First let’s start with, what are Google Shopping Ads? Google Shopping Ads (GSA) are also known as Product Listing Ads (PLA). They’re the ads that you see at the top of a search when you’re looking for a specific product.
They’re most common with e-commerce websites to help shopping searchers find exactly what they want with an image faster than by reading. There are some unique advantages that they bring over search ads, and quickness of seeing exactly what you want is definitely one of them.
If you’re considering using GSA’s to help your e-commerce sales, here are a few techniques to help them grow.
Use Promo Extensions
Promo extensions are great for offering free shipping or a discount on an item. They help the searcher to find new ways to save money in the process of purchasing the items they’re looking for.
For you, you can set promo codes that are specific to GSA’s. When you’re tracking what marketing and advertising worked the best, tracking those codes can help you determine what to spend your advertising dollars on in the future.
Use Text Extensions
Let’s say you offer Free Shipping on orders. You can let people know that you do by having that as a text extension on your PLA. As many of us love having free shipping, (even if it means spending more on an item) people will be more inclined to click on an ad where they can see how much something costs and that they’ll get something like free shipping.
Use Rating Extensions
Amazon built the biggest online shopping platform in the world by letting customers rate products. We trust those that have bought something over those marketing speak any day. One of the ways that you can show trust in a product during search is by using the ratings that others have already given.
If you’re selling a product that is the same as someone else, the number of ratings you have will also be a factor. When you see two products with 4 + star reviews but one has 88 reviews and one has 13 you’ll probably click on the one with 88 reviews. Following up with people who’ve purchased to leave feedback will help you get more clicks in the future.
Should You Use Them?
If you have a large product offering, it can be time consuming to start and manage a PLA campaign. But, as most retail marketers have discovered, they have a higher CTR and closing rate than text ads. It’s easier to create targeted ads for mobile as well, which may be the biggest reason they outsold text ads for the last 2 years.
The benefit to cost of starting one of these Google Shopping Ads campaigns certainly is there, so if you have the time to get yours going, it’s probably time. There’s a good chance your competition already is.