Why You Can’t Afford Not to Take Advantage of Google Shopping

In April of 2020, a few months after the start of COVID-19, Google announced it was bringing free listings to the Google Shopping tab for companies in the United States. Now, this option has been extended globally. This change came at the perfect time for struggling businesses looking to create an online presence for themselves. If you have a product-based business that is not utilizing this feature, now is the time to start!

Showcase Your Products for Free

Just as Google doesn’t charge sites to be part of the Google Search index, listings for all online retailers are eligible to appear in the Google Shopping tab at no cost to them. In addition to this, Google also allows free Shopping listings to appear on their main search results page above regular paid search ads and organic search results. This is just one more reason you can’t afford not to list your products with Google.

Google Shopping reaches hundreds of millions of shoppers each day. Results in the Google Shopping tab operate much in the same way as the results in Google Search that we’re all used to. This means your products can be shown organically in the Google Shopping tab according to their search relevancy, free of charge.

Paid ads are still available to all online retailers and can be shown in conjunction with free organic listings. This will provide retailers with more flexibility for choosing how to promote their full inventory across Google.

A Game Changer for Small Businesses

The ability to utilize this sales channel for free is a game changer for many smaller merchants who otherwise couldn’t afford to use Google Shopping. It offers the chance to increase a store’s visibility, showcasing their products to the millions who use Google Shopping every day.

Why Is Google Shopping Important?

Visitors who click on Google Shopping search results, whether paid or organic, tend to have a stronger intent to buy than those viewing normal text ads. Which makes sense, as these searchers have more information and visuals available to them before they click than those looking at a simple text ad.

Google Shopping duffel search result screenshot

 

If you utilize a free listing under the Google Shopping tab, your item will appear below the paid Shopping ads, as shown above. Additionally, if you list your item through your Google Merchant Center account, you can include the product ID and GTIN as well as other identifying information. This will help Google promote your product to searchers who are specifically looking for that item.

Another huge reason Google Shopping is so important for your business is that Google Shopping is big and getting bigger — and it works, especially for businesses not on Amazon.

Google Shopping on Mobile

Online shopping on mobile devices is only getting more popular. With 56% of all eCommerce purchases and 71% of all eCommerce site traffic coming from smartphones (Statista), this isn’t something you want to miss out on.

Many smartphone users rely on Google Shopping to find exactly what it is they’re looking for, so it’s a good idea to make sure all your Google Shopping listings are optimized for mobile use.

Conclusion

To remain competitive and capitalize on this opportunity, you will want to first create a Google Merchant Center account and second, make sure you have optimized product data. The quality of your product data will determine how your products fare among the other organic listings within Google Shopping. If you’re interested in implementing free product listings in the Google Shopping tab, contact the experts at Hall. Our dedicated team of specialists are here to help!

See how Hall can help increase your demand.