A Beginner’s Guide to Google Shopping Ads




What are Google Shopping ads?



Shopping campaigns (or free product listings) are used to promote a merchant's online and local product catalog to increase traffic to your website or local storefront and generate better-qualified leads.


Unlike text ads that only display text, shopping ads show users photos of products, including information such as name, price, and store name. Shopping ads have been proven to be a type of Google ad with a higher conversion rate.


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# What types of businesses are suitable for Google Shopping ads?

  • Google Shopping ads are more suitable for retailers, where products must have clear prices and shipping costs and support online payment functions.

# What elements make up a shopping ad?

  • Product images, product name and description, price, seller’s name, product promotions or reviews.

# Where will Shopping ads appear?

  • Shopping tab on Google Search (select countries)
  • Google Search (next to search results and separate from text ads) and Google Images
  • Google search partner sites (if your campaign is set up to include search partners) are not available for free listings.
  • The Google Display Network (which includes YouTube, Gmail, and Google Discover) is not available for free listings.


Shopping ads and free product listings can be displayed together with text ads, so that customers can see a variety of products related to their search content. This also means that customers can find the products that best meet their needs before clicking to buy , thus helping merchants complete sales.


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-Possible locations of Google Shopping ads on PC and mobile devices-



How is Google Shopping advertising priced?



Like other ad formats, Shopping ads can participate in the ad auction . Depending on the ad type, the system charges slightly differently, as follows:


# CPC Billing Method

  • Product Shopping ads are charged using a cost-per-click (CPC) system, which means you’re charged when someone clicks on your ad. Merchants pay only when someone clicks on an ad that leads them to a landing page ad on their website or to a Google-hosted landing page ad for a local product catalog.


# CPE billing method

  • With a maximum cost per engagement (CPE) bid, you set the maximum amount you’re willing to pay per engagement. You then pay only when a user clicks on a product in your showcase ad.


When advertisers create a Shopping campaign, they decide how much they're willing to pay per click or per engagement.


Generally, advertisers pay only the minimum amount necessary to rank higher than the advertiser below them, so they usually pay less than their maximum bid.





How do Google Shopping ads work ?




Shopping ads use your existing Merchant Center product data, rather than keywords, to determine how and where your ads appear. Product data submitted through Merchant Center contains detailed information about the products you sell.

Google uses these details when matching people's searches with your ads to ensure that the most relevant products appear.


Merchants can manage Shopping ads in Google Ads using Shopping campaigns.


Shopping campaigns allow merchants to organize and promote their Google Merchant Center product catalogs in Google Ads in a simple and flexible way. The following three types of shopping ads can promote stores and products:


# Product Shopping Ads

  • These ads are based on the product data submitted by merchants in Merchant Center.


# Window Shopping Ads

  • You can create this type of ad in Google Ads by grouping related products together. This allows users to compare your multiple products and choose the right one.


# Local Product Inventory Ads

  • These ads use feed data from local inventory ads to reach users on the Google Display Network, helping to drive traffic to local stores.




What are the advantages of using Google Shopping ads?



# Expand coverage

  • More than one Shopping ad may appear for a single search, and Shopping ads can appear alongside text ads if they are relevant. This means you can potentially double your chances of getting a shopper’s attention in a single search.


# Attract better potential customers

  • Merchants can display product information directly in their ads, helping shoppers make more informed purchasing decisions, making them more likely to complete a purchase on your site.


For example, when Alice searches for "fish tank" on Google, she may see a shopping ad from a merchant selling fish tanks. She can find a fish tank that matches her taste simply by browsing the pictures. She can also quickly see from the pictures whether the fish tank is within her budget. This means that Alice is already well-informed about the product and its price when she clicks the ad, and is closer to the bottom of the purchase funnel than the average web user.


# Easy to manage retail-specific campaigns

  • Instead of keywords, Shopping ads are based on product attributes defined in your Merchant Center data feed when showing ads for relevant searches. Browse a merchant's product inventory directly in Google Ads and create product groups for the products you want to bid on.

# Powerful reporting capabilities and competitive data