If you’re starting to prep for the holiday season on Google Shopping—you might start to notice some changes to the platform since the 2019 holiday season. This article will catch you up on the biggest updates and additions to Google Shopping in 2020, so you can successfully drive profit for your business on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and throughout the holiday season!
Find out what you missed in 2020:
1) Free Organic Google Shopping Listings
Without a doubt, the most significant change to Google Shopping this year was the switch from 100% paid Google Shopping listings to including free organic listings on Google Shopping!
Wondering if you should still pay for Google Shopping ads? To read more about the update, check out our blog Free Google Shopping Listings: What they Mean for Advertisers.
In May, Google expanded free listings to include local inventory. If you’ve submitted a local inventory feed to Merchant Center, your products might start to appear in unpaid results. If you want to take advantage of this and serve on all surfaces click here. If you want to opt out of free local inventory listings follow these instructions.
2) No More Commission for Buy On Google
In August, Google announced that “Buy on Google” will now be commission-free. Before, retailers would have to pay a percentage for sales that occurred on Google. Now it’s free to sell directly on Google without shoppers ever reaching your site. It’s worth noting too that Google expanded the capabilities of the direct sale program. Now, retailers can bring their preferred third-party vendors, including PayPal and Shopify, to the program. Learn more here.
3) 2020 Google Shopping Update: Ads Can Appear in Gmail
In March 2020, Google announced that Google Shopping ads can now appear in Gmail.
Reporting for this ad placement will appear under the Google Display Network. These ads could be a good opportunity to reach new customers this holiday season. Of course – you’ll need to apply a profit-driven strategy to these ads, just as you would for your other campaigns! For full details, read Google Shopping for Gmail: What You Need to Know.
4) Your Product Feed Can Serve in Multiple Countries
Throughout the summer, Google has been rolling out a new feature that automatically serves your product feed to other countries. Following this update, your ads can show in countries whose ads advertise in the same language as your ads (as long as you meet Google’s requirements). You may or may not want to capitalize on this change, depending upon your products! Want to learn more? Check out our blog here: Google Shopping Feeds Now Automatically Serve in Multiple Countries.
5) 2020 Google Shopping Updates to Tools and Reporting
Lastly, Google has added some useful tools to help grow your campaigns. The first is called “Rising Retail Categories”. You can use this tool to find trending keywords—which could be valuable additions to your holiday campaigns.
The next tool is “Google Explanations” which is still currently in beta testing. Google says that Explanations will, “give you insights into large changes in your Google Ads account performance. When you see a significant fluctuation in performance for a Search campaign or ad group, Explanations help you quickly find out why it happened.” Both of these tools can help your company tackle shifts in customer buying habits and other changes this holiday season.
For the latest Google Shopping updates from our expert team, subscribe to our blog below. If you’re starting to plan for the holiday season on Google Shopping, make sure to make these product feed updates for the holiday season!
If you need help preparing your account, reach out to speak to an analyst today.
