Most retail businesses have either extended or fully transitioned to an online shopping option. eCommerce stores are progressively becoming people’s preferred method of shopping.

Over 2 billion people shopped online in 2020, and this number will only rise in the future. With more and more eCommerce stores competing to gain customers, how can your eCommerce store grab digital shoppers’ attention?

There are tons of digital marketing strategies eCommerce stores can use to grow their business, but one of the best ways to come out on top of the competition is launching a Google Ads Shopping campaign.

What is a Google Ads Shopping Campaign?

First off, Google Ads is a digital marketing platform. Depending on the Network, Google Ads displays ads in the Google Search and Shopping results, YouTube videos, popups, and more.

Businesses can bid on keywords to rank higher in the Google Search results or use Google Ads’ features for remarketing purposes.

Google Ads has four Networks: Search, Video, Display, and last but not least, Shopping. All businesses can benefit from the first three (especially Search), but eCommerce stores can boost their sales and grow their brand specifically with the help of a Shopping campaign.

Shopping campaigns can either increase conversions and help your business expand…or waste tons of marketing dollars.

The key to success is understanding the features and complications of a Google Shopping campaign before launching one. Read on to learn the best tips to take full advantage of Google’s Shopping Network’s benefits.

1. Use Smart Shopping Campaigns

Select the Smart Shopping subtype to best optimize your Shopping ads’ performance. Smart Shopping campaigns include Standard Shopping and display remarketing campaigns.

This subtype uses automated bidding and tests your ads, so you don’t have to. Google will determine which images and text perform best, as well as which bid generate maximum conversions.

Smart Shopping campaigns also optimize Target ROAS, which is bidding based on a target return on ad spend (ROAS).

This means Google will help your ads to earn a high Return of Investment (ROI), and your bids will be automatically optimized.

Smart Shopping campaigns also make remarketing easier on your part because Google does the work for you. Google targets your ads across multiple Networks based on your account’s product feed.

Rather than your Product Listing Ads (PLAs) only being displayed in the Google Shopping results, Smart Shopping campaigns distribute ads across the Google Search and Display Networks, Gmail, and YouTube.

If your eCommerce store is already on a digital shopping platform, such as Shopify, Smart Shopping campaigns can connect and integrate with it. This makes it easier for you to monitor your products and can help improve your marketing.

All in all, the Smart Shopping campaign subtype can quickly help generate more conversions, increase your profits, and grow your eCommerce store.

2. Run Separate Brand and Non-Brand Campaigns

There are always intentions behind Google searches. When people search for “chocolate protein bars,” they have the goal of purchasing chocolate protein bars. This may seem obvious, but it gets tricky when brand names are included in the search.

Data has shown that branded and non-branded searches perform differently. This means an ad that generates and is clicked on from the search term “Quest Nutrition caramel chocolate chunk flavor” performs differently from an ad generated from “caramel chocolate protein bar.”

To improve a Shopping campaign, eCommerce stores should run two separate campaigns: brand and non-brand campaigns. The former includes keywords focusing on the brand name, while the other does not.

Separate campaigns allow for better control of your budget. A non-brand campaign should use the business’ brand and product name as negative keywords to separate the searches and maximize conversions.

Going with the Quest Nutrition caramel chocolate chunk flavor example, the Shopping campaign could have two ad groups: Quest Nutrition Products and Quest Nutrition Flavors.

The brand and non-brand focused campaigns would be exact duplicates in terms of ad groups. The differences lie in the negative keywords.

The brand-focused campaign’s negative keywords could include “protein bar,” “protein powder,” “protein cookie,” and more.

The non-brand focused campaign’s negative keywords would be “Quest Nutrition,” “Quest,” “caramel chocolate chunk,” “caramel chocolate chunk protein bar,” and additional specific product names.

You must frequently track your products and conversions to run successful campaigns. For the best results, a Google AdWords consultant can help organize both campaigns and determine which negative keywords to include.

Add on to your negative keyword list based on this data.

3. Write a Detailed Product Title

Similar to Google Search ads, crafting an excellent ad copy is crucial. The headline of a PLA is referred to as the product title.

Along with the picture and price of the product, the product title is one of the first things someone sees and helps motivate people to click on the ad.

Product titles should be detailed to produce a high conversion rate. If the product title is worded poorly, people may click on your ad, but fewer transactions or purchases will be completed.

A detailed PLA ensures people know a decent amount about the product before clicking on the ad, resulting in more conversions per click.

To create a successful product title, you must include one target keyword – emphasis on the one. Google’s algorithm looks at product tiles when generating results to ensure users receive relevant results.

If your product title is stuffed with keywords, it will be harder for Google to determine when to show your ad and people are deterred by messy ad copy.

The target keyword should be one of the first few words in the product title to boost your chances of your ad being shown to the perfect audience, and people will be more likely to click on it.

To increase the chances of conversions, make sure your headline and description have details that will help viewers decide whether they want to buy the product or not. These details include your brand and characteristics such as color, measurements, and more.

4. Add Remarketing Lists

Remarketing is a great digital marketing strategy for eCommerce stores with some customers and years of sales behind them. Businesses can add remarketing lists to their Shopping campaigns to help increase sales.

Remarketing lists detect previous visitors to your site and targets your ads to these people on Google and YouTube.

To add a remarketing list, businesses can add a remarketing tag to their website, which is a code provided by Google Ads. This is essentially the “cookies” that appear on web pages.

This setting will target your Shopping ads to old and new traffic. Remarketing is an excellent strategy because it reminds people of your brand and products and can increase conversions.

5. Track Products and Adjust Accordingly

Just like Search campaigns, it’s essential to frequently monitor your ads’ performances and your Google Ads account’s metrics. You must monitor the Products Tab for a successful Shopping campaign.

There are specific days of the week and times during the day that have spikes of online shopping. In 2020, online shopping peaked twice, once from 10 am to 11 am and a second time from 8 pm to 9 pm. The most popular days for eCommerce sales were Wednesday and Thursday.

If people are actively shopping more during certain times, your Shopping ads will perform differently throughout the day and week.

Monitor the data in the “Reports” tab. You can view clicks and conversions for the day of the week and the hour of the day.

Based on this data, you can adjust your bids and track your Cost Per Conversion (CPC) to save you money and lower the amount of money you’re spending. Google Ads allows you to set a schedule with separate bids for specific days and hours.

Conclusion

Every eCommerce store’s goal is to sell its product. Your product can be amazing, helpful, and unique, but how will they ever buy it if no one knows about it?

Google’s Shopping Network can help any eCommerce business grow by generating traffic and building brand awareness. As long as you do your research and follow the tips outlined above, your shopping campaign will be successful.