Starting at the end of April, Google will be rolling out free listings for businesses on its Shopping tab. The reasoning behind this decision is to help sellers better connect with their consumers, specifically during this time when budgets are reduced.
Some of you may remember Google Shopping as ‘Froogle’, which was free to use before it changed its name to Google Product Search in 2007. We’ve summarised the key points from this sporadic opportunity and how it can help your business.
Who is entitled to free shopping listings?
Initially, this is only available in the US but will be extended to the rest of the world by the end of this year.
In order to access these free listings, you need to be signed up to the Google Merchant Centre and opted into the Google Surfaces program. You can access this during the Google Merchant Centre sign up or under ‘manage programs’ if you’re already using the Merchant Centre.
Don’t worry about your paid Google shopping ads, they will continue to show in the same slots as they do currently.
How will this work?
These free listings will be available on the Google Shopping Tab only and not on any of Google’s other Search networks. Google have stated that they are working closely with some of their existing partners such as Shopify and WooCommerce to help merchants manage their products and inventory.
To speed up the onboarding process, you can link your PayPal account to the Shopping tab; this will enable you to sell your products efficiently, as well as maintaining quality for users.
Google hasn’t released official figures on the use of the Google Shopping Tab but in our experience, we consider it to be between 10 to 20%.
Although this is good news for businesses in a time of crisis, we believe that a reduction in space for paid ads is likely to make things more expensive in the long run for advertisers.
If you need digital support with any of the above then please get in contact and we’ll be happy to get your business on track when we regain stability. Send us an email to team@modo25.com
