How to Win the Shopping Micro-Moments with Google

Win Vital Ecommerce Shopping Micro-Moments with Google’s Latest Updates

In today’s mobile economy, consumers have the power to get what they want in an instant. Broken down into three actions (I Want To Know; I Want To Go; I Want To Buy), these activities compile what’s known as shopping micro-moments, where conversions can happen anywhere and anywhere.

Winning those shopping micro-managements can give you enough fuel to become a leader in your niche. So, how has Google made changes to help you win those shopping micro-moments on Google and beat out your competitors?

Let’s break it down to its 3 working parts.

Appeasing the I-Want-To-Know Crowd

Early on in the purchase cycle, the I-Want-To-Know customers are browsing, comparing and researching products. Data shows that 20% of all mobile users swipe on shopping ads in order to learn more about a product. Realizing the need to cater to this growing segment of the population, Google has enhanced the mobile experience by gently expanding shopping ads as they’re swiped. Once expanded, the ad shows product ratings, as well as availability at nearby stores.

As a result, more qualified traffic is driven directly to retailers. You should begin to see this feature in Chrome for Android, with iOS coming soon.

82% of smartphone users turn to their phone to influence
a purchase decision while in a store.

Conversational search
Conversational search is also growing in importance. Conversational search is when users quite literally ask the search engine for help learning more about a product. As a result, Google’s introducing a new feature on top-rated products, where newly designed shopping ads with authoritative rankings and product ratings are displayed.

Google’s also introducing product attribute cards that will give shoppers more information on a product, including reviews and specific product features.

How Google Will Help Shoppers Find Stores

The next segment to tackle is the I-Want-To-Go crowd. 25% of shoppers avoid going to a store because they don’t want to waste their time driving somewhere, only to discover the store doesn’t have their product in stock.

So, of course, these shoppers turn to the web to see where they can get what they’re looking for. Since 2013, local inventory ads have been in place, giving shoppers information on nearby stores that have their desired product. This feature has added an increase of 2% in overall clicks.

As a result, Google is going to show more local inventory ads than ever before. These LIAs will show before shopping ads on local intent shopping queries (such as “pizza shop near me”).

Thus far, this new experience has increased clicks on shopping ads by a whopping 85%.

Google Now in-store cards
Another exciting feature is the Google Now in-store card, which appears when shoppers are near a store. These cards display vital information, such as hours, sales, loyalty card benefits and more. Shoppers can click on “Search store inventory” and browse the store’s shelves anytime they want.

How Google Makes It Easy To Buy On Mobile

The last segment of the micro-moment movement is the I-Want-To-Buy group. Currently, conversion rates on desktops are 2x higher than on mobile. Google wants to narrow that gap.

Impressively, Google accepts that they’ll need to lean on others in the mobile world to make this happen, which is why they’ve created deep links within the shopping ads of such retailers as eBay and Zalando. These links send shoppers to the retailers’ apps, rather than to a website.

This should give app developers and retailers endless opportunities to engage and push conversions.

The Smallest Moments Can Make The Biggest Impact

Shoppers today are extremely demanding. They want answers to their questions immediately, which could seem daunting to some retailers. The good news is that the technology exists to meet the demands of your customers. OperationROI can help you use Google’s latest technologies to win your audience over at these pivotal micro-moments.

Learn more by calling OperationROI today at 1-888-277-5429 or by filling out our contact form.