Why Online Retailers Should be Using Google Shopping

Online shopping is fast becoming the preferred way to make purchases for many people all around the world. COVID-19 has hastened the shift, but it was bound to happen as the world becomes more and more digital.

With that in mind, most retailers are being left behind if they do not offer their products online. That’s not to say that brick-and-mortar shops are done and dusted at all. However, for many businesses online retailing is the best option: lower overheads a wider geographical customer base are two of the major benefits. Often, a mixture of brick-and-mortar and online selling is the way to go.

Google Shopping is a fantastic platform for online retailers. One drawback of online shopping—which can also apply to small brick-and-mortar shops—is that most websites display only one brand of a particular item, meaning that browsing and comparing options involves multiple searches and tabs open. Shopping allows a better experience for digital shoppers, bringing products from many different brands and companies together and making them visible to more people. More ad platform than marketplace (it sends browsers to the original website for the final purchase, taking no commission), it is a fantastic solution for retailers.

Here’s why we recommend using Google Shopping to sell your physical products online.

And that’s what you want: for your product to be easy to find! If someone is entering a search term that matches your product, let’s say “onesies for dogs”, a Google Shopping ad means that your listing will show either in the sponsored listings at the top of the search results or in the “shopping” tab. It presents with a picture of your product, the price, and a short description.

Shoppers can filter by price, type, and other features, so you know that people whose wants and needs match with your product are likely to find it.

While using the platform does put your product in direct competition with other similar ones, it also makes it easy for shoppers to find and compare. If your product is good, Google Shopping is a fantastic tool.

Google Shopping listings and text-based ads are not mutually exclusive. Both of these PPC-based methods can be used together to great advantage. Add in some remarketing banner ads and you could have a campaign that delivers fantastic results.

Text and banner ads tend to operate near the top of the funnel, offering information and brand awareness during higher-level research. A shopper might find your website that way and be educated about your brand and what you offer. Shopping ads, however, are what get you across the line right at the bottom of the funnel—they display a specific product to serious potential buyers, and are generally viewed with intention to purchase.

If you use each type of ad to its best advantage, you can get in an effective one-two(-three)-punch of digital marketing.

[image_with_animation image_url=”4860″ animation=”Fade In” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”center” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”]

Google Shopping consistently shows conversion rates higher than those of text-based PPC Google ads, and lower cost per click.

Statistics are constantly changing year on year, but Google Shopping ads consistently show good return on investment for advertisers—as long as they are used appropriately, with campaigns targeting the right keywords and all data fields filled out optimally.

We love Shopify as a simple, effective, and adaptable ecommerce platform for online retailers. It has an array of powerful features to suit different businesses and scales easily as your online store grows. On the customer side, Shopify stores are easy to navigate, mobile-friendly, and make for a pleasant shopping experience.

If your Google Shopping ads work as they should, customers will end up on your site to complete the transaction. To avoid any “bouncing”, you’ll want the process to be smooth from start-to-finish with no sticking points that might send them back to begin the search again. We highly recommend Google Shopping ads and Shopify to make it easy for your potential customers to first find your products and then purchase them with as few bumps in the road as possible.

If you are a New Zealand business and want to start a Google Shopping campaign, get in contact with Media Giant. We work with clients all over the country to run effective campaigns with significant, measurable results. You can book a free consult or just send us a message with your burning questions—we’d love to hear from you.