Google Shopping Ads: Everything You Need to Know

Do you want to drive more sales for your ecommerce business through Google Shopping ads?

Read this guide to learn how Google Shopping ads work and how to set up your first campaign. You can also review top strategies for improving your Google Shopping ads campaigns for optimal results.

What Are Google Shopping Ads?

Google Shopping ads are ads that promote products in response to product-related keywords. These ads commonly appear at the top of Google’s search results.

Users may also see Google Shopping ads in Google’s Shopping tab, YouTube, the Google Display Network, and Gmail.

Here’s an example of a Google Shopping ad:

How Google Shopping Ads Work

With traditional search ads, advertisers bid on keywords (search terms) that trigger their ads.

With Google Shopping ads, advertisers upload a data feed containing product information.

Google then displays these ads when it determines that products match user queries.

Google Shopping ads use a cost-per-click (CPC) bidding model. Advertisers pay only when users click the ad.

Google Shopping Ads vs. Google Search Ads

There are three main differences between Google Shopping ads and Google Search ads:

1. Targeting:
   • Google Search ads let advertisers bid on specific keywords
   • Google Shopping ads don’t allow keyword-level targeting
2. Offer:
   • Google Search ads can promote products or services
   • Google Shopping ads focus on promoting physical products only
3. Appearance:
   • Google Search ads appear as text-based links
   • Google Shopping ads display product images, which makes them more visually oriented

Both Google Search ads and Google Shopping ads can effectively promote physical products. If you sell physical products online, test both formats to determine which delivers better results. 

Also, remember that both formats can appear at the same time for a single search query.

If you offer non-physical products (for example, professional services or digital products), use Google Search ads. Google Shopping ads aren’t available for non-physical offerings.

What Are the Benefits of Google Shopping Ads?

Google Shopping ads can provide significant benefits and can help you:

• Reach the top of the SERPs: Google Shopping ads often appear at the top of the search results page. You don’t need to rely on organic rankings to achieve this position.
• Get a better return on ad spend (ROAS): Google Shopping ads can produce higher click-through rates (CTR) and conversion rates compared to other ad formats.
• Reach a broader range of customers: Google Shopping ads can show up in diverse locations, such as search results pages, the Shopping tab, YouTube, and the Google Display Network. This increased visibility allows you to connect with more potential customers.

How to Set Up Google Shopping Ads

This section explains how to create and launch a Google Shopping ads campaign.

Step 1: Create a Google Merchant Center Account

A Google Merchant Center account is required to run a Google Shopping ads campaign.

If you don’t have one, create it here.

Click “Sign up for free,” then answer basic questions about your business.

Enter your business’s name and the country where your business is registered.

Your Merchant Center account is now created. Next, complete your profile:

• Add your business address
• Verify your phone number
• Confirm your online store
• Add shipping details
• Set up sales tax information

Step 2: Create a Product Feed

Create a product feed—a spreadsheet containing your product data. Most ecommerce platforms have tools, apps, or plugins to automate this process. 

For example:

• Shopify: Google & YouTube app
• WooCommerce: Google Product Feed extension
• Adobe Commerce: Google Shopping extension
• BigCommerce: Google Shopping Feed & Ads app

To create a product feed manually, follow Google’s product data specification.

Step 3: Upload Your Product Feed to Google Merchant Center

Once the product feed is ready, upload it to the Google Merchant Center.

In the Google Merchant Center, select “Products” from the left-hand menu and then click “Add products.”

On the next screen, choose “Add products from file” and click “Continue.”

Select the country and language settings for your ads.

Enter the URL of your product feed file or upload it from your computer.

Your products will now appear in the Google Merchant Center.

Step 4: Create and Launch Your Google Shopping Ads Campaign

Once you’ve uploaded your products to the Google Merchant Center, you can set up your Google Shopping ads campaign.

To begin, you need a Google Ads account. If you don’t have one, create it here.

After creating an account and logging in for the first time, you’ll see the default Google Ads onboarding flow. To speed up the process, click the “Switch to Expert Mode” link.

On the next screen, choose “Sales” as your campaign objective.

Google Ads will ask you to select a campaign type. Click the “Shopping” option.

Select your Google Merchant Center account under the “Select a campaign type” section.

Next, choose a campaign subtype. You have two options:

• Standard Shopping: Promotes products across Search, the Shopping tab, Google Images, Maps, and Search Partner sites
• Performance Max: Uses Smart Bidding to drive more conversions across Search, YouTube, Gmail, and other channels

For this example, select the Standard Shopping campaign subtype. Add a name for your campaign and click “Continue.”

On the following page, configure additional settings:

• Bid strategy: Choose from “Manual CPC,” “Target ROAS,” or “Maximize clicks.”
• Daily budget: Set a daily spending limit for your campaign.
• Campaign priority: If you run multiple campaigns with the same products, you can prioritize one.
• Ad placement and targeting: Specify where ads appear, which devices they show on, and which locations to target.
• Start and end dates: Set the campaign’s duration.

Name your ad group. If you choose the “Manual CPC” bid strategy, enter your CPC bid.

When ready, click the “Create Campaign” button to launch your Google Shopping ads campaign.

Google Shopping Ads Bidding Strategies

Google Shopping ads support two main bidding strategy types: manual bidding and automated bidding.

Manual Bidding

With manual bidding, you choose the maximum amount you want to pay for each ad click. This approach gives you full cost control. 

However, it may produce weaker results if you are new to PPC advertising and have limited data to guide your bids. Inexperienced advertisers often find it challenging to get optimal performance with manual bidding.

If you are a beginner with Google Shopping ads, consider starting with an automated bidding strategy.

Automated Bidding

Automated bidding lets Google set your bids based on your specified goals. Available automated bidding strategies include:

• Maximize clicks: Helps you gain as many clicks as possible within your budget.
• Enhanced cost-per-click (ECPC): Adjusts your manual bids based on the likelihood that a click will lead to a conversion.
• Target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): Focuses on delivering conversions while meeting your desired ROAS.

6 Google Shopping Ads Strategies to Maximize Your Revenue

Now that you understand the basics of Google Shopping ads, consider these strategies to improve your campaign results.

1. Analyze Your Competition

Analyzing competitor ads helps you identify keywords, product titles, descriptions, and pricing strategies that work well in your market. 

Review their listings to see which keywords they use, how they structure product titles and descriptions, and how they price their products.

Use Semrush’s PLA Research tool for competitor analysis. Here is how to do it:

On the PLA Research tool page, enter your competitor’s domain and click “Search.”

Review the “Positions” tab to see the keywords triggering their ads and the total number of ads they run.

Review the specific keywords that trigger their ads and the associated product listings. 

Check the “Competitors” tab to discover other competitors.

Look at the “PLA Copies” tab to see their best-performing ads.

Use these insights to improve your own campaigns.

2. Optimize Your Product Titles

Product titles have a significant impact on click-through rates. Ensure your product titles are clear, descriptive, and include relevant keywords.

Follow these guidelines:

• Be descriptive. For example, “Organic Cotton Men’s T-Shirt - Red - L” is clear and specific.
• Include at least one relevant keyword
• Place the most important information and keywords at the beginning, as titles longer than 70-100 characters may be truncated
• Avoid using all caps and promotional information like prices or shipping details

3. Choose the Best Images

High-quality images can attract attention and encourage clicks. If images are low quality or do not follow Google’s guidelines, your campaign may not run.

Follow Google’s image guidelines:

• Meet the minimum size requirements (at least 100x100px for non-apparel and 250x250px for apparel)
• Show the entire product with minimal staging
• Use a white or transparent background
• Avoid placeholders, generic images, or promotional text
• Submit a unique image for each variant
• Show the correct variant in each product image

4. Use Negative Keywords

Negative keywords prevent your ads from appearing for irrelevant searches. For example, if you sell high-end furniture, exclude terms like “cheap couches” or “used leather sofas.” 

Negative keywords help improve click-through rates and reduce wasted ad spend.

Use the search terms report in Google Ads to identify irrelevant queries. Add those terms as negative keywords so your ads don’t appear for them. 

If specific terms drive clicks but no conversions, consider adding them as negative keywords.

5. Add Product Ratings to Your Ads

Product ratings and reviews influence purchasing decisions. Displaying star ratings can improve click-through and conversion rates. 

To show product ratings:

• Have at least 50 reviews to become eligible
• Request product ratings by submitting the interest form to Google

If approved, your ads will show ratings and encourage more shoppers to click and buy.

6. Make Sure Your Landing Pages Are Optimized

After improving your ads, optimize your landing pages to turn clicks into sales.

Keep Your CTA High on the Page

Users spend most of their time above the fold. Place your call-to-action (e.g., “Add to Cart” or “Buy Now”) near the top of the page to make it easy for visitors to complete their purchase.

Add Social Proof

Use positive reviews and testimonials on your landing page. This reassures customers that others have had a good experience and encourages them to buy.

• Automate review requests
• Send review requests after the product has been delivered
• Offer incentives to encourage customers to leave reviews

Improve Page Load Speed

A fast-loading page encourages visitors to stay and buy. A website that loads in 1 second has a 300% higher conversion rate compared to a website that loads in 5 seconds. 

Improve page load speed with these tips: 

• Compress images or use WebP format to reduce load times
• Remove unnecessary scripts
• Use a CDN (Content Delivery Network) to serve content from servers closer to the user

Drive Revenue Through Google Shopping Ads

Google Shopping ads can increase sales and revenue if managed properly. Apply these strategies to make your campaigns more profitable. 

Use Semrush’s PLA Research tool to simplify optimization tasks and gain valuable insights.