Google recently released an update to its product listing ads that make them more visible by adding a new annotation when you have a product with free shipping that ships within three business days (including handling time).

What’s changing?

For items that can be shipped within three days (including handling) and come with free shipping, a new advertising annotation will be placed on the product.

What does this mean?

For product listing ads, your products will likely have a higher level of visibility than non-qualifying competitors, giving you an advantage in the marketplace. We have seen in previous cases that advertisements with price drops or promotions have seen higher click-through rates (CTR). This could be just one potential impact of adding this annotation.

What will happen if my products don’t meet these criteria?

Products that don’t meet the shipping thresholds will still advertise as normal on the standard Google Search Network and across Google Surfaces.

How can I implement this new feature?

The first step to gaining access to this new feature is by completing the interest form. Once completed and approved, you will need the following:

An active Merchant Center account with products opted into Shopping ads in the United States
Active web conversion tracking in your Google Ads account
Active products in your Merchant Center account, which you can identify as free and fast
Account-level shipping settings configured for free and fast
Product feed attributes shipping_label and transit_time_label
Product landing or detail pages and checkout pages to message free and fast shipping

For help with seeing success on Google Ads and other opportunities available to your company, request a free e-commerce analysis with EXCLUSIVE today to discover how your business can grow.

Google has announced that it will offer free Google Shopping listings for merchants through the Surfaces across Google program. What does this mean for your business? We are still in the early stages of our research, but our experience as an industry leader in e-commerce suggests that this offer will significantly increase adoption of the emerging platform (in the U.S. and globally).

Here’s what we know — and what we’re anticipating — about the upcoming weeks and months:

What’s Changing?

In the United States, the Shopping tab will now offer organic Shopping listings that are free of charge, as well as promoted listings at the top and bottom of the page for paying advertisers.

What does this Mean?

In addition to paying for Google Shopping ads, merchants will have the ability to display organic product listings free of charge on the Shopping tab.

Do I Still Need to Advertise on Google Shopping?

Absolutely! The main search engine results page (SERP), where the majority of Google Shopping clicks happen, is remaining unchanged. To boot, an effective marketing strategy will account for the increase in competition as well as profit margin and lifetime value. This is essential to achieving the best results in this new competitive landscape.

How Can I Prepare?

Merchants with existing product feeds in Google Merchant Center are automatically eligible for participation in Surfaces across Google. You can find instructions on setting up the platform here.

Setup and Monitor the Essentials

Robust product titles and descriptions, high-quality images and populated product data attributes are more vital than ever. The better the quality of the feed, the better the ranking and placement will be! For our Exclusive Feeds clients, we will help optimize and monitor feed quality while anticipating and resolving any data issues that may come up.

If you are not an Exclusive Feeds client and you’re concerned about your feed data quality, or if you do not have a feed and want to take advantage of these free listings (which is highly recommended), please reach out to us.

How Does Reporting Work?

Reporting for organic product listings on the Shopping Tab and other Google surfaces will be available in the Performance report within Google Search Console as well as within the Performance section in Google Merchant Center.

To adapt to this change, we’re working closely with our Google representatives and proactively monitoring data quality and Shopping performance.

Want to hear directly from our team of shopping and Feeds experts on the impact of this change and more? Attend our upcoming Google Shopping webinar on Wednesday, May 6, at 2 p.m. ET.