Why are search engines important for eCommerce?
When you are looking to purchase a new product, it is very likely that at one stage in your research you will “Google it”. Whether that’s to discover places to buy the product, to compare your options (price or functionality) or work out what factors you should consider before you make your decision.
Because search engines answer queries for most search intents it is a great way to get your products in front of people interested in your category and either create demand for these goods, or convert existing demand for these goods.
66% of shoppers go directly to Google or Bing to discover new brands and products.
What is Google Shopping?
When people search for a specific product or term that signals they may be looking to make a purchase, Google will create a feed at the top of the search results with images, prices, reviews and store names for matching products, making it easier for shoppers to compare options and find what they’re looking for. These results can also be found on the “products” tab of Google.
Just like with search results for webpages and articles, the first results in the feed will be paid adverts, allowing businesses just like yours to showcase your products directly from this initial search. These are Google Shopping Ads. Take the below example of someone searching for “padel racket” in the UK. The first result is the Google Shopping feed showing 8 potential rackets that have been advertised by Decathlon UK, TennisNuts.com and Amazon.co.uk and are showing under a “Sponsored” title to show these are ads.
Benefits of Google Shopping:
– Increased Visibility: Shopping ads appear prominently in search results, the number one source for product and brand discovery, increasing product visibility amongst high intent audiences.
– Improved Click-Through Rates (CTRs): Displaying an image of the product as well as the core points of comparison encourages more clicks than a text based result.
– Higher Conversion Rates: Shoppers are more likely to convert when they can see product images and prices before clicking.
– Better Qualified Traffic: Shopping ads target users actively searching for products, resulting in more qualified traffic.
– Measurable Results: Google Ads provides detailed performance metrics, allowing businesses to track ROI and optimise campaigns, to ensure you are spending your precious marketing budget where you get the best results.
– Lower cost per click than Google Search Ads: In some categories, Google Shopping cost 23% less than Google Search ads, proving far better value for money on the same channel.
How much does Google Shopping cost?
You only pay for clicks, not impressions on Google Shopping Ads which means you can easily stay in control of your spending. On average, CPC (cost per click) for this type of ad is between 75p and £1.50 according to one source, however this will depend on the keywords and industry you are in, with electricals and apparel having the highest competition and therefore a high CPC.
Other factors that influence the cost and effectiveness of your Google Shopping ads are the quality and relevance of your ads, and the time of day/ day of the week, as during peak periods competition will increase, but Google will always want to display the most relevant and interesting ads to its users.
