June 18, 2021
Google Smart Shopping: What Makes it Special and How to Make it Work for You
With the ever-growing number of ads and advertisers showing in Google Shopping, it can be hard for you to stand out from the crowd. To address this, Google has started to rank advertisers based on product reviews when customers search with certain modifiers. Here’s everything you need to know about when these rankings show up and how you can use them to acquire new customers.
What are these product rankings?
Google will now often rank shopping ads from one to five based on the products’ reviews when a consumer’s search includes modifiers such as ‘best’ or ‘top.’ In the example below of a search for ‘best men’s shirts,’ we see five shirts from a variety of retailers, ranked one through five.
The rankings are based on a combination of rating quality and quantity. Both the first and second shirts are rated five stars, but the second only has 696 reviews compared to over 6,000 for the first ad. Indeed, the fifth shirt has a five-star rating as well, but its lower number of reviews means it falls behind the four-and-a-half star shirts that are in third and fourth position.
Why is this important?
Being ranked as one of the top five products builds credibility for your brand and gives you a greater chance of attracting first time buyers. Many of these ‘best’ and ‘top-rated’ searches occur early in the purchase funnel, when consumers are looking for guidance on which brand and product to buy. If you get in front of these searchers while they are still in the research phase, with proof of why they should trust your product over others, you will be able to increase brand awareness among a valuable pool of potential new customers.
On mobile devices, your ranking is even more important, as Google will only show three ads and feature the ranking of each product even more prominently. If you secure your place in one of those top three mobile ad slots, that could be enough to help you win a customer’s business.
How to make the most of your Google Product Ratings
To ensure your ads are ranked in a high enough position to win these new customers, you need to make sure you have as many product reviews as possible and that you are sharing those reviews with Google. First of all, make sure you are opted into Google Product Ratings in Google Merchant Center. Second, make it as easy as possible for purchasers to leave reviews on your website. Even if you sell a lot of your products offline, encourage your customers to go online and leave a review. Programs such as a sweepstakes for everyone who has left a review are great ways to encourage offline users to engage with your site. The more reviews you get, the more new customers you can acquire!
With the increasing preponderance of Google Shopping ads, it is becoming ever more important to separate your products from the crowd. Take advantage of Google’s product ranking system to give yourself the best chance to acquire those new customers.
Need help refining your Google Shopping strategy? Contact our team for an account analysis.
