Surprisingly, many advertisers and merchants are still relatively unfamiliar with Google Shopping Actions (also known as Buy on Google).
That’s despite the fact that it was launched back in 2018 to much fanfare. This means that although the program is 4 years old now, you still have a chance to gain a competitive advantage by learning how to leverage it effectively in 2022.
But first, let’s get clear on…
What exactly is Google Shopping Actions?
Some marketers will tell you that Google Shopping Actions (GSA) is Google’s “marketplace” solution or a rival platform to Amazon and similar tech giants. This is slightly misleading.
In reality, Google Shopping Actions is a program within Google Merchant Center (GMC) that allows merchants to advertise their products across the entire Google ecosystem (Search, Images, Google Home, and more) via Google Shopping.
The universal cart icon lets potential buyers know they can buy directly on Google, which guarantees a certain level of customer support and security.
To sum up, the Google Shopping Actions program is what enables retailers to sell on Google Shopping via mobile, desktop, and a voice assistant.
In Google’s own words: “Shopping Actions enables a frictionless shopping experience by using a shareable list, universal shopping cart, and instant checkout with saved payment credentials, allowing customers to easily turn browsing into buying”.
Note: Google Shopping Actions is currently available only in the US and France, so if you’re based elsewhere it will, unfortunately, be something you’ll have to do without for the time being.
How does Google Shopping Actions work?
Just as intended, it’s all really simple — after some browsing, a user makes a purchase and has the items shipped at a specified address. Google tracks each sale and sends a commission invoice to the seller at the end of each month.
Unlike Google Shopping campaigns that operate on the Cost-Per-Click (CPC) or Cost-Per-Action (CPA) model, Google Shopping Actions uses the arguably superior (from the seller’s point of view) Cost-Per-Sale (CPS) model.
In other words, you pay only when a shopper actually buys something from you. Otherwise, running ads on Google Shopping Actions won’t cost you a dime!
The benefits of Google Shopping Actions
These are quite many and diverse, so let’s focus on a few of the most consequential ones that nonetheless manage to elude even some of the more seasoned e-commerce professionals.
Establish presence across the entire Google ecosystem
As you well know, making your online store visible and getting eyeballs on your brand is THE way to increase traffic and boost sales.
Lucky for you, the GSA allows you to do just that — by registering for the program you’ll be able to get your Shopping ads running on Google Search, Google Shopping, and Google Assistant at one stroke!
If you’re skeptical about shoppers using Google Assistant to order products online, let’s put that idea to bed real quick. According to Google’s own data, almost half (44%) of customers who engage their voice-activated speaker at least weekly report using it to order groceries, household items, and other products every week.
So, while it may seem that Google Assistant is more of a fancy toy than something people really use in their daily lives, it’s actually an emerging major player in e-commerce!
Streamline the user experience to boost sales
With so many shopping options available, convenience is often the variable that can either make or break a new marketplace or other digital retail platforms.
The GSA, which features a shareable list, a universal shopping cart, and instant checkout with saved payment credentials, is as convenient as it gets!
The Google Shopping Actions program allows users to cycle through as many devices and sellers as they please without losing any items from the shopping cart, which makes them much more likely to not only buy but also to buy more.
Build an email list to attract new and retain existing customers
Another substantial benefit of using Shopping Actions is that, unlike Amazon and other marketplaces, it allows you to send promotional emails to your customers and direct them to your website. More than that, at checkout, Shopping Actions will actually prompt your customers to do that!
This is incredibly important because remarketing to existing customers is a lot more sustainable. In fact, researchindicates that acquiring new customers is roughly 5 times more costly than retaining the ones you already have.
Pay per sale model
As already mentioned, with Shopping Actions you pay only when a customer makes a purchase, rather than for each Shopping ad click.
While this may not be the most important thing in the world if you’re running a big company, for smaller ventures it can be a real game-changer.
To get the best of both worlds, you might want to consider using Google Shopping together with Shopping Actions, which should increase your conversion rate at a lower cost than if you were running Shopping ads alone.
#Saabsoft #pps #digitalamarketing #digitaladvertising
By : Saabsoft
