Google Shopping is a product-focused advertising service that allows consumers to search for, compare, and shop for physical products across different retailers who have paid to advertise their products on the Google network. In a nutshell, it’s Google’s answer to online retailers like Amazon – showing relevant products to users actively searching for these products.

Unlike traditional forms of Google search ads – where advertisers promote websites and content, Google Shopping ads show product listings, which means showing searchers a photo of the product, a title, price, the store, and other online shopping features. In the same vein as major online stores like Amazon and Walmart, Google’s shopping campaigns allow e-commerce businesses to find better-qualified leads to promote your online inventory and boost traffic and awareness to your online (or physical) store.

While it functions very similarly to listing products on Amazon, a great benefit to Google shopping is the ability to lead users directly to your website from a Google search result (unlike Amazon, where you’re stuck in their ecosystem). So how does it work? First off, Google asks you to submit a product feed via their Google Merchant Center. Once uploaded, these products will be displayed in Google search results based on the keyword queries that match your product descriptions. Using Smart shopping campaigns, your products are also eligible to appear on the Google Display Network, YouTube, and Gmail.

Some other benefits of Google Shopping include the ability to show your product or brand multiple times on one search result page. For example, if you’re selling red tennis shoes, and your website already ranks well organically for the term, with Google shopping you can have a shopping result also appear alongside your listing. The more lists on the front page – the better. In addition, with Google search results getting ever-more populated with search results, Google Shopping allows you to stand out from the mess with visual-heavy product listing on an otherwise text-heavy SERP.

With a proven track record of 30% higher conversion rates over regular text ads, Google Shopping is a strong consideration for any online eCommerce store. Want to learn how we can help? Shoot us a request for a free consultation.