Google Shopping (Product Listing Ads, AKA PLAs) is becoming more competitive by the day so it is important that campaigns are fully optimised in order to get the most return on your investment. In this presentation, you will learn: - How to optimise Google’s Merchant Centre feeds - The importance of monitoring the feed for potential issues - Ways to use custom attributes to improve campaign performance - The benefits of automated feeds incorporating schema mark-up - How to optimise Google’s Shopping campaigns - Some of the latest features launches for Google Shopping

1. @Koozai_Sam
On The Edge Retail – London
THE COMPETITIVE
WORLD OF PLAs

2. Source: Delegator
85% OF GOOGLE’S
REVENUE CAME FROM
ADWORDS IN 2013”

3. So where did it all
begin?

4. Google AdWords launched on October
22nd 2000

5. Google differentiated between organic listings
and sponsored ads.

6. Comparing ads from 2000 to 2015, they are
VERY different.

7. The lines are blurring and it is hard to see
where the ads end and organic starts.

9. Shall we take a look
at Google Shopping?

10. Google rolled out over 1,000 changes
to the AdWords ecosystem in 2013.

11. Lots of those changes were related to
Google Shopping campaigns.

15. Match users’
search query to
products in
your data feed
Only available
for Ecommerce
websites
Must have a
Merchant
Center product
feed

16. We love a statistic
(or two).

17. 56%
of non-brand
clicks were
from Google
Shopping ads
in 2014!
(Source: Thought Shift)

18. 141%
is how much
the Cost per
Click (CPC) of
PLAs increased
in 2013.
(Source: Marin Software)

19. PLA or Text? Which is
better?
PLA Text Ads Variance
Clicks 121 167 -28%
CTR 5.30% 4.97% 7%
Avg. CPC £0.37 £0.67 -45%
eCommerce Rate 3.36% 1.13% 197%
(Source: Thought Shift)

20. 197%Conversion Rate Increase

21. Get the build right,
right from the start.

22. It is best is to have one ‘catch all’ campaign
along with other more targeted campaigns.

23. You could split campaigns by brand and then
by product within that brand.

24. Use Custom Labels (more on that later) for
Seasonal, High Return, ROI & Top Converters.

25. You may choose to create campaigns by
Product Type or Product Category.

26. If Condition is important to use, break down
campaigns by New, Used or Refurbished.

27. Set campaigns up with high, medium or low
priorities to dictate importance.

28. What ever structure you aim for, take things
slow and let the data drive your decisions.

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4
5
Standard Settings.(Don’t forget).
Search Partners & Google Search
Ad Scheduling and Bid Adjustments
Budget and Bidding Settings
Geographic Targeting
Ad Delivery Method

30. Creation of the GMC
data feed.

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2
The Product
Feed will
determine how
well your
account will
perform
Use a developer
Link it to the site
Update automatically

32. Making changes in GMC is where you will
gain a competitive advantage.

33. The feed must contain the required
field attributes for it to work.

34. http://kooz.ai/feed-attributes
Find out more here

35. Stock availability should be updated
frequently to avoid ad disapprovals.

36. Product titles should be keyword rich,
descriptive and under 70 characters.

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3
2
Think about what your customers are likely
to be searching for. Do your research.
Avoid using promotional text, unusual
characters, shipping details or block
capitals.
Always include the most important
information at the start (brand, style,
audience).
Product Titles.

38. Aim for 500 characters for Product descriptions &
include important information at the start.

39. 1
3
2
Google allows space for up to 10,000
characters, but this gets cut off at 1,000.
Always use unique content and avoid the
standard manufacturers’ descriptions. Don’t
use characters in brand names.
Products with different variations should be
kept simple. Just say this item comes in
various colours, sizes etc.
Product Descriptions.

40. UPIs are the most important element of your
feed. Ads will be disapproved if not correct.

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There are three types; GTIN, MPN and
Brand. For most products you will need to
submit two of the three.
Google will disapprove products using this
attribute incorrectly.
Custom made goods should use the
Identifier Exists attribute instead.
Unique Product Identifiers.

42. Make the MPU your Item Number so the
product name is pulled in.

43. The Product Image is what makes people
click. It needs to stand out from the crowd.

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2
Try taking your own product photos so they
are different from the competition. They
need to match with the landing page too.
The recommended image size is at least
400 x 400 but for clothing products this
should be 250 x 250.
If the ones you are using are not converting
well, test different images .
Product Images.

45. Be sure to add all possible shipping
fees available to your customers.

46. Changes made to an automatic feed
will impact both SEO & PPC.

47. Update your feed daily. The fresher the feed,
the higher Google seem to rank it.

48. Always monitor for
potential issues.

49. Keep a close eye on the Diagnostics tab in
Google Merchant Center.

50. Act on core warnings immediately and then
move onto potential issues.

51. Check the Data Feeds tab to address & fix
individual errors with your feed.

52. Use the Feed Debugger tool to make changes
& test individual products before you go live.

53. Upload new data feeds in Test Mode to check
everything is in order first.

54. Implementing
Schema Mark-up.

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Used as a backup for availability and price
(ideal for quick changing stock).
If the feed is different to the schema on site,
Google will default to schema rather than
disapprove the ad.
This is not a replacement for the data feed
or for regular updates to the feed.
Schema Mark-up.

58. http://kooz.ai/schema-testing
Test your Schema here:

59. …In price related item disapprovals for the
merchants who participated in the Beta.

60. It’s all about the
custom labels
(all 5 of them).

61. Subdivide
products into
unique groups
GMC allows up to
5 custom labels
Strategic bidding
means higher ROI

62. Some products maybe affected by
seasonality.

63. Think about which products generate the
highest profit margin.

64. Others might have a high complaint rate in
which case you may wish to bid lower.

65. Use Google Analytics to tell you which
products are your best selling items.

66. Group products into price buckets for
effective bidding strategies.

67. Optimisation of the
shopping
campaigns.

68. Use the Dimensions Tab to see performance
breakdown for the group or campaign.

69. Reduce bids or even exclude products with a
high cost and low number of conversions.

70. Review Lost Impression Share & increase bids
for converting products.

71. Use the SQR to uncover negative keywords
that should be added to your campaign.

72. Use the Benchmark CTR & CPC against yours
to understand where you need to be.

73. Compare campaign performance alongside
competitors using Auction Insights.

74. Use Google Analytics to highlight top revenue
generators & increase shopping bids.

75. Bid a minimum of £0.01 and you will still
appear in the main Shopping section!

76. Encourage your customers to leave feedback
on review platforms.

77. Become a Google Certified Shop to enhance
your credibility & show a badge on ads.

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Standard Optimisation. (Don’t forget).
Review campaign segmentation (device,
search partners etc).
Bid according to performance based on
time of day, day of week and location.
Check CPCs vs Ad Position vs Conversions
and increase/decrease accordingly.
Upload different images to test Click
through Rates (CTR).
Split test different promotions and wording
to encourage more clicks.

79. Want to know about
a few new features?

80. ‘Merchant Promotions’ can give you the edge
over your competitors!

81. 7%Increase in
CTR
PLUS an 11% decrease in the
campaign CPC

83. http://kooz.ai/merchant-promo
Register interest here:

84. ‘Local Inventory Ads’ show customers stock
availability in the search results.

85. 83%of online
shoppers
Would be more likely to visit a store
if they could check availability
beforehand.

87. http://kooz.ai/local-inventory-ad
Register interest here:

88. Google have some exciting updates in BETA
that are coming soon!

89. Sam’s Tip of the Talk.
Advertisers were expected
to allocate 33% of their entire
paid search budget towards
PLAs by the end of 2014.
Competition will become
more fierce; get involved
now!
Source: Marin Software

91. Thanks
for listening.
@Koozai
Facebook.com/koozaiE-mail: sam.noble@koozai.com
www.koozai.com
Tel: 0845 485 4794