The Coronavirus pandemic has vastly effected businesses and shoppers worldwide. Shoppers are being forced to turn to online purchasing, while brick-and-mortar stores are having to quickly learn how to sell their products using digital commerce. With the large influx of businesses moving online, it can be hard for you to get your products out in front of the public; especially when you don’t have the budget to increase your marketing efforts.
Google has recognized this problem shared between business owners and has launched free listings on Google Shopping. Google will allow merchants to show their products on the Google Shopping tab, much like on the Google search results page. Paid Google Shopping ads will also appear on the Google Shopping tab as they always have but will continue to be more powerful than the free version of Google Shopping, as they will also show up on the main search screen of Google, as well as partner search engines, Google images, the Google Display Network, Gmail and YouTube.
How to get your products to appear on the Google Shopping tab:
In order to get your products on to Google, you need to sign up for a free Google Merchant account. You will then need to create a feed for each of your products. A product feed is simply a spreadsheet of data information about your products that Google will use to create your listing. Each product will need to have an alphanumeric ID, product name, description (up to 5000 characters), a link to the product page on your website, the URL of your products main image, the price, the brand name of your product, and your product’s Global Trade Item Number (the barcode number that the manufacturer has placed on your product). Optimize your Google Shopping listings by perfecting your product title, testing different product images and ensuring that the images are high-resolution, and provide as much detail as possible such as colour, size and product category. Most ecommerce platforms will allow you to download this list from the backend of your online store. Upload this feed to the Google Merchant Center by selecting products-feeds in the left-hand menu.
If you are already using Google Ads, you will already have an existing Google Merchant Center account and if you are already using Google Shopping Ads your products should already be in the product feed.
Once you have added your products, you will then be able to select “manage programs” in the left-hand menu. Then make sure that the “surfaces across Google” option is active. Once accepted, your products will then begin to show in the Google Shopping tab! If you require any help with adding your products to the free Google Shopping listings, contact one of our team today!
*All retailers will be able to opt-in for the free Google Shopping listings with the exception of illegal, regulated, or sensitive products*
