An average search on Google receives about forty pages of results; that is, thousands of results for a single search. And the first page results get about 71% of click traffic, the number dwindles down as you go deeper with the search page number. It is a no-brainer that with thousands of eCommerce websites crowding the web, it is hard to find a way to get customers to even notice the existence of your online store. With so many options out there, driving consumers to buy your product (or even to check out your product online) is nothing short of a huge feat.
So, how do you gain visibility among these hoards of online retailers and ensure your product shows up in your customer’s view? Google Shopping is one way to accomplish that. It is a platform that allows you to list your entire inventory for free, ensuring high traffic and conversion. Let’s read on to know more about it.
What Is Google Shopping?
Google Shopping is a free platform that allows consumers to browse, compare and shop different physical products that are listed on their database. Anyone with a website or online retail store can place their products on this platform for free. The search result can appear both on Google’s main search page and in the shopping tab.
As per statistics, 85.3% of Google paid clicks are generated on Google AdWords and Google Shopping. In the USA, online shopping and online ads drive about 76.46% of retail search spending. Google shopping uses Google AdWords and Google Merchant Center as its base platform. You create a database with your product description in the Google merchant center and link it with Google AdWords.
However, don’t confuse Google Shopping with Google AdWords; they are different. For one, with traditional ads, you will not see product descriptions like in Google Shopping. And you don’t have to bid on keywords for your product to show up on the search.
How to Boost Your Sale with Google Shopping
The concept of Google Shopping is pretty simple; adding products on shopping feed from a merchant center and linking it with Google AdWords. However, with the changing landscape of online retail, boosting your sale with Google Shopping does require you to grasp some basic strategy.
Optimize Your Product Feed
Google shopping has a structured database in which you need to input your product information; the product name, brand, size, material, selling price, and image. It might sound easy to get on with the product feed; you just have to insert a bunch of information, right? Well, don’t think of it as the mundane part of the job; it is a very crucial part of increasing product visibility – your Google Shopping campaign success hinges on it.
The information you input in the database is not for customers only. You have two audiences here, the first one is Google, and the second one is your customers. To put it simply, after extracting the information you provide, Google decides whether your product should be displayed to customers or not. So you have to make your product feed up to Google’s algorithm. That’s because if Google can’t make sense of your feed, it won’t show it to the customer.
Product Title
Product title is the first step to optimize your product feed. As you might have guessed, your product title should include the product name and keywords. So just like SEO, for product titles, you need to speak a language that Google speaks.
Your product title should be precise and descriptive. If you are selling a PS 4 Pro, the title should include “Pro.” Your title should also follow a structure – first the brand name (if the brand is well-known), then the product name, and finally, the product attributes. Add keywords related to size, color, and model with your title.
Product Description
The product description is vital for Google crawlers to find relevance for your product. You have 5000 characters to input all the information, but the Google Shopping SERP shows only the first 150-180 characters. So you have to squeeze in all your key information in the first part of your product description.
Prioritize brand, product type, and product user for this part. After that comes all the attributes – the size, technical specs, color, texture, age appropriateness.
Product Category
After the title and description, you have to list your product in a category. Google has over 6000 different categories to choose from for your product, and you can list your product under any of these categories. However, you can’t enlist your product under multiple categories, even if it falls under multiple categories. In that case, you have to decide which category is more related to your product and which will give you more visibility.
Don’t Ignore the Power of Image
The product image alone can boost your click traffic. For instance, if you search for a bottle opener in Google, at least 50 different images will pop up on the first page of the search result. However, only a select few will be good enough to draw your attention.
Now closely look at the pictures that stand out to you. What makes them different from others? Maybe they have a unique background, perspective, or even composition.
Similarly, your customers are also flooded with images from different sites. Your job is to make your product image stand out from others, so customers get compelled to click on that image. Address product retouching company to achieve that catchy look.
How to Improve Product Image on Google Shopping?
· Provide human touch; if you are selling a clothing item, it is better to display it on a model wearing it.
· Make the product seem real to customers
· Use high-quality product
· Hire a professional product photographer if you have to
Use Negative Keyword Strategy
The negative keywords are the trigger words that stop displaying your product for that specific keyword. Negative keywords are crucial for being more relevant to searches. For instance, If you are selling men’s sweaters, you don’t want it to show up on searches for women’s sweaters; clearly, it will not increase your sales. So women’s sweaters might be a negative keyword for your product.
For each of your campaigns, you should find out what searches can trigger a wasted click and list them as negative keywords for your Google Shopping. You can use Google AdWords search query reports to find negative keywords for your campaign. Categorize them as an exact match, phrase match, and broad match. You can also use universal negative keywords lists such as free, trial, review, and a voucher for your Google Shopping.
The Bottom Line
Google shopping is an effective tool to have in your arsenal. After the pandemic changed the way we shop online, it is even more relevant than ever. So, learn how to tweak all the features of Google Shopping for your benefit and get the most out of it. For starters, make sure your product feed is up to Google’s understanding, or else Google will discard it as irreverent.