Let’s go Google Shopping!

Who doesn’t love shopping? Whether it’s a child allowed to choose a toy for their friend’s birthday present, a teenage boy shopping for accessories for his first car which he has been saving forever for, or a middle-aged woman buying a gift for her friend’s baby shower and, even an elderly man purchasing an anniversary gift for his wife; we all enjoy shopping. It’s an important part of our lives too. We go to work and earn money in order to pay for things that we need and want. The news media channels report on how much we spend shopping during Christmas, throwing statistics around as to how much more we spent this year compared to the last. It helps to boost the economy and instil a particular sense of positive public opinion; if spending is up, things must be good. People love shopping and, online shopping is no exception. Consumers are shopping online more than ever before and the growth of shopping in this online medium is not likely to slow down. In fact, stated in a media release by the Australian Bureau of Statistics last year, they claim that, “In 2012–13, over three quarters (76 per cent) of Australia’s 15.4 million internet users made a purchase or order over the internet…”. An even more recent report from nab suggests that “increased to $16.19 billion for the year to October 2014, or by 11.9% annually”. It’s difficult to argue with numbers like this, so the question is, are you taking advantage of it?

Chances are if you’re a savvy small to medium sized business owner, you will be aware of, and probably have, Google AdWords up and running. You might even have a SEO campaign as well. Couple these with a reliable, easy-to-navigate website and I actually want to shake your hand – well done! However, I’m here to tell you that there is more you should be doing to optimise your ROI. It’s called Google Shopping. You can thank me later.

Google shopping allows you to show your products and the price of these products in real time, against other businesses selling similar items. You know the term, ‘Google it…’, now imagine that term in association with a product your business sells. If someone is looking to purchase a ‘personalised mug’ for their colleague, what do you think they’ll do? Yep, they’ll ‘Google it’. You want a piece of that action.

Even if you’re already utilising Google AdWords, there is a difference between that and advertising with Google Shopping. Google search uses text to draw people in. A good ad can draw a lot of people to your site, but personal taste may dictate that people will not want to purchase your product from a text ad. With Google Shopping, people will see the product and the price before you pay for a click, making it cheaper overall and, usually resulting in a higher conversion rate. Currently there is not as much competition on Google Shopping, so hop to it!

Google Shopping is a competitive bidding process just like Google Search or Google Display campaigns. You set up a Google Shopping campaign as you would with a Google Search campaign and set your bids. And to make things even easier and more transparent for your customers, you can strive to achieve Google ‘Trusted Store’ status. Google Trusted Stores are the Google review system for Stores. This model is used with great success on eBay, and Google is looking to have this brand recognition help distinguish online stores and show good online service. Once the status of Google Trusted Store has been reached, the Google Trusted Store logo can be displayed next to any Google AdWords advert, including shopping. There are different tiers in Trusted Stores and they each have their own criteria of which you can find out more here.

Often with any form of marketing, it is best not to rely on just one source for sales. It is time to look at diverting some of your Google Search funds for a more customisable experience for the consumer – enter Google Shopping. The update of the Google Shopping tab has been large in America, and naturally, Australia will follow. As the awareness builds in Australia the consumer base will grow. Now is the time to get ahead of the curve. To learn more about Google Shopping, we have an amazing Optimise Webinar coming up, titled ‘The Insider’s Guide to Google Shopping’. The webinar will take you through some of the secrets you need to know before you take on Google Shopping, so click here to register.

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