Whether you sell products online or just buy them, you may have seen the ‘Shopping’ tab in Google and wondered what exactly it is and how it works. Read on to find out!
What is Google Shopping?
In a nutshell, from a business perspective, Google Shopping is another way of getting your products out in front of people who are searching for them. When you set your business up on the platform, your products will then appear in the ‘Shopping’ tab when people search for those products. People can then click through to your site to purchase them.
From a customer perspective, Google Shopping is a way of browsing a whole range of different sites online for a particular product, allowing you to compare criteria like pricing and reviews all in one place, helping you make a decision on who to purchase from.
How does it work?
Unlike with search engine results, Google doesn’t automatically pull products through to Google Shopping from ecommerce websites. Instead, businesses must set themselves up on the platform and submit feeds of their products, which they are responsible for updating when needed. Google then uses this information to display the products in searches. For the most part, Shopping results are ranked based on product relevance to the user, which includes not only their search term, but also their wider activity on Google.
Google Shopping is free to use for both businesses and customers. Some products will have a “Sponsored” label attached to them – in this instance, the business has paid Google for those products to appear in a boosted position. While most products have to be purchased direct from the seller’s website, some businesses do offer the ability to purchase on Google itself – and in this instance, the search giant does receive a commission for the purchase.
Businesses that use Google Shopping to showcase their products are bound to comply with its policies, and failure to do so can result in the offending items being removed or, if Google deems it necessary, their account being suspended.
For more information on Google Shopping, Google has put together a comprehensive guide, which you can view here.
If you’re a business selling products online, setting yourself up on Google Shopping is well worth doing to increase your exposure – especially if your competitors are doing so. If you need help broadening the reach of your business or products online, we can help here at Engage Web. Speak to us today to learn more.
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