E-comm marketers know that Q4 is a vital period which can determine success for the entire year in terms of marketing performance. For many digital marketers, Google Shopping will be the most important channel they use for driving results. This is a channel ripe with opportunity, which is probably why retail marketers in the U.S. spent over 75% of their budgets on Google Shopping last year. The evidence is clear - dominating Google’s shopping auctions during peak season is key to Q4 success - but what if a couple of tweaks now could multiply your KPIs significantly by year’s end?
Increase Focus On Product Accessibility
The holidays shift the landscape for consumers’ thought processes when it comes to online purchases. As the holidays creep closer, consumers start to prioritize things like convenience, shipping availability and ease of access to products. This intensifies as “deadline day” approaches. The rise of online stores like Amazon, offering lightning-quick delivery, have shifted consumer expectations when it comes to accessibility of products. The focus on delivery has never been greater in e-commerce. In fact, according to Google, shipping speed and cost are two of the most common reasons users abandon their shopping carts
Providing readily available delivery information in your shopping feed allows users to have confidence when shopping, by knowing when they can expect their products and what price they’ll pay for shipping. Update your delivery time and shipping cost in your shopping feed data to let your customers know they can expect their products on time & within budget. And if you offer free delivery with reasonably quick delivery speed, you may meet the requirements to display a “Fast & Free Delivery” badge which can boost performance and help your product stand out in this crowded space.
Don’t have an Amazon-tier shipping policy? If you have a local storefront, another great approach is utilizing a Local Inventory feed to display products available for in-store pick up. LIA feeds enable a seamless transition from an online shopping experience to picking up an item in their local store. And if you offer curbside pickup, this is another attribute you can display right in the visual of your ad. Pickup options are another way to stand out in the Shopping auction, especially if your shipping options aren’t competitive within your market.
Drive Performance With Promotions
Everyone loves a deal, and this is especially true during the frenzied holiday season. Inflation is top-of-mind for many shoppers, and consumers are looking for deals to counteract steady price increases. Last year, 77% of consumers said they would prioritize value and seek out cost-effective options while holiday shopping. Promotions in Google Shopping work so well because they are the intersection of providing value and standing out amongst a crowd - two keys to marketing success. Merchant Center promotions allow advertisers to display their sales in an eye-catching way, in order to attract more potential customers.
Inspire Confidence
More and more, marketing is about establishing a trusting relationship with customers. But this holiday season, how can you expand your reach and inspire confidence - especially if this is the first time a customer has ever interacted with your business? With Google Shopping, there are several solutions. First,display your return policy. This can give customers peace of mind when clicking ‘purchase’. If you haven’t verified your return policy in the Merchant Center, now is a great time to do so! Another excellent way to boost your potential customers’ shopping confidence is via peer reviews. Seeing that a product has a good rating directly in the shopping auction can influence the users’ buyer journey drastically. Nearly 95% of consumers look at reviews prior to making their final purchase decision. Applying for Google’s store ratings program gives you access to this feature, or you can utilize approved 3rd party review collectors to drive and manage your reviews.
Clean Up These Quick-fix Errors
Our last tip is to address any errors that may impact performance in the background. The last thing you want is to put together the perfect campaign, promos, shipping, and everything else on point - only for an unknown issue to limit your potential performance. Here are a few of the issues we recommend checking on throughout Q4:
- Price, condition or availability flags
- Items with a robots.txt error
- Invalid GTINs
These issues will display as errors in the Merchant Center if they need to be addressed. Issues with price, condition (new or used), and availability are straight forward. You can update these fields yourself or utilize a feed management tool to make these updates automatically based on your website information using Merchant Center or a 3rd party tool.
A robots.txt issue for Google Shopping can occur when a website's robots.txt file prevents Googlebot from accessing pages.
A Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) is a unique number that identifies a product or service, which google utilizes to match your products to relevant queries. It can hinder performance if some products are missing this attribute, by limiting the visibility of your products.
Rectifying these issues can raise your Feed Approval Rating, which Google recommends keeping above a 95% for optimal performance. If you see these errors in your account and want to request an audit, reach out to us!
When it comes to yearly marketing performance, dominating Q4 is a huge factor. Implementing these strategies will help your products stand out in a crowd, instill confidence in your brand, and spur users to convert with the offer. Google Shopping is an incredibly powerful channel, and if done right, it can be the driving force behind a strong e-commerce strategy this holiday season.
Eight Oh Two is a proven leader in search engine and performance marketing focused on driving superior results by leveraging best-in-class technology with the very best in human intelligence. Contact us today to learn how we can help optimize your PPC program and maximize your Q4.