Google Shopping is a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising service that is part of Google Ads. While the Google Shopping ads programme isn’t designed specifically for B2B, the fact that many businesses do use Google to search for products and services means that B2B businesses can achieve success through the platform.
Google Shopping is at its most powerful when your account, product data, and strategy are all optimised. Businesses often perceive a barrier between their knowledge and experience with the platform and the opportunities on offer: we’ve written this blog post to bridge that gap.
Here’s what we’ll cover in this post:
If you’ve ever used Google you’ve almost certainly seen Google Shopping ads: the product-based adverts displayed on SERPs and in the Shopping tab. You’ve probably also noted how sophisticated and relevant the recommendations are: easy proof of the strength of Google’s advertising algorithms.
An example Google Shopping display at the top of a SERP
Google Shopping is part of the broader Google Ads platform and is a quick and easy way for businesses to leverage these powerful advertising algorithms to connect with millions of potential customers.
Google Ads has been around for two decades and has been refined into an incredibly powerful platform in the meantime. Advertising is Google’s biggest source of revenue, and it follows that they invest time and effort into making Google Ads as effective and easy to use as possible.
While the platform is intended primarily for B2C, the potential visibility, reach, and ROI make it an appealing prospect for businesses, too.
Google Shopping ads are image-based, with the size of the image varying on where the ad is displayed. Some text is displayed alongside the ad, including:
An example Google Shopping display at the side of a desktop SERP
A comparative example of ads shown in the Shopping tab
Google Shopping ads offer a seamless user experience, quickly allowing users to browse, compare, or buy products from a vast range of vendors. Through the use of Google’s refined advertising platform, users are only shown quality ads that are relevant to their current search and the profile data Google holds about them.
You only pay for ads that are clicked on and you can set precise bid conditions, meaning that when they’re set up correctly, Google Shopping ads can deliver great returns for B2B sellers.
As a merchant, it is up to you to submit data to the Google Merchant Centre. This is then used by Google to generate and serve ads. The data includes:
Once your data is in the Merchant Centre and your Google Ads account is up and running, ads are managed through the Google Ads interface. Through ongoing refinement of bidding strategies and ad content and ongoing monitoring of campaign performance, you can tailor your strategy to achieve better results.
When a user makes a search, Google scours the Merchant Centre for the most suitable products and uses the provided data to generate and serve ads in realtime. If an ad is clicked, the advertiser is charged an amount determined by several factors, including ad relevance, your bid limits, bid limits of other potential advertisers, and relative ad quality.
As a marketer in the B2B space you’ll know that B2B digital marketing campaigns are complex and multi-faceted, with the exact blend of strategies depending on the evolving goals of your business.
Let’s take a look at how Google Shopping ads can fit into the mix.
B2B marketing can involve any combination of the following:
The goals are manifold across and beyond the techniques above:
As part of a B2B PPC strategy, Google Shopping ads have a part to play in all of the areas above:
If the above has you interested in using Google Shopping ads for your business, the steps below will have you up and running in no time.
Note: full instructions can be found on the Google Merchant Center help pages, here. If you’re struggling with this process, why not book a chat with one of our team?
The first consideration when thinking about Google Shopping best practice is to ensure your Merchant Center account and product data are fully compliant with the Merchant Center guidelines. This will ensure that your ads are suitable for display on the network.
If you are not compliant with these guidelines, the consequences can range from products being disapproved, to full suspension of your account. As well as revenue disruption and wasted advertising spend, this can also damage the reputation of your brand. So make sure not to skimp on this step!
With compliance taken care of, there are a handful of ways you can optimise your ads for greater performance.
There are tons of products competing for attention in Google Shopping. While some aspects of engagement and click-through rate (CTR) are out of your hands, it’s important to make sure everything you have control over is correctly configured and, where relevant, as optimised as possible:
It’s also important to keep your product data up to date by regularly logging in and reviewing it. This ensures that potential customers are seeing the correct information, and also ensures you remain competitive.
With ad content optimised, it’s also important to consider the underlying strategy. Here are some things to keep in mind for more efficient spend and higher campaign engagement:
With a Google Shopping strategy in place and a selection of well-optimised ads running, the next step is to make sure your ads are working. A number of metrics are useful in building a picture of campaign effectiveness.
When managing B2B PPC campaigns, we measure the following:
Any business stands to benefit from Google Shopping ads, despite the fact that the platform was not designed to cater specifically to B2B transactions. By building an understanding of the platform and the strategic considerations required to succeed, businesses can build on solid foundations and achieve success.
This article has explored best practice for setting up B2B Google Shopping ads, and for tracking and monitoring ongoing ad campaigns. By following the best practice in this guide you’re well on the way to attracting new sales from relevant B2B audiences, but to truly leverage your company’s PPC potential, we recommend a free PPC review.
This is a fantastic opportunity to tap into the extensive expertise of our B2B PPC experts. Our team will review your PPC account structure, analyse your campaigns and settings, provide tailored recommendations, and more.
Interested in every element of B2B Google Ads? We’ve got you covered. Find out more through one of the article below:
Or, why not check out our Google Ad Best Practice + Audit Template.