First things first, ensure that your business and products meet the requirements set out by Google to create product listing ads.
Assuming you have everything, including Google Merchant Center and a data feed, it’s time to decide how you would like to set up your product listing ads.
For those with less time and technical background, Google made it possible to set up a product listing ad within the Google Merchant Center. However, it can be better to use Google AdWords, as it allows you to do so much more.
How to Create Product Listing Ads
Step 1: Link your accounts
You will need to link your AdWords and Google Merchant Center accounts, which can be done in the Google Merchant Center under Settings – AdWords.
Step 2: Create a Campaign
Log in to your AdWords account and under the ‘campaigns’ tab, select ‘+ New Campaign’. This needs to be in a specific campaign and not as part of a search campaign. Setting your campaign up this way provides you more control over each type of ad. And, you can set budgets specific to your campaign objectives.
Name your campaign accordingly and follow the process on the page defining the top-level campaign specifications, such as location, location exclusions, ad schedule, etc. Then, move onto create your Ad Group.
Step 3: Create an Ad Group
Name your Ad Group accordingly. It’s worth being descriptive, so you are able to identify your product groups. You will then have the option to ‘start with one product group with a single bid for ‘all products’ or ‘create one ad group’ and generate multiple product groups based on the product attribute you choose.
You will need to pick the best one for the type of Ad Group you are creating.
Apply a stable minimum bid. If you are not sure what this should be, try looking at your current search campaign CPCs and start with your average. You can always change this when you have more data from your shopping campaign.
Step 4: Targeting options
Often, you may hear advertisers talk about ‘targeting strategies’. This is a very important point to consider when running a shopping campaign. Businesses will vary on which strategy works best based on industry, goals, etc.
Targets may be based on:
- Brand
- Product Type
- SKU (most commonly preferred)
You can also target your bestsellers to increase shopping campaign ROI.
Lastly, do check out ways to optimize your Google Shopping campaigns. Simple changes can help get your products to show to the right people at the right time, while cutting your CPC.
