Google Shopping Update Now Unrolling
Some confusing things are about to happen to Google Shopping, and it may not make much difference. What could be more exciting! The cause is not product development but the EU’s Digital Markets Act.
Quick Explainer
Back in 2017, the EU forced Google Shopping to change to make it more competitive (or less monolithic). This resulted in a new partner program for Comparison Shopping Services (CSS) - a way to set up your Google Merchant Center via an approved third party in order to leverage a 20% discount.
Now, the EU’s Digital Markets Act is forcing further changes to the CSS program to make it more visible.
CSSs can land traffic on their own product pages, not just on the advertiser’s product page. See Google’s own requirements for these pages. These will be eligible to compete in both organic listings, and in paid auctions
New product filters to select and explore CSS listings at the top of the results page
As Google change search to make the Shopping ads ‘richer’ (more visual, with more product carousels), CSS shopping ads will be maintained in the mix and have these options available
To confuse things further, a new acronym has landed to describe the CSS product page - the PDP (Product Details Page).
Impact
The immediate difference for shoppers and for advertisers seems minimal. Google have given the impression of doing the minimum they can to comply with EU law - these are going to be changes hidden and smoothed over in Google Shopping rather than a ‘break with the old’. However, competition is good in general for consumers, even if the results aren’t even noticed.
For advertisers, however, there may be an auction impact. The crucial questions are:
Will price comparison or affiliate sites enter auctions as CSSs with product pages, intensifying bidding and pushing up CPCs?
How many advertisers will run their existing advertiser product page ads alongside CSS product page ads? The aim of this would be to take up more space in the SERPs and enter more auctions.
Actions
Advertisers should consider testing CSS product page ads as an addition to their existing activity. The question most will want to test is: Are they incremental?
Advertisers need to have a strategy for partners such as affiliates or existing CSSs - clear agreements in place over potential CSS product page campaigns using their products. Otherwise, conflicts could occur, damaging performance of their existing Shopping campaigns.
Although Google have clear guidelines in place for the quality of CSS product detail pages, advertisers should also actively review pages featuring their products. For example: Are competitors’ products also featured, potentially losing you sales? Are the pages on brand?
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