3 Google Shopping Campaign Levers For More Q4 Sales

By Tinuiti Team

Aug 13 2014

Yesterday Google updated Google Shopping with the Shopping Campaigns Upgrade Tool to facilitate the August switch for ecommerce advertisers.

Google Shopping Campaigns Upgrade Tool

The tool helps advertisers get started with the new Google Shopping campaign structure by creating “a shopping campaign from your regular PLA campaign” which includes campaign structure and bids from your existing campaign.

“This is the final stretch. At the end of August, regular Product Listing Ad (PLA) campaigns will retire and be replaced by Shopping Campaigns.”

Google Advertisers have till the end of the month to transition Product Listing Ads to Google Shopping. With Q4 right around the corner, making the switch smoothly should be a priority for Google advertisers.

If you haven’t started the transition to Google Shopping Campaigns, check out this video for best practices on making the switch and using Google’s advanced campaign tools.

4 Critical Google Shopping Campaigns Optimization Areas for Q4

Once you’ve transitioned your PLA campaign to Google Shopping, be sure you’re set up for success on Google heading into the holiday season.

Below are 5 top areas you should be optimizing for Google Shopping for the holiday season:

1. Feed Optimization

Think of your Google feed as the backbone of your Google Shopping ads. If you’re strengthening those bones consistently, and working with a strong baseline- your campaign isn’t going to be standing up straight.

Custom Labels – Google Shopping Campaigns use Custom Labels, a new name for the old AdWords Labels column. Be sure your labels are updated with the new format, and you’ve prioritized which custom labels you’re using (remember custom labels are limited to 5 options, 0-4).
Product Title & Description Optimization– Consistently optimize product titles and descriptions for SEO and UX on major retail channels, especially for Google.

2. Campaign Structure

Your campaign structure is the muscle around the data feed bone for Google Shopping. You can have good bones, but a car frame doesn’t drive without an engine. Your campaign should be optimized and structured based on your products, online store, and market.

Segment Top Sellers Using Custom Label– Use the Google Shopping Campaigns Custom label to create product groups for products which will convert during Q4. Ensure the products which will drive more revenue during the holiday season are in a specific ad group which you can optimize bids and exposure for.

3. Optimize Google Holiday Competitive Metrics

Google AdWords advertisers are competitive with display ads on search, and will continue to vie for search result page space moving into the holiday season. Understanding your competitors metrics will help you gain an advantage for Q4, and identify areas where it may not be worth your investment to try and compete.

Bid Simulator– Google’s Bid Simulator is a great tool to help you see what your ad clicks, costs, impressions, conversions, and conversion value would be for different max bids. This will enable you to test different bids to gauge effectiveness against competition without actually implementing any bids.
Impression Share– Impression share highlights how many impressions you receive on Google, compared to how many impressions you could get. Impressions are crucial for Q4, but not every impression is of equal value. Use Impression Share to analyze impressions for your top sellers and Q4 specific products prior to and during the peak selling season.

Increase sales on Google Shopping Campaigns for Q4

You should also optimize and analyze your Google Customer Perception, leveraging tools including Google Special Offers, Google Seller Ratings and Product Reviews. Additional feed enhancements aligned with Search Term Mining are also a good idea to increase sales for Q4, identify growth opportunities, and increase campaign efficiency.