{"id":117226,"date":"2020-04-28T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-29T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/google-shoppings-free-expansion-what-it-means-for-advertisers\/"},"modified":"2024-12-19T16:43:31","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T21:43:31","slug":"google-shoppings-free-expansion-what-it-means-for-advertisers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/en-ca\/insights\/blog\/paid-media\/google-shoppings-free-expansion-what-it-means-for-advertisers\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Shopping\u2019s free expansion: What it means for advertisers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Google recently announced an enormous change to the Google Shopping tab<\/a>. In an effort to move more SMBs into an ecommerce-first model, Google has expanded its Shopping platform to include free, organic listings on the Shopping tab of Google.com. There is a lot to unpack here.<\/p>\n

For advertisers, the best place to start is to know what is not<\/em> going to change as a result of this update. For one, Google’s main SERP will still serve Google Shopping ads. The carousel will not show organic listings, and existing feeds will not need to be changed or updated to continue serving your campaigns. To opt in to the free listings feature, you simply need to select the “Surfaces Across Google” setting<\/a> in your Google Merchant Center.<\/p>\n

As for what is<\/em> changing, the Google Shopping tab of search results will now be populated primarily with free product listings. The change will roll out in the US before the end of April and to more regions across the globe by the end of the year. Shopping ads will serve at the top and bottom of the page, akin to the traditional SERP.<\/p>\n

Why is Google offering free ad space?<\/h2>\n

Google has been working on this update for some time now. Its search dominance has been in decline due to Amazon’s rise over the past three years. Searchers are increasingly performing product research on Amazon’s platform, eating into both Google and Microsoft’s search share. Amazon passed Microsoft in 2018<\/a> and Microsoft has remained behind in product search traffic since. Google still accounts for more than 70% of all searches in the US, but Amazon’s gains necessitate a change. Google will accomplish a few things with this move.<\/p>\n

\"eMarketer<\/p>\n

The first is an influx of structured data and content that will greatly enhance not only Shopping results, but nearly every consumer-facing Google product. The Surfaces Across Google setting on Merchant Center feeds is the key here. As the year continues, we are going to see organic product listings across more Google properties. Products like YouTube, Discover, Image Search (without a doubt), Gmail, and even Maps. It’s easy to envision a time when Google begins to enhance local map pins and knowledge graphs with product suggestions\u2014tailored to fit one’s browsing and buying behavior\u2014that are in-stock and can be purchased with one click. Google can use organic feed data to enhance product recommendations, build out more specific in-market segments, and attempt to stem the tide of search share loss from Amazon, specifically for products to purchase.<\/p>\n

The second is a corollary of the first; a shot in the arm for Google Shopping. We don’t expect this change to dramatically impact CPCs across the board, but making the Shopping tab more useful to users and giving Google more flexibility on where product listings and information serve could result in more volume and a change in user behavior. That means there will be both better targeted ads and more ad clicks to go around. Users already know how to search and scroll marketplaces\u2014and Google just created a marketplace of the entire internet.<\/p>\n

When Google decided to sunset the right-hand rail ads, there was much hand-wringing around the loss of control, the inventory scarcity, the inevitable rise in CPCs while advertisers fought for top spots. While there was some disruption, it was nowhere near as impactful as advertisers feared<\/a>. The ad inventory that is being removed in favor of organic listings on the Shopping tab is reminiscent of when positions 8-11 were removed from the SERP back in 2016. Likely, these weren’t huge volume drivers for any given business. Due to that fact, overall impressions in campaigns may fall, but one would expect clicks to remain somewhat steady and CTR to increase in line. We saw similar trends following the right-hand rail update.<\/p>\n

What should advertisers do now?<\/h2>\n

If your Shopping campaigns are properly optimized, your feed is maintained, and your inventory is stocked, this will likely not result in a shock to your campaigns. As noted above, there may be a drop in total impressions as low-positioned ads from the Shopping tab are replaced with new, free listings. That being said, there are some areas that will require key decisions to be made in the coming days.<\/p>\n

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