Google Shopping and Google AdWords: What Are They and How Do They Work Together?
If you're an e-commerce retailer, you're probably familiar with the importance of advertising your products online. Two popular ways to do this are through Google Shopping and Google AdWords. In this post, we'll break down what these two tools are and how they work together to help retailers increase sales and reach new customers.
What is Google Shopping?
Google Shopping is a service provided by Google that allows retailers to promote their products and reach potential customers through Google search results and the Google Shopping tab. When users search for a product on Google, they may see a list of product listings with images, prices, and other product details. These product listings are known as Product Listing Ads (PLAs), which are created using a retailer's product feed.
A product feed is a file that contains information about a retailer's products, such as the product name, description, image, price, and availability. This feed is uploaded to Google's Merchant Center, which is a platform provided by Google where retailers can manage their product feed. Once a product feed is uploaded to the Merchant Center, retailers can create Shopping campaigns in Google AdWords to promote their products.
What is Google AdWords?
Google AdWords is a platform provided by Google where advertisers can create and manage ads that appear on Google search results pages and other Google properties. Advertisers can create ads that target specific keywords or phrases, and they can bid on those keywords to compete for ad placement in search results. Google AdWords offers a variety of ad formats, including text ads, display ads, and video ads.
How do Google Shopping and Google AdWords work together?
Google Shopping and Google AdWords work together to help retailers increase sales and reach new customers. Here's how:
1. Product listings from Google Shopping appear in Google search results: When users search for a product on Google, they may see product listings from Google Shopping. These product listings are created using a retailer's product feed and are managed through the Merchant Center.
2. Shopping campaigns are created in Google AdWords: Retailers can create Shopping campaigns in Google AdWords to promote their products. Shopping campaigns allow retailers to bid on their product listings to compete for ad placement in search results.
3. Product data is synced between Google Shopping and Google AdWords: Product data, including product names, descriptions, images, and prices, is synced between Google Shopping and Google AdWords to ensure that product listings and Shopping campaigns are up to date.
4. Conversion tracking is available in Google AdWords: Retailers can track the number of conversions and sales generated by their Google Shopping ads using conversion tracking in Google AdWords.
Overall, Google Shopping and Google AdWords are powerful tools that can help e-commerce retailers increase sales and reach new customers. By creating product listings in Google Shopping and promoting those products through Shopping campaigns in Google AdWords, retailers can ensure that their products are seen by potential customers who are actively searching for them on Google.
Google Shopping Breakdown
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Google Shopping | A service provided by Google that allows retailers to promote their products and reach potential customers through Google search results and the Google Shopping tab. |
| Product feed | A file that contains information about a retailer's products, such as the product name, description, image, price, and availability, that is used to create ads for Google Shopping. |
| Product listing ad (PLA) | An ad format that displays a product image, price, and retailer name on Google's search results page and the Google Shopping tab. |
| Bidding | The process of setting a maximum bid for a product listing ad to compete for ad placement in search results. |
| Merchant Center | A platform provided by Google where retailers can upload and manage their product feed. |
| Shopping campaigns | Ad campaigns that are focused on promoting a retailer's products through Google Shopping. |
| Conversion tracking | A feature that allows retailers to track the number of conversions and sales generated by their Google Shopping ads. |
Google Adwords
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Google AdWords | An online advertising platform developed by Google that allows businesses to display their ads on Google's search engine results pages and other websites in the Google Network. |
| Ad campaign | A collection of ad groups that share a budget, settings, and targeting options. |
| Ad group | A set of ads and keywords that share a budget and are targeted to specific audiences. |
| Ad format | The way an ad is presented, such as text, image, video, or shopping ad format. |
| Bid | The maximum amount an advertiser is willing to pay for a click on their ad or a conversion. |
| Click-through rate (CTR) | The percentage of people who click on an ad after seeing it. |
| Cost per click (CPC) | The amount an advertiser pays for each click on their ad. |
| Conversion | A desired action taken by a user on the advertiser's website, such as a purchase, form submission, or phone call. |
| Quality score | A metric used by Google to measure the relevance and quality of ads, keywords, and landing pages. |
| Keyword | A word or phrase used in ad targeting to match a user's search query. |
| Landing page | The webpage that a user is directed to after clicking on an ad. |