Increase Conversions With One Simple Google Shopping Feature!
If your business relies heavily on the sale of products, it’s most likely you’re already utilising Google Shopping, but even so, what should you be aware of to make your conversions even stronger in 2017? Prepare to be enlightened by this simple Google Shopping feature!
Cross-Border Shopping
If you’re looking to get more conversions in 2017, then you absolutely need to cater to overseas shoppers. Enabling Google’s currency conversion tool is one way of doing so; allowing shoppers in other countries (as selected by you) to see the price of your item in their own currency. For example, if a customer in the US is viewing a new lipstick from your cosmetic range they can immediately see how much the item will cost them locally, therefore avoiding the need for manual conversions – or worse, a nasty surprise on their credit card.
Additionally, this tool is also perfect for websites not listing multiple product pages for various currencies. Instead, simply input all your products into Google Shopping and let it do the work for you!
Source: Google AdWords Blog
By simplifying the process, Google’s currency conversion tool is an easy and effective way to increase your conversions.
Get In User, We’re Going Shopping
Google Shopping, in my own humble opinion, is one of the most underestimated tools in the online retail arsenal. Why? That is exactly what I’m here to tell you.
SHE DOESN’T EVEN GO HERE
There is a common misconception that people do not use Google Shopping to buy products online. That’s not true, it’s impossible. Why is it impossible? Robert Hof of Forbes.com reported an increase of 47% in sales through Google Shopping from 2014 to 2015. It doesn’t take a mathematician to know that those kinds of increases are almost too incredible to function.
COMPARING YOUR PHYSICAL STORE TO ONLINE
So you’ve decided you want to take the leap from a physical store to the online market. Firstly, you go, Glenn Coco!
Secondly and more importantly, is Google Shopping a suitable format to use? You bet it is. With a physical store, you’re bound by the number of people who can fit in the building, in the online market, the limit does not exist.
No longer will you have to wait for people to count out their money, and hope you’ve given them the right change. Online, people pay with cold, hard, shiny plastic. Not only does this make for an easier shopping experience for the customer, but you won’t have to answer mundane questions like “Do you have this in size 4?”
“Sorry, we only carry sizes 1, 3 and 5. You could try Sears, who also advertise on Google Shopping”
WHAT IF PEOPLE DON’T LIKE WHAT THEY SEE?
One benefit of Google Shopping that most people don’t even consider is the ability to look before you click. Picture this. You’re a retailer that sells fashionable men’s clothing. I am part of a trendy group of party people (I can dream) and I’m in the market for a brand new shirt. Now this shirt is for a night out next Wednesday, and on Wednesdays, we wear pink.
I search for “Pink Men’s Dress Shirt” and click on a link that describes the shirt I want. Suddenly, I realised the situation I’m in. The shirt I’m looking at is the wrong shade of Pink.
How can this be avoided? It all comes full circle back to Google Shopping. Your Shopping ads allow you to show not only your price, but also an image of the exact shirt I want to buy. This avoids wasted clicks and spending. Let’s face it, why spend more when you can spend smart?
WHAT ABOUT EBAY?
When it comes to online retail, EBay is so Fetch (it’s a European thing and it’s going to catch on).
Because of its popularity, people automatically assume that it’s going to be better than Google Shopping. Although they have similar goals, both services offer very different approaches.
Time for another role play; two retailers, let’s call them Regina and George, sell skateboards online. Regina uses EBay and George uses Google Shopping. Regina pays listing fees whether her skateboards get seen or not, but for these fees, her products can be seen a potentially unlimited number of times.
George only pays when his products are found and clicked on through Google Searches. He can custom tailor his products to appear for the exact searches he wants them to. Along with this, George can utilise all of the tools that make online PPC so detailed, such as ‘conversion tracking’, ‘remarketing’, and so much more.
SO, IS GOOGLE SHOPPING RIGHT FOR YOU?
This is the all-important question at the end of the day. Do you have a visual product? Do you offer competitive prices? Do you want it to be easier for people to find your products?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, Google Shopping may just be your new best friend. Learn more from the GetMoreTraffic gurus and call us today on 1300 332 256.
Google Shopping for Christmas 2015
Part of my job is setting up Google Shopping for my clients; all that time spent liaising with web developers from overseas creating manual Data Feeds when the web developers aren’t able to pull one from the site, setting up a Merchant Center (sic) and spending time on creating Shipping Rates tables, creating the campaign in the AdWords account, troubleshooting, and when you think you have entered everything correctly you find that one tiny detail that wasn’t required on other accounts is now suddenly is required on this particular account! It’s enough to pull your hair out (lucky I don’t have much there)!
There is some real joy in setting up a Google Shopping campaign, but that comes right at the end when you begin to see actual results and conversions coming in. The build-up though can be exhausting and time consuming. Google has recently added extra requirements which allow us to provide customers with a better experience, which is of course great, but it does take a little more time.
The key to setting up a successful Google Shopping campaign in time for Christmas is all in the organisation and preparation. Much like a SEO campaign, which needs to be implemented many months before you begin to see results, a Google Shopping campaign needs to be given sufficient time to be set up so that once Christmas actually rolls around, it’s up and ready to serve. A Google Shopping campaign has many components that must be set up, reviewed and validated prior to the campaign even going live.
Depending on the efficiency of your web team, or the capabilities of your web platform, pulling a Data Feed can take time. Some platforms don’t even allow it, so a manual feed must be produced and depending on the extent of your product database, you could be sitting there inputting data for quite some time.
Updated shipping requirements are time consuming too. If you’re a ‘single rate’ business, then good for you, but if you’re not, get comfortable, and this is all before the ads are put under review by Google.
There is also the inevitable scenario that not every product on your website is going to give you an instant ROI, so optimising your Google Shopping campaign will require attention too. Hopefully your digital strategist has been on top of things and provided you with this same advice and your Google Shopping campaign for Christmas 2015 is well underway. If not, then perhaps it’s time to have a word with us here at Get More Traffic, so call us today on 1300 332 256.