Daily Archives: August 23, 2021

Showcase Your Products for Free on Google

Google Merchant Center

Getting products and services to appear online can make or break a business. Google is the answer to such a need. It is the largest search engine in the world, with more than 90% reach to online consumers and over 2 million websites. No wonder more than 7 million advertisers engage in Google Ads PPC. 

Most small businesses and startups have a limited budget on pay-to-play to showcase their brand online. But the good news is, there are ways to showcase your products for free on Google, as noted by a digital marketing speaker Hong Kong. Even though they do not cost money, they can get your brand to Google images, Shopping, and more organically. 

Begin with Google Merchant Center

Google Merchant Center is a Google property where you can reach hundreds of millions of people daily. These people are looking to buy products and services from brands and businesses. As an online marketplace, Google Merchant Center will connect you with the right customers at the right moment.

The first step is to create a Google account if you don’t have one. Afterward, you can now grow your business with Google Merchant Center. Head to merchants.google.com and follow the guide to identify how Google can help your business. Enter the URL of your eCommerce website and follow the simple steps to tell Google the information it needs about your business. You can now showcase your products for free on Google.

Complete Your Business Information

Your business name, store name, or website name will appear next to each product that you showcase for free on Google. But this is not enough to rank on Google searches. You will need to complete your business information to boost visibility. 

With a Google My Business account, you get more than just a listing. You can boost reach and drive customer engagement for free. All you need to do is complete your business information. These include business categories or niches, contact numbers, email, operating hours, physical address or addresses of your stores, and URLs of your websites. 

Integrate Your Third-Party Platform

Are you working with third-party platforms to promote your products online? Or do you have you build your business or eCommerce website? To further showcase your products on Google, you may need to integrate your third-party platforms with your Google Merchant account.

Linking your accounts can help Google understand your business more. It can then provide better services to your business and link third-party platforms. A social media agency Hong Kong also highlights the importance of linking your social media pages with Google Merchant. It is a way to build and sync interconnected online stores to boost visibility on Google searches. As a way to build up your online identity, it also provides merchant trust and quality signals. 

Review Your Product Listings

You will also need to review your listings to better showcase your products for free on Google. Update them from time to time. Under published products, click a product title to see its details and tools. You can then edit and update them based on your preferences. You can also sync inventories across all programs.

If you are using Shopify, Google will automatically detect and import your updated product listing. But for social media Shops and other third-party platforms, you may need to do it manually. Most online searchers look for product ratings and reviews. According to a video marketing agency Hong Kong, the best way to showcase them on Google is to add short testimonial clips of happy customers.

Use the Merchant Center Flow to Help Google Understand Your Products

The Merchant Center Flow helps Google understand your products more. It will match your product information with the most relevant queries. First, you will need to verify your website. Then you will have to set up your shipping information for customers to know how long it will take for an item to reach them together with its delivery cost. If you are a seller from the United States, you will also need to set up the tax information for your business.

After Google identifies your website, it may automatically add your product listing on your Merchant account. All you need to do is to confirm the product entries. If you have less than 100 products on your list, Google recommends manually adding them. As such, you can configure the following data:

  • Brand Name
  • Manufacturer Part Number (MPN
  • Strong product identifiers like Global Trade Item Number (GTIN)

From these data, Google will better understand your products and match them with the most relevant searches.

Through Google Merchant Center, you can also update your product attributes to specify color, condition, material, pattern, and size. You can also ensure uploading high-quality images to capture the customers’ attention.  

Visibility

Google wants to ensure that a business provides the best customer experience. So, as a last step before the final review, it will ask you to see and agree with the terms and conditions of Google Policies. Afterward, you will just need to wait for an email as a go signal that you can showcase your products for free on Google. 

Reference: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/378043