A Comprehensive Guide to Improving Google Shopping Performance

Google Shopping is a powerful way to attract customers directly to your product listings. However, getting discovered and ranked well in Google Shopping takes work. In this guide, we’ll expand on 10 key tips to optimise your listings and boost performance.

1. Use High-Quality Product Images

One of the most important factors in driving clicks is having visually appealing product images. Take clear, well-lit images that showcase your products from various angles. Unsplash is a great resource for royalty-free stock images if you need extra photos.

Google also prefers images that are at least 1000×1000 pixels for optimal display. Compress large images without losing quality using an image optimization tool. Poor or low-resolution images can hurt your rankings.

2. Write Compelling Titles and Descriptions

Your title is one of the first things customers see, so craft titles that communicate key benefits and attributes in 50 characters or less. Include relevant keywords that accurately describe what’s shown.

For descriptions, convey additional value and answer common questions in under 500 characters. Use bulleted or numbered lists to call out important features. The goal is to entice readers to learn more or take action.

3. Offer Competitive Pricing

Price is a huge factor in the shopping experience. Research your competitors’ prices and either match or undercut them slightly if possible. Consider promotional discounts or bundles to encourage purchases.

Ensure your price is accurate across channels to build trust. Regularly check for pricing errors that could confuse customers. Google prefers prices to be consistently lower or equal to those of other retailers.

4. Highlight Key Attributes

Add detailed product attributes to spec sheets to differentiate your offerings. Create fields for things like material, size, colour options, compatibility, and any certifications. The more informative you are about attributes, the easier it will be for customers to find exactly what they need.

5. Optimise Feeds and Structured Data

Well-formatted product feeds and structured data help Google understand your catalogue. Use required fields like Brand, ItemGroupId, Gender, and AgeGroup. Add optional fields like MPN, UPC, and additional images for richer snippets.

Validate feeds against the Google Merchant Center Feed Specification. Structured data helps surfaces like Knowledge Panels and can aid discoverability.

6. Monitor Performance Metrics

Google Merchant Centre provides insight into how customers interact with your listings. Pay attention to metrics like Impressions, Clicks, and CTR (click-through rate) to see what’s working well. Low-CTR items may need optimisation.

You can also set up Google Analytics for e-commerce to track on-site conversions from paid and organic traffic for a fuller picture of ROI. Regular analysis helps optimise the customer journey.

7. Maintain Fresh Inventory Data

It’s frustrating for customers when requested items are out of stock. Check for and remove outdated or sold-out listings at least weekly to avoid disappointments.

Google may also penalise stale inventory that doesn’t align with what’s available to purchase. Be prompt about marking items as unavailable so searchers aren’t misled. Over time, this builds trust in your storefront.

8. Promote Through Social Proof

Highlight positive reviews on your listings whenever allowed. Consider linking to review sites like Trustpilot or showcasing recent testimonials. Positive social proof reassures potential buyers and increases clickthrough.

Make it easy for happy customers to leave ratings and reviews by integrating review collectors on your site. But only display authentic reviews—Google frowns on incentivized or fake feedback.

9. Optimise for Mobile

With more searches occurring on phones and tablets, have a mobile-optimized experience. Use responsive design so images resize well on smaller screens. Keep forms, buttons and text large enough for easy tapping.

Ensure your structured data also appears correctly across devices. Google may tweak rankings to favour shops with seamless shopping on all platforms.

10. Consider Ad Spend Testing

While organic rankings take work, paid search can provide an immediate boost. Do some targeted Google Ads shopping campaigns to complement SEO efforts. Watch your CPCs to find the most cost-effective keyword matches.

Just be sure to honour your ads by fulfilling orders smoothly. Google closely monitors ad quality to weed out poor experiences that could damage your brand over time.

Key Takeaways

To summarise, focus on high-quality visual merchandising, thorough product information, competitive pricing, optimising feed and data formats, monitoring metrics, and keeping inventory fresh. Also consider showcasing social proof and mobile optimisations. Testing Google Ads can accelerate results as you refine your organic listings over time. Regular improvements across these core areas will help drive more relevant shoppers to your Google Shopping listings.

FAQ

Q: How often should I update my product feeds?
A: At minimum, refresh feeds weekly to keep information current. For fast-changing catalogues, every 2–3 days may be best.

Q: What are some tips for compelling titles?
A: Include 2-3 keywords, benefits, and unique selling points. Use descriptive titles customers can easily scan, like “Fast Drying Paint, Interior Wall Coat, White.”.

Q: How many images should I include per listing?
A: Aim for 3-5 images per product to showcase it from different angles. The first image must be the primary hero shot.

Q: Can I link to my social profiles?
A: Yes, include branded URLs like Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. to drive traffic and engagement.

Q: What file types can I use for images?
A: Google recommends JPG, PNG, WEBP or GIF formats up to 24 months old in sRGB colour space. Stick to high-quality JPEG compressed files under 1MB each.

Q: How can I get customer reviews?
A: In addition to reviewing widgets, ask for reviews after purchase via email. You can also incentivize reviews with coupon codes for repeat customers. Just avoid fabricated feedback.

I hope this expanded guide provides actionable tips and strategies for improving ranking and performance on Google Shopping over time. Let me know if you have any other questions!