Since its beginning, many misconceptions about Google Shopping have spread around the world of ecommerce, leading to misinformation and advertisers disavowing the channel.

For advertisers who don’t yet fully trust Google Shopping, here are some of the major Google Shopping myths that you should leave behind in 2021.

"People don’t actually click on Shopping ads"

Many PPC marketers have the opinion that shoppers aren’t actually clicking on Google Shopping ads, so why should they bother investing in the channel? 

Research shows that Shopping ads account for 85.3% of clicks in PPC channels, showing that people are clicking and interacting with the ads. This makes it a viable channel for ecommerce retailers to tap into.

There are over 3.5 billion Google searches done each day, offering the opportunity to get your products in front of a large number of interested shoppers.

"Other PPC channels work just fine - why should I bother with Google Shopping?"

Some advertisers believe that since other PPC channels are working for them, that Shopping simply isn’t that important of a channel to invest in. 

Utilising Shopping can get your products in front of shoppers who begin their purchase journey with a Google search, which is the most popular search engine. Google Shopping continues to experience substantial growth and is the fastest-growing advertising channel for ecommerce retailers.

Adding a Shopping channel to your arsenal of PPC campaigns can only improve your online presence and domination of your niche. Why settle for less when you can add more profitable strategies to your business?

"Group bidding is the best method in campaign optimisation"

A common misconception is that grouping similar SKUs together from your catalogue is the best way to maximise your Shopping experience.

Grouping in this way uses broad average values, so no matter what you’ll always be under-or overbidding for positions on the carousel. Precision bidding on individual SKUs is the only true way to improve revenue and profitability for your campaigns and will help you compete successfully.

A machine learning platform like Bidnamic can help you achieve what would normally be impossible for a human to manually do, and automate the process of granular SKU bidding. This can prevent you from either under-or over-bidding for a position on the carousel.

Bidnamic graph showing how retailers often overbid for high volume of search traffic and underbid missing search traffic

"Amazon seems like a better option with more reach"

Amazon is a huge presence in the ecommerce world. It can be hard to imagine competing with Amazon, so many retailers may think that selling on Amazon is a more viable platform when compared to Google Shopping.

However, when you look into it, Google Shopping has many advantages over Amazon for sellers. For instance, Shopping lets you reach consumers in more than 35 countries, which makes the 10 select countries you can advertise to on Amazon pale in comparison. 

Struggling to compete with Amazon? Read our top tips here.

Coupled with this, many shoppers begin their purchase journey with a Google search. With Shopping, you can meet potential customers at the beginning of their search, and continue to target them at the most relevant times using Google’s Search and Display networks. 

And since Google remains the most popular search engine, you’re also getting your brand in front of a massive audience.

"PPC is just too expensive"

This is another common misconception in the advertising world: PPC is too expensive of a channel to be profitable.

SEMrush conducted a study that showed that 50% of ecommerce companies only spend $1,000 or less per month on PPC channels. This goes to show that you can run a successful, profitable ecommerce business while only investing a small amount in PPC channels like Google Shopping.

Read our case study on Norman Records here, where we reduced CPC by 47% while increasing impression share by 81%.

With these myths swirling around, you may think that Google Shopping just isn’t for you. When you look into the channel, however, you soon see that it has the potential to be an asset for your business, and can be crucial to gaining visibility for your brand and driving sales.

If you’re wanting to get more out of your Shopping channel, book a free consultation with one of our specialists today.

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