Google Shopping – something most of us use in our daily lives, but can still be relatively confusing to a lot of ecommerce retailers. It can be difficult to choose which marketing platforms are worth investing in, especially when you are an SMB and every penny of your marketing budget counts.

What is Google Shopping?

Google Shopping allows users to search for products from online shopping websites and compare prices between different vendors. Just type a product into the Google search bar and you will be met with a carousel of products offered by different ecommerce stores.

How does it work?

Google Shopping starts from two platforms: Google Merchant Center and Google AdWords. Google Merchant Center is the part that pulls information from your website and where your product feed lives, in a “Google-friendly” format. Google AdWords is where your actual campaigns are situated. Here you can manage and change your bids as well as gain performance insights to help you improve your campaign.  

Think of the process as a continuous cycle. First, you need to make sure your product feed is in order and continuously being optimized. Then, you can set your bid to start advertising. Once you’re up and running, the performance needs to be analyzed constantly so you can make the important decision to either increase, decrease or keep the bid price the same based on your results.

Why should I use it?

27% of shoppers turn to Google Shopping to find what they want to buy.

Google is massive and customers trust the search engine with 77% of the 1.52 billion search engine users worldwide conducting a Google search at least once (Statista). This means there is a high volume of traffic on a 24/7 basis. Used correctly, you can reach shoppers at the moment they are actively searching for what you sell, meaning it can be a very profitable platform.

Google Shopping also gives you loyal customers, unlike Amazon and eBay, as customers are actively buying from your site, not a marketplace where it’s hard to tell the difference between sellers.

Another valuable benefit you gain from the platform is the data. You can learn more about your customers using the platform because of the data Google Shopping collects. This data can be used to inform other areas of your business to ensure you are constantly on top.

Is Google Shopping the perfect marketing platform?

No, Google Shopping might not be the perfect platform for you. Each marketing platform will work differently and uniquely for every ecommerce retailer, that’s why it is so important to understand what works for you and the data behind it. On top of that, it can be a frustrating and difficult challenge learning how to master Google Shopping – not to mention the time it can take out of your day. However, for many businesses Google Shopping is a rewarding platform where they gain profitable results, see some of our case studies for examples of how well the platform can work.

Not sure if it’s for you? Speak to one of our specialists today and we can help you figure out whether Google Shopping is the right platform for your business.