Using the same strategy for a Google shopping campaign that you would for a text ad campaign is a strict no-no if you want to experience the impress returns shopping ads can deliver. Read on to learn what these differences are and the adjustments you can make to create tailored Google shopping ads campaigns.
Product Level Bidding
In traditional text PPC marketing, you bid on keywords and strategize bids according to user intent so that you can serve an appropriate text ad for a search query. In shopping ads which are product ads, Google’s algorithm decides which product to showcase depending on the information available in your product data feed and a search query. Bids take place at the product level. So actually, Google shopping campaigns offer less control over which ads get served.
Problem with Shopping Ads Bidding
With Google Shopping ads, there’s no scope for serving generic ads based on user intent. The problem for advertisers transitioning to Google shopping ads is wasting money on low-value queries. For greater control over which ads get served and to avoid overspending, shopping ads management experts recommend campaign segmentation and making bid procedure adjustments for each campaign to match the value of search queries.
Campaign Segmenting Is the Solution
For effective shopping ads management, you can segment campaigns after determining which queries deliver high, medium and low conversion rates. You can then use various tools such as campaign settings, shared budget, negatives and products bids to force Google to serve the right ads that match user intent.
By implementing the campaign segmenting strategy, you can bid low for generic queries, bid high for brand terms as well as SKU queries. This will allow you to have greater control over your campaign.
The Issue of Plateauing Returns
Traditional keyword-based bidding delivers diminishing marginal revenues. In Google Shopping management, on the other hand, research suggests that bids perform along with an ‘S-curve’. With product level bidding, you will need a minimum effective bid to enter the auction. With small bid increments, traffic accelerates but after a point, it plateaus.
Advertisers who don’t know this end up spending more money without receiving additional ROI – the only minor gains are increasing impressions and that too, on low-value terms.
Constant Maintenance is the Solution
This problem can be countered by constantly monitoring the performance of shopping ad campaigns and learning to recognize when bids are approaching the plateau stage. Keep in mind that Google has a low-price bias algorithm and simply increasing CPC for high-value products is not enough. Moderately priced ads are more likely to find preference with Google’s algorithm.
Value of Product Titles
In shopping ads, product titles play an important role in helping Google serve appropriate product ads for search queries. Information-rich product titles with keywords that match search queries are more likely to get your ads shown. With targeted product titles, you will be able to increase impressions and click-throughs. You can amplify targeting by creating different product listings for the same item but with varying titles based on attributes such as size, color etc.
Effective Tracking Solutions
In Google Shopping management, tracking campaign performance also poses a challenge. This is because Google will only show direct conversion successes in the form of purchases. But we know there are other types of conversions that are valuable to a business. To understand the comprehensive impact and effectiveness of a Google shopping campaign, experts recommend using a Unified Lifetime Value calculation.
Google Shopping campaigns involve constant optimizations that are vastly different from optimizations in traditional AdWords text ad campaigns. Consider outsourcing to a white label PPC agency for better ongoing shopping ads management!
