Online and mobile shopping Retail eCommerce is growing fast and steady. The question is, are you making the most out of your online marketing and advertising to take advantage of the change in shopping trends?
According to the Australia Post, growth in online shopping in Aussie households grew by 57% in 2020. Just over eight months of online shopping in 2020 already overtook 12 months’ worth in 2019.
The frequency of online shopping also shifted. Out of 2.3 million low-frequency online shoppers, 52% more were shopping online in 2020, and 26% of that number shopped at least 10 times between March and December 2020.
So for those running Google Shopping ads, how can you make the most out of this change in consumer behaviour?
1. Optimise your shopping feed
Your Google Shopping feed is the list of all your product SKUs (stock-keeping units). This spreadsheet is vitally important, as it is where Google pulls the information it needs about your products to determine which of your products is relevant to which search query.
That said, the last thing you want to do is just take your entire product database and then upload it directly to Google Merchant Centre. This is a mistake, as there will be some compatibility issues that can lead to your products not being listed, duplicate listings, or at worst, the suspension of your account.
Before uploading your database, go over it again and make sure it contains critical information such as the product ID, pricing, images, stock levels, titles and descriptions, as well as links to your product landing pages.
You can reference Google’s Product Data Specification page to make sure that you get everything right before uploading your database.
2. Build on and leverage Google Seller Ratings
Google Seller Ratings are basically your Google customer reviews that can automatically appear as extensions below your ads. The higher your seller rating is, the more likely consumers will click through. And an increase in click-through rate is always good as it can save you money for your advertising.
Selle ratings aren’t available off the bat, however. Google usually requires that businesses be able to collect 100 or more eligible reviews within the last 12 months before they can confidently calculate and display a seller rating score.
The best and only way to build your seller rating, is to be proactive in asking customers for honest reviews of your products.
3. Include relevant keywords in your product descriptions
It’s important to note that Google Shopping campaigns run differently from Google Ads search campaigns. For Google Shopping ads, you’re bidding on Product Groups rather than keywords.
That doesn’t mean, though, that it’s okay to forgo putting keywords in your product descriptions. Google will still look at your product titles and descriptions for relevant keywords, and so will potential customers.
Write your product titles and descriptions with the customer in mind. What keywords would they key in to search for and discover your products?
4. Structure and segment your campaigns
Lastly, pay close attention to how your campaigns are structured, because this can make all the difference when it comes to results and ad spend.
For starters, it’s always best to separate campaigns by device type. Mobile shopping comes out on top of the list, of course. As of 2020, 91% of online shoppers in Australia use their mobile phones, whereas 76% used a laptop or computer, and 61% shopped on tablets.
Shopping behaviour differs significantly as well, depending on what device one is using. While desktop is the preferred purchasing device for holiday season shopping, mobile remains on top overall.
Secondly, you might also want to separate your products into different ad groups, depending on the price. You want to give your highest SKU more exposure since they have the highest margins, and underbid on your low-priority products. Balancing this is key to making sure that you get the most out of your ad spend.
5. Pay close attention to your bids
Bidding is the second most important piece of the puzzle in creating Google Shopping success. The main difference between Google Shopping and Google Ads is that in Google Shopping you’re not bidding for a spot or position on page 1. Instead, you’re bidding on whether you’ll show up on the ad space or not.
There’s no shortcut to optimising your bidding. You’ll have to experiment and test which bids are working, and which aren’t. Overbidding can have your ads show up for more general and irrelevant queries, which lowers your overall results in terms of clicks and conversions. In other words, don’t always go for the higher bid.
Managing Google Shopping ads can be tedious and time-consuming, no doubt. That’s why it’s often better to leave it to experts and professionals, especially during the holiday season. That way, you, as a business owner can focus on the overall customer experience and deliverables. If that’s you, then pick up that phone and give our agents a call. We’ve had years of experience helping small businesses succeed online. And we can help you achieve that same success.