I recently stumbled upon an excellent report in Google Ads called the Merchant Excellence Report. Although it's not available to everyone (you have to be spending over $100K on Shopping Ads within the EU), there's so much we can learn from it to become better ecommerce advertisers, especially when it comes to Shopping Ads and Performance Max campaigns.
Here's what I discovered and how you can apply it—even if you can't access the report yourself.
1. Your Data Feed Is More Important Than Ever
Back in 2014, your data feed powered just Shopping campaigns and some basic Display campaigns for retargeting. Fast forward to now, and your data feed now influences a multitude of ad formats—and it's only going to expand. This means having a high-quality data feed is crucial and will become even more so over time.
2. The Three Pillars of Shopping Ad Auctions
According to Google, Shopping ad auctions depend on three main factors:
Offer Quality: All about your product data—the better your product information, the better your ads perform.
Bid Level: Determined by your bidding strategy in Google Ads.
Relevance: How well your products match what users are searching for.
Your data feed directly impacts offer quality and relevance, so it's essential to get it right.
3. Fix Those Disapprovals—Now
I can't stress this enough:
Regularly check your Google Merchant Centre for any disapproved products.
Even if everything is approved today, that might change tomorrow due to Google's automated bots. Set a reminder to review your Diagnostics in Merchant Centre weekly and fix any issues immediately.
4. Optimise Your Titles for a Big Boost
Optimised titles can significantly increase your click-through rates.
In my experience, I've seen click volumes increase by up to 100% just by tweaking product titles. Make sure your titles include high-volume keywords and accurately describe your products.
5. Enrich Your Data Feed Beyond Titles
While titles are crucial, don't neglect other parts of your data feed. Fill out all relevant fields like descriptions, product types, and categories.
Use All Four Levels of Product Type
Most people only use one level and often make it the same as their Google product category—a wasted opportunity. Use all four levels of depth in your product type field and include strong keywords in each level.
6. Don't Ignore GTINs
Missing or incorrect GTINs (Global Trade Item Numbers) can hurt your performance. Fixing these can lead to significant improvements in clicks. Check for any GTIN errors in your Merchant Centre and resolve them promptly.
7. Leverage Annotations to Stand Out
Use every opportunity to make your ads more attractive:
Product Ratings: Enable product ratings by integrating review aggregators like Yotpo or Google Customer Reviews.
Merchant Promotions: Highlight any promotions directly in your ads.
Fast and Free Shipping: If you offer it, make sure it's configured in Merchant Centre.
Sale Price Drops and Returns: Display these to entice potential customers.
8. Maximise Your Total Offers
Ensure that all your products are listed and approved in your data feed. The more products you have available, the more opportunities you have to make a sale. Don't let disapproved items sit unnoticed.
It’s a little frustrating that the Merchant Excellence Report isn't available to everyone. It's currently limited to those spending over $100k monthly on Shopping Ads in the EU using Comparison Shopping Services. That said, I’ve laid out for you here the core learnings that you can use from it, so go ahead and use these insights to your advantage.
Conclusion
Improving your data feed is one of the most impactful actions you can take to enhance your ecommerce advertising. By regularly checking for disapprovals, optimising product titles, enriching your data feed, and utilising annotations like product ratings and promotions, you set yourself up for better performance in Google Ads. While the Merchant Excellence Report might not be accessible to everyone, the insights it provides are invaluable for any advertiser looking to stay ahead in the competitive ecommerce landscape.