Google’s new ‘Product Listing Ads’ means that advertisers using Google Shopping now need to pay when searchers click on their items. However, it could also bring morea relevant and targeted audience to brands. Jonathan Beeston, director, new product innovation, EMEA at Adobe Media and Advertising solutions, offers 7 top tips for advertisers looking to capitalise on this new ecommerce channel.
The arrival of Google Product Listing Ads (PLA) in the UK is a mixed blessing for the advertising world. While retailers will no longer benefit from the free traffic they were receiving from Google product search, it gives advertisers more granular control over product listings, bids and traffic, allowing them to work out what’s going where and when, and distribute budget as necessary.
In the US so far, PLAs have been a significant and profitable source of traffic, seeing the number of advertisers using them grow by 113% from Spring 2012 to October 2012. As a result the US advertising space has already grown more competitive so it will be crucial for UK organisations to be ready to hit the ground running. With the additional cost involved advertisers will now need to carefully consider spend efficiency at the strategy stage. And this is where learning from the US experience is a real advantage for us; we can see exactly what has and hasn’t worked with their ads.”
Key tips for advertisers and digital marketers:
• Ensure you are eligible for any and every search that relates to your catalogue
• Precise matching; tailor your match as finely as possible to specific search terms
• Remain flexible; marketers can expect to see variance in Cost per Clicks as the marketplace changes. It is important to adjust bids and targeting to make the most of arising opportunities
• Design PLAs that reflect your wider marketing effort. Use them as a source for promotion, through offerings and discounts
• Assign budgets correctly between PLAs and other search ads to get the best return for your entire investment
• Make sure are submitting your product feed to the Google Merchant Centre
• Create a strategy and testing process to discover the optimal campaign structure
By Jonathan Beeston
Director, new product innovation, EMEA
Adobe Media and Advertising solutions
