I blogged about the upcoming changes to Google Shopping a few weeks ago with details of what to expect but in light of some information coming out of the US (Where Google Shopping is already a fully paid service) I feel it’s time for a follow up.
So, I’m reading a lot on Social Media and various forums about the upcoming changes to Google Shopping: There’s a split of opinion, some are looking forward to getting their PLA’s up and running and others are horrified at the prospect this once free service will now be a paid service and thus are not prepared to use it.
Well, by not using it you’re going to miss out on lots of juicy traffic and the inevitable business from that traffic, your going to be cutting your nose off to spite your face as it where. Users in the states are benefitting greatly from the paid service and you can too, so don’t be bitter that its going to cost you, embrace it and profit from it.
Google Product Listing Ads
How Much will Product Listing Ads Cost?
Probably not as much as you think. According to this report CPC’s (Cost per clicks) worked out to be 26% less than the CPC’s of text ads – and advertisers are rushing to spend more.
And why wouldn’t they? After you consider your Product Listing Ads cost, if your selling products and profitably then great, it makes sense to throw more budget at it.
Google are not obliged to provide you anything for free, they are a business after all but if by paying a small fee for PLA’s helps you grow your business then this can only be a good thing.
Some interesting statistics from this report:
600 percent: The amount by which PLA budget investments increased during the fourth quarter of 2012 (from 0.36 percent in October to 2.5 percent in December).
210 Percent: The amount by which search click-throughs of PLA ads have increased in the past year (from 2.1 percent in January to 6.6 percent in December). Some retailers allocated up to 30 percent of their total Google spend on PLAs.
60 percent: The amount by which the impression share of PLAs jumped in Q4 2012 (3.9 percent in September vs. 6.1 percent in December).
Should I Wait Until Paying is Compulsory or Start Now?
In my opinion start now. The quicker you get to grips with it the quicker you can start profiting from it. Sure, the free listings will be there until summer but they will take a back seat to the paid ads and you may see your performance slip.
I understand its a step into the unknown but given the above mentioned report, PLA’s in Google Shopping are benefiting website owners, it makes no sense to procrastinate.
If all of this is a bit daunting then you may want to get someone to manage it all for you..just give us a call on 01754 765628 or send us a message.
