If you are an online merchant, chances are, you rely heavily on Google to bring new customers to your site. As Google is the largest online search engine available to Internet users today, it is important that your website appears near the top of the list when a person enters a search query for a product that you are offering. However, Google has announced a whole host of new changes recently, and you may have noticed a significant drop in your new traffic numbers. It is important to make changes now so that you do not lose any more possible new clients during this Google transition.
In late summer of 2012, Google is planning on changing the Google Shopping experience; they will be moving to a commercial model based on Product Listing Ads. Product Listing Ads are essentially AdWords that have vital product information; Adwords will contain information about the image, the price of the item, and the merchant name. For users who enter in a search query that pertains to items in your Merchant Center account, Google’s results will display the most relevant products and relevant AdWords.
One of the main reasons Google is making this transition is to help keep Google’s merchant’s product information up to date and fresh. Customers want data that is new and the most recent. If they receive product information that is old — whether old products or outdated prices — they will not want to come back; this damages not just the merchant’s reputation, but Google’s as well. Once this new commercial format goes mainstream, Google hopes to provide better quality traffic for its merchants.
If you would like to create a Product Listing Ad, you will first need to have an AdWords account and a Merchant Center account
Once the transition is complete, being ranked in Google Shopping’s search results will be based on a combination of factors, like relevance and bid price; Product Listing Ads today use this format already. Eventually, online merchants will be able to display their special offers in search results. This will help increase traffic to your site.
