brazil, Australia, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic.
This change has significant implications for retailers and their customers. For the retailer, all of the free traffic currently received through Google Shopping has stopped, and only continue if their product data feed is linked to a Google AdWords account via the paid Product Listing Ads (PLA).
Here, Adam Chard, Shopping Comparison Manager at Summit, a provider of consulting, online marketing and ecommerce to retailers in the UK and Europe, provides five top tips to help retailers adapt to the changes.
1. Set up Product Listing Ads
Google are offering a £75 credit for new account set ups in AdWords and a 10% monthly credit until the end of June, if you set up and launch PLAs before 15 April. So even if you aren’t sure about paying for your Google Shopping Listings, you can give it a try at a discounted rate.
2. Actively Manage your Feed
This means automating processes and ensuring your feed is regenerated frequently to keep your Shopping Listings right up to date. You should also pay special attention to Google’s policies around messaging, shipping and acceptable products or else your Account could, at worse, be suspended.
3. Optimise your Feed
Ensure you pay specific attention to:
• Product Titles
• Product Descriptions
• Unique Product Identifiers (Brand, EAN, ISBN, MPN)
• Landing Page
• Image Link
• Google Category
This will improve relevancy which is the main factor (along with bid) in deciding how much you will pay to appear on Google.
4. Track your Results
There is no point in partaking in any of the above, if you cannot accurately track metrics such as impressions, clicks, cost, sales and revenue. Ensure you have the correct tracking in place to enable you to gain the desired level of data and insight.
5. Test & Refine
With a whole host of data and information at your disposal, you should test different aspects of your PLA Campaigns and Product Feed and refine using your results. There are a number of variables to test within PLAs, such as different Ad Creatives, Bids, Targets and Landing Pages. You can also test different data within your Product Feed such as Product Title, Description and Image.
Further information on the Google Shopping changes can be found at: www.summit.co.uk
