Did you know that Google Shopping allows retailers of all sizes to show their products across various Google platforms to enable a fast, simple, and secure purchasing experience for users? This means you can sell your products directly on Google to easily turn browsing into buying.
Special guest and Google expert Aatish Motwani joined us to discuss:
What is Google Shopping?
What does Google Shopping offer retailers of all shapes, forms, and sizes?
How to get started listing and selling on Google Shopping
Aatish Motwani has more than 10 years of experience across Sales, Business Development and Operations in traditional and ecommerce companies. He is currently working as Partner Lead at Google, enabling channel partners in the ecosystem to educate and onboard new merchants on the Google Shopping experience at scale and set them up for success.
About the session
This event was a webinar on "How to List and Sell on Google Shopping". The session aimed to educate audience members on how to increase their online sales by utilizing Google Shopping. The discussion touched on various aspects of Google Shopping, including how to get discovered on Google, key programs on Google Merchant Center, benefits of using Google to sell online, types of listing across Google Shopping, and how customers can buy on Google.
Key speakers
- Stephanie French, Content Manager for Webinars, Constant Contact
- Dahlia Barcimian, Strategic Partner Development Manager, Google
Agenda
The webinar was structured around the following key topics:
- Introduction to Google Shopping
- Background on Google Shopping
- How to get discovered on Google
- Key programs on Google Merchant Center
- Key benefits of using Google to sell online
- Free product listings on Google Shopping
- Types of listing across Google Shopping
- Letting customers buy on Google
- Frictionless, personalized shopping across Google surfaces
- Constant Contact's Ecommerce Pro plan
- Q&A session
Takeaways
Takeaway 1: Google Shopping as an avenue for increased online sales and customer reach
Google Shopping was highlighted as a useful tool for businesses looking to expand their online sales and reach a wider audience. Google Shopping was described as an open ecosystem for digital commerce and a platform to connect users and merchants.
"We're trying to provide obviously for consumers the best product assortment, the best prices, just overall best experience, but also creating more avenues for merchants like yourselves," said Dahlia Barcimian, the Strategic Partner Development Manager for Google. She emphasized the platform's mission to provide users with a seamless shopping experience and a wide range of products while supporting merchants in expanding their businesses.
"Really this mission is connecting the users and the merchants but really that channel and providing users a great shopping experience," Barcimian explained. "For the merchant's perspective, as a lot of merchants go to ecom, maybe they're just dipping their toe or maybe they're just increasing their assortment... we want to be able to bridge those two and provide a great experience for both of them."
Takeaway 2: The benefits of Google Shopping's different programs
Barcimian discussed the three primary programs within Google Shopping: free listings, shopping ads, and buy on Google. The free listings program, launched about a year ago in the U.S., provides a free outlet for businesses to increase their exposure and reach. Shopping ads, a platform that has existed for a long time, is managed within Google Ads. The buy on Google program allows customers to buy directly from Google, making it suitable for retailers with or without a website.
"There are three primary programs within Google Shopping," she said. "So we have the free listings... we have the shopping ads... and then we have the buy on Google program." Barcimian explained that each program offered unique benefits and opportunities for businesses, from increasing traffic to expanding international reach.
Takeaway 3: Importance of the quality of product listings on Google Shopping
The quality of product listings on Google Shopping was underscored, with emphasis on providing high-quality images and detailed product descriptions. Barcimian noted that better data and stronger feeds would organically lead to higher placements for products.
"Think about what you would look for, why would you want something to show up higher," she said. "It's the overall experience. What does that product listing look like? What data are you providing to us? That will just organically show up where it does." She stressed the importance of businesses investing time in refining their product listings to ensure the best possible visibility on Google Shopping.
Takeaway 4: Constant Contact's Ecommerce Pro as a complement to Google Shopping
Stephanie French, the Content Manager for Webinars at Constant Contact, introduced the platform's Ecommerce Pro tool, which uses artificial intelligence to predict what customers are looking for. The tool was designed to complement services like Google Shopping by helping businesses generate repeat sales over time.
"The platform is designed to really save you time and effort by taking the guesswork out of email marketing," French said. "It sifts through all of this data that happens behind the scenes with your customers and interprets it for you and gives you actions to take." She suggested that businesses could use Ecommerce Pro in tandem with Google Shopping to maximize their online sales.
Takeaway 5: Getting started with Google Shopping tools
Barcimian shared how businesses can get started with Google Shopping tools. All merchants would need to use Google Merchant Center, which is where all data is housed. She also mentioned Think with Google, a tool that provides consumer insights and trends to help businesses scale.
"You can start your accounts by going to merchants.google.com," she advised. "Within Merchant Center you upload your feeds or if you're using another ecom platform, you can push feeds, look at insights, look at reporting, and really get a holistic view of your Google Shopping assortment." Barcimian emphasized the importance of leveraging these tools to optimize a business's presence on Google Shopping.
Insights surfaced
- Google Shopping is a platform to increase online sales by getting products in front of more people right in the search results.
- Google Shopping has three primary programs: free listings, shopping ads, and buy on Google.
- Free listings on Google Shopping are a cost-effective way to increase reach and visibility.
- Buy on Google allows customers to buy directly from the Google platform, providing a seamless shopping experience.
- Constant Contact's Ecommerce Pro plan uses artificial intelligence to predict what customers are looking for and automates email marketing accordingly.
- Google Merchant Center is the central hub for managing Google Shopping activities, including uploading feeds, looking at insights, and reporting.
- Google Shopping also offers enhanced listings for a more visual, browsable experience.
- Google Shopping works with payment service providers for transaction processing.
"There's a multitude of ways to engage your audience through us using your social platforms - via ads, social post metrics, email links, and more! " - Will
