• by Link Walls , April 7, 2016

Are text ads past the point of no return? Should Product Listing Ads (PLAs), the ultra-competitive ads powered by Google Shopping, garner the majority of digital marketers’ attention?

Google removed text ads from its right-side display in February and has been testing a layout with 10 to 15 PLAs on a single search results page (traditionally, most Google PLAs are shown in containers of five to eight products).  As Google has introduced more PLAs, organic search results are pushed toward the bottom of search results pages.  

How do you reach top visibility on Google’s crowded search landscape to turn searchers into shoppers? In this article, we will outline why PLAs are resonating with consumers and what strategies you can use to boost the ROI of your Google Shopping campaigns.

Why Should You and Your Team Invest Time and Resources in PLAs?

1. They’re a much more dynamic experience for shoppers than text ads. With PLAs, shoppers actually see an image of the item. They also get the description, price, seller’s name and maybe even a special promotion. The ads are both eye-catching and informative, creating a better overall search experience.

2. They’re feed-driven. You may already distribute your product data via feeds to marketplaces and comparison shopping engines. If so, it’s a familiar process. Google matches product attributes in your feed to search queries, so a robust feed with detailed product information is critical to your campaign success.

3. They look great on mobile devices. Everyone knows that consumers are increasingly turning to mobile for their shopping needs. Google has recognized this and made the mobile PLA experience for customers a priority. For instance, the scrolling functionality helps squeeze multiple products onto a results page.

4. They work. Overall, many brands and retailers have found Google Shopping to be a very solid program for generating traffic at a positive ROI. Take retail’s biggest weekend of the year, for example — the “Cyber Five” (Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday). Google Shopping was one of the leading e-commerce channels during that period, growing more than 20 percent year-over-year.

How to Make Your PLAs Show Up — and Stand Out

We think that every Shopping campaign has four symbiotic parts that need to function properly to be successful: Content, Campaign Structure, Correct Bidding and Cross-Channel Analytics. We call this framework the “4C’s of Google Shopping.” Below we delve into each component and explain how each plays a role in maximizing your digital marketing performance.

1. Content

When creating your product titles and descriptions, use the brand terms and other words that people are using to search for products. Be sure to put the most important information in the first 25 characters of your titles. Include every bit of information about the product that you can. Finally, use only high-resolution images and experiment with dynamic or alternative angles to stand out from competitors.

2. Campaign Structure

Consider testing multiple ways of structuring your campaigns. An easy way to begin is to replicate how your products are organized on your Web site. Using a basic reporting tool like Google Analytics, examine the search queries and conversion paths that visitors take to determine how your campaigns should be structured to increase your ROI.

3. Correct Bidding

Know the number of unique bids in your account. Where are your bids being allocated? How many unique bids are you using? Think about mobile and how it affects your advertising strategy. Not all device clicks have the same value, even for the same product. An increasingly important aspect of managing your bids is focusing on the mobile bid modifier and testing various mobile bids.

4. Cross-Channel Analytics

It’s easy to rest on your laurels when a campaign is performing well. In actuality, you should always be testing and using data to optimize performance. Create a new campaign for your top performers and adjust its priority to squeeze out as much ROI as possible. Learn how your products are performing on marketplaces and other digital marketing channels and adjust your Shopping strategy accordingly. Identifying trends across the web is a great way to beat your competitors to the punch.