Google Shopping & How to Use Google Product Listing Ads

Listing your products on Google Shopping has never been easier. 

Google Product Listing Ads (PLAs) were introduced by Google to allow ecommerce merchants to display pay-per-click (PPC) ads that contain a picture, price, and link to a specific product page. 

Online store owners can use Google’s PLAs to put enticing product ads right in the middle of Google search results, and in Google’s recently launched (re-launched) Shopping service.

http://apps.shopify.com/google-shopping

Here's what they look like: 

Google Product Listing Ads are paid advertisements that Google displays when a product matches a user’s search query. The PLA includes a photo of the product, its title, its price, an optional promotional message, the merchant’s brand name, and a link aimed directly at the appropriate product detail page.

How Google Product Listing Ads Work

PLAs use two Google services to get products from a merchant and display those products as ads. The first of these services is the Google Merchant Center. The Google Merchant center lets an ecommerce store owner upload product listings for use with PLAs, Google Shopping, and Google Commerce Search. The product listings supplied to the Merchant Center are frequently called product feeds or, simply, feeds. 

Feeds may be managed and uploaded manually, or there are third-party solutions meant to make organizing and uploading a feed easier. For example, there are several apps available in the Shopify App Store that will make the process really easy.

Once the feed is uploaded and ready in the Merchant Center, the Google AdWords platform is used to set up PLA bidding, establish PLA budgets, and get the ad running. Google has created a short video to help explain how PLAs work:

Do Product List Ads Increase Sales?

PLAs are purchased on a pay-per-click basis, so the advertiser only pays when a shopper clicks on an ad. Google has also tested a pay-per-conversion model with a select group on merchants in the United States. The key for either of these models is that advertisers only pay when a potential customer actually interacts with the as.

According to data from Adobe, PLAs work really, really well. In 2012, PLAs had a 34% higher click-through rate compared to standard text based ads. 

"Com­par­ing PLA ver­sus stan­dard text ads pro­vides us with some inter­est­ing insights. First, PLAs have a 34% higher Click Through Rate (CTR) than non-PLA ads, which is not sur­pris­ing given the ads pic­to­r­ial for­mat (com­pared to stan­dard Google text ads). Sec­ond, the average order value (AOV) for PLAs is 12% lower than stan­dard ads. Again, this is not sur­pris­ing given that prices are shown on PLAs. We sur­mise PLAs attract more bargain-conscious shop­pers who choose retail­ers offer­ing the low­est price for a prod­uct of inter­est. Third, ROI and CPCs on PLAs are com­pa­ra­ble to stan­dard ads, too. Thus, the mar­ket has seam­lessly ratio­nal­ized the price of PLAs so their per­for­mance is com­pa­ra­ble to the stan­dard ad ROI."

Similarly, Marin Software reported in January that “PLAs ended 2012 with a higher click-through rate than text ads, and an average cost which is lower than that of traditional text ads.” 

4 Ways to Use PLAs Successfully

1. Offer Your Best Price

PLAs show a product’s price front and center, as a result, shoppers are likely to choose the lowest priced store. Remember, with a PLA a competitor’s ad is just an inch away on the screen.

2. Update Feeds Often

Managing product feeds is an important part of a successful PLA campaign. Be sure to maintain inventory levels, price updates, and product titles and photos. Add new products as they become available and remove poor performing products.

3. Measure and Monitor PLA Performance

In Google AdWords, set up separate campaigns or separate ad groups for PLAs. Monitor traffic, conversions, revenue, and ROI for each PLA, taking into account the PLA’s average position. Finally, monitor day and day parts. Do some PLAs do best on Tuesday? Is 11am a better time than 5pm?

4. Use Promotional Content  

PLAs may have option promotional copy. Take advantage of this. Something as simple as “Free Shipping” can significantly boost clicks and sales.

Conclusion

Given the recent success that Google Product Listing Ads are having compared to regular text-based ads, it's worth