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Google Product Listing Ads Off To A Strong Start In 2016

Images draw in consumers and entice them to click on an advertisement. Marketers began experiencing this about a year after the ad units launched. Much has been reported on Google product listing ad performance in 2015, but what about in 2016?

PLAs are off to a strong start this year as well, according to data released Thursday. Traffic from the image-based ads rose 25% in the first month of the new year compared with the year-ago period, according to Adlucent.

The data was run from Dec. 28, 2015 through Jan. 27, 2016, and was compared against the same time period last year. 

Among Adlucent clients, orders and revenue rose 28% and 19% respectively, while search fell across the board. Search traffic fell 4% and revenue by less than a percentage point. A spike during the New Year's Eve weekend gave way to a decline each week in January

PLA click share continued to outpace search in January 2016, accounting for 52% of total clicks versus search at 48%. This time last year the tables were turned, with PLA click share at 45% of total Google search share among Adlucent clients.

The second week of the New Year was especially strong for PLAs. Traffic rose 40% and there were 66% more impressions serving up, compared with the same year ago time period. Consumers were spending, as orders and revenue rose 41% and 33%, respectively. In comparison, search traffic fell 2% and impressions by nearly 20%. 

Meanwhile, during the first month in 2016, WordStream noticed Google running three tests for PLAs in image search results. The first dubbed a PLA carousel that showcases products in Google’s image search results. Directly below the line the image grouping that allow searchers to narrow down their search.

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