Users see Google Shopping (Google product ads) in the search results. In most cases, they are located on the right (rarely above the search results) and contain basic information about the product: a photo, a name, and a price.
Product ads work on the basis of Merchant Center (the tool allows you to upload information about your store and products to Google and use the data for product ads and other company services).
It is not difficult to launch product ads. You will need a Google account, a Merchant Center, and a feed with product data.
Step One: Prepare your website for Merchant Center
Google has certain requirements for a website, so the first thing you need to do is make sure that your site does not violate the established rules. If there are any violations, your account will be rejected during verification. Google requirements can be found here. Let's look at the basic requirements for the site:
- There should be an opportunity to make a purchase;
- There should be a separate page for each product;
- complete information about the product (price, delivery time, payment methods, name and image);
- Use of the state language on the website and in the feed (we will talk about it later);
- Prices of goods should be indicated in the national currency of the country;
- There should be information about the return policy, as well as information about goods that cannot be returned;
- Only up-to-date information about the goods (you cannot promote non-existent goods, or use false descriptions, characteristics, and prices);
- Illegal and dangerous goods and alcohol may not be advertised;
- Advertising data in the feed must comply with the editorial rules (you cannot use catchy phrases: "FREE", "ONLY TODAY...";
- Banners should not interfere with the user's ability to view search results.
Most often, accounts are rejected due to the lack of information about the return of goods.
Step two: register in the Merchant Center
If your site does not violate Google's requirements, you can register in the Merchant Center: 1. Enter basic information about the store and contact person:
1. It is important to provide only reliable data. If you sell products for adults, don't forget to check the box "My site has products for adults". If you forget, experts will quickly detect this and block your account. It is better to double-check the data and make corrections (if possible).
Another tip: do not write the legal name of the company in the "What is your store called?" field. Here you need to specify the name by which users know you.
2. Accept the terms of use of the Merchant Center:
3. Confirm the rights to the website (you can skip this step and perform it after creating a Merchant Center account).
The most common option is to upload an HTML file. To do this, you need to download the file here and upload the data to your server. When the site is verified, do not delete the file. Otherwise, you will have to perform the procedure all over again.
The second method is suitable for those who cannot upload the code to the root directory on their own. In this case, you need to use Google Tag Manager to confirm the rights.
That's it, registration in the Merchant Center is over. You can go and see the structure of the site, and if something is unclear, you can read the guide from Google.
Step three: set up the connection between Google Ads and Merchant Center
The connection between accounts will be established automatically if you use the same email for Merchant Center and Google Ads. If you use different emails, link your accounts manually:
1. Open the drop-down menu in the upper right corner of the Google Merchant Center home page.
2. Select "Connect with other services".
3. In the new window that opens, click "+".
4. Enter the name of your Google Ads account and click "Send account creation request”.
5. Confirm the connection of your Google Ads account
Step four: creating and uploading feed data
Feed data is a file (in TXT, XML, ZIP, GZ, and BZ2 formats) with many attributes. Some attributes are mandatory, while others can be left blank (see the full list of attributes here).
Mandatory attributes
There are seven of them in total:
- title - the name of the product;
- Description - a short description of the product. Google analyzes the information of the title and description attributes, so the more useful information you provide, the more clicks and impressions you will get. The tag description should not exceed 5000 characters;
- Google product_category - product category in Google. The attribute allows you to specify the product category according to the Google classification. With the help of this attribute, product ads will be seen by those users who are interested in it;
- product_type - allows you to classify goods in FIDE and simplify work with a trading company;
- custom_label_0-4 - an additional attribute for classifying goods in FIDE. In total, you can add up to 5 labels (custom_label_0, custom_label_1, and so on);
- tax - an attribute for filling in information about taxes (mandatory only in the USA);
- Shipping - an attribute with information about the delivery of goods (you can fill it in, or you can go the other way: in the "Delivery" section of your Merchant Center account, register the services and delivery costs).
Creating a basic feed
It is not difficult to create a data feed. In the Merchant Center, go to "Products" - "Feeds" - "+".
Creating a basic feed
It is not difficult to create a data feed. In the Merchant Center, go to Products - Feeds - +.
Next, you need to provide the following information:
- Country of sale (users of which country will see your products)
- Language (in which the products will be visible);
- Name of the feed.
Next, select the method of uploading the feed. It can be:
- google spreadsheets (convenient if the assortment of goods changes rarely and is always in stock)
- auto-uploading an XML file (the most convenient way);
- manual upload of the feed (you will have to upload the feed yourself at least once a month).
Next, click ‘Continue’ and the created feed will appear in your Merchant Center account.
Why do you need an additional feed?
It is advisable to create an additional feed if the prices of goods on the site often change or new items are added. It is updated once an hour, but the main feed is updated once a day. The additional feed allows you to minimize the discrepancy between the products on your site and the main feed. Google can easily block your account if it finds a lot of inconsistencies.
The additional feed consists of five attributes:
- product id;
- price;
- availability of goods;
- discounted prices;
- the term of the discount.
Conclusions.
Product ads are a great tool for advertising and attracting new customers. Launching a Google product campaign is not difficult: register an account in Merchant Center, create a data feed upload it to Merchant Center, and go through moderation. A properly configured campaign will allow you to spend a minimum of time updating prices and products.
