Google Merchant Center

Google’s efforts to lure back Ecommerce creates an opportunity for retailers to adapt early and take advantage of new features in Google Merchant Center. In April, Google announced Free clicks in Google Shopping in order to entice more advertisers into the program. Since then, they have created an “organic” section in Google Shopping. A handful of free clicks can have a major impact on overall CPA’s, especially in high CPC categories.

But this arrangement precludes inclusion in Google Shopping, at least initially. Once the initial feed is created, a fair amount of ongoing maintenance is required in order to keep it active. An active shopping feed requires accurate pricing and shipping, as reflected on the Web site, along with up-to-date State sales tax information and current stock volume. In addition to the initial setup, feeds can also be optimized for more exposure in several ways.

In a recent project, we corrected tax reporting and shipping information in the feed in order to “unsuspend” an account that had been left dormant for quite some time. We reconstructed the feed with the latest attributes such as “alt view” pictures, and also addressed the missing parts. Finally, in cooperation with a programmer, we tapped the backend API of BigCommerce in order to create an XML Review feed. We submitted it directly to Google Merchant Center, thereby bypassing the need for third-party review aggregators and avoiding their fees. Each time a customer leaves a review on the site, the XML file automatically populates Google Reviews. The yellow stars appear right alongside the big boys—Lowes and Home Depot. (Note: Due to Covid-19, it took Google three weeks to approve the Review Feed.)

 The left-hand navigation of Google Merchant Center is entirely different than it was six months ago. New features and links appear almost weekly. Such changes seem  . . . Amazonian. Given the amount of attention this has created, all indications are that Google will continue to invest heavily in additional features in order to compete with Amazon. Retailers would be wise to follow suit sooner rather than later.