Selling Products on Google Shopping is Now Free - Here is How to Take Advantage of it
It will now be free for retailers to list products in Google Shopping with Google search results.
Google announced a major change to Google Shopping allowing retailers to list their products on Google Shopping for free. The change was targeted to roll out in the USA by the end of April and to the rest of the world by the end of the year.
Explaining the rationale behind this shift in policy, Bill Ready, President for Commerce at Google said, "And as consumers increasingly shop online, they're searching not just for essentials but also things like toys, apparel, and home goods. While this presents an opportunity for struggling businesses to reconnect with consumers, many cannot afford to do so at scale."
While retailers were earlier required to pay for any product placements on Google shopping, with the current change Google has allowed retailers and store owners to list their products on Shopping for free. However, the search giant will still charge retailers a fee to be listed on the top of placements as promoted listings.
This is a noteworthy change as the past 12 years have seen Google Shopping requiring retailers to pay a fee for their products to be listed on the platform. This led to fewer retailers using the platform as an alternative to advertising their products via the standard Google search PPC ads.
This change makes Google Shopping a worthy option for retailers who have been forced to move online after downing shutters on their traditional brick-and-mortar stores.
Given that digital commerce has become a lifeline for retailers and consumers in the current COVID-19-impacted environment, this is an unprecedented move by Google. Ready adds, "With hundreds of millions of shopping searches on Google each day, we know that many retailers have the items people need in stock and ready to ship, but are less discoverable online."
What is Google Shopping?
Google Shopping was earlier called 'Froogle' when it was launched back in 2002. In its earliest form, the platform simply displayed a list of indexed product data that matched the user's search term.
Fast forward to 2012. The platform moved to a paid advertising model where retailers had to pay for their products to be listed on Google Shopping. From 2012, Google Shopping (also known as Product Listing Ads or PLAs) became like an add-on to Google Ads (earlier AdWords) where retailers could advertise their products.
Why Google Shopping? Here are a few reasons
- Google Shopping product listings adds a visual element to an otherwise textual based shopping experience.
- Google shopping allows retailers to show up more than once in Google's search engine result pages - a website result, a textual PPC ad, a Shopping ad.
- According to the Q1 2020 Digital Marketing Report by Merkle, Google Shopping results in a 30% higher conversion rate compared to regular text ads.
Benefits to Advertisers, Retailers, and Consumers
As advertisers, retailers, and consumers, here is how you benefit -
- Advertisers - Paid campaigns will be enhanced with free product listings.
- Retailers - Products can now be exposed to millions of Google search users every day.
- Consumers - A wider range of products from more retailers.
How Does this Change for Merchant Center Users?
Existing Merchant Center and Google Shopping ad users will benefit from the launch of free listings automatically. New users will need to apply for free place settings via their Merchant Center accounts.
A Merchant Center account is mandatory for retailers wishing to take advantage of free product listings. Google Shopping listings pull product details from the linked Merchant Center account.
The free listings feature will be rolled out to global retailers before the end of this year so it is strongly advised that retailers register their Merchant Center account ASAP.
What Remains Unchanged with Google Shopping?
During his remarks, Bill Ready stated, "search results on the Google Shopping tab will consist primarily of free listings, helping merchants better connect with consumers, regardless of whether they advertise on Google."
This means that the search giant will continue to accept paid listings on Google Shopping. These paid listings will enable retailers to be eligible for prominent placements towards the top of the Google Shopping platform.
At this point, we assume that this will also hold for other places where Google Shopping ads are shown like Gmail, etc.
That said, while certain benefits of paid advertising still exist, the new Google Shopping feature is a significant way for retailers looking to cut down on advertising costs.
How Can Retailers Sell Using Google Shopping?
Given that Google Shopping is now free, retailers need to understand that they will not be able to get their ads on Google Shopping automatically.
As mentioned earlier, to take full advantage of Google Shopping and this new rollout, a Merchant Center account is mandatory.
Once you've signed in to your Merchant Center account, select 'Growth' in the left navigation panel and then, 'Manage Programs' From the three options that are then displayed, select 'Surfaces Across Google.' This option includes the free Google Shopping ads.
After completing these steps, you will need to populate your Merchant Center account with the details of your products. This will allow them to be displayed on the Google Shopping platform.
We Can Help
At DECIMARK, our expertise in digital marketing - Google Local, SEM, SEO, Social Media, etc.- helps our clients plan and adapt their online marketing strategy with the evolving industry trends.
Send us a message via the section below if you have a question on Google Shopping, Merchant Center, or anything Digital Marketing.
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