Google Shopping ads on Gmail, Discover, YouTube
Your success as an online merchant hinges on your ability to attract new customers at a reasonable cost. Google Shopping ads are one of the leading traffic sources giving merchants an edge in a competitive landscape and Google keeps finding more places to show Shopping Ads as merchants preferance is increases over text ads.
So what are Shopping Ads?
Google Shopping Ads or Product Listing Ads (PLAs) appear along the top of, or often on the upper right hand side of a search results page when a user searches Google for a product.
Product Shopping and Showcase Shopping ads will be eligible to show on Gmail, as well as YouTube and Discover feed starting the week of March 4 for those campaigns that opted to use the Display Network.
If you are sellings goods and are currently advertising on Adwords then you should explore this option. Remember that your competitors may already be there and taking potential customers away from you.
Google Maps
This month Google Maps turns 15th which is a significant achievement. Did I hear “Why should you care about Google Maps?”
FYI, Google Maps has become Google’s second most important product and in my personal opinion the most important search engine for local business. Here are some quick facts:
- Google Maps has more than one billion monthly active users
- Google Maps has “comprehensive data for over 200 countries and territories.”
- Information on more than 150 million locations/places.
- 40 million miles of roads.
- 25 million data updates on a daily basis.
- Google Maps has become the number one reviews platform in North America (by volume) and is dominant in Australia
- Google Maps is now driving significantly more local impressions than Google search
- In 2019 analysis by David Mihm found that Google Maps impressions exceeded search impressions roughly 3 to 1 (72% to 28%)
Any small business that ignores Google Maps is crazy, why? Google Maps results are targetted traffic ie that is specific to your business and in your local or service area. If you have presence in Google Maps and your profile has good reviews, then you will shine and have a great chance to capture targetted leads or clients to your site. The best part about this, its FREE traffic.
You may ask how you can appear in Google Maps; simple, just make sure you have a Google Business profile and the great thing the service is for FREE.
Tip of the day
Search on Google Maps for your business using the keywords your clients would use and location you are targetting eg small biz web designer sydney. This will give you an idea if you are going to be found and who are your competitors.
