Category: Google

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Tidbits on Creating Your Google Shopping Data Feed

I’ve recently been at a seminar for Google Shopping and wanted to share some great tidbits that I have gleaned from the seminar.

First it is important to know that the pictures of products that can appear in the organic search results on Google.com are driven by a data feed you create and install in the Google Merchant Center. Previously this service was free, but by October 1, 2012 only only those data feeds that are tied to Google AdWords will be shown.

  1. You create and install your data feed as an .xml or .csv file in the Google Merchant Center to get started.
  2. The settings area in the Google Merchant Center is where you will link your Google AdWords account. Once you have set up an account, you very simply just input your AdWords 10 digit account number to link your feed to AdWords for payment.
  3. The most typical errors are image URL errors. Make sure that you have a link to a 400 pixel by 400 pixel image and a 250 by 250 pixel image in your data feed.
  4. You MUST list either the GTIN or MPN for your feed to go live.
  5. Know that your description in your data feed will be used for your ad text. So make it descriptive yet selling.
  6. Your title for each product can have a maximum of 69 characters. Your description can have a maximum of 500 to 1,000 characters. Remember this includes spaces.
  7. Do not put promotional verbiage in your product description like free shipping. You will be adding promotional text in Google AdWords for your specific feed’s promotional message.
  8. Do not use all capitals in any words such as THIS as AdWords does not allow block capitals.
  9. Make sure to add the new AdWords attributes to your feed to allow more targeting of your promotional needs now that your program must be tied to AdWords.
  10. Carefully review the required Google category attributes as there are as many as 32 or so that are required now.

Check back Wednesday for more great tidbits. You can watch the full seminar on YouTube for additional information.

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Interesting Tidbits on AdWords Display Advertising

Here are some very interesting tidbits of information on advertising in the Google AdWords Display Network you may not have known that I wanted to share with you. This information was gleaned from a Google sponsored seminar I attended.

  1. Adding a Display Network ad program to your AdWords account can increase brand recall by 124%.
  2. Adding a Display Network ad program to your AdWords account  will increase purchase intent by 31%.
  3. Nearly 4 in 10 people will see your Display Network ad and then do a Google search on your company name or product and then visit your website.
  4. After seeing a Display Network ad customers are 140% more likely to click on and organic search link.

Wow, that’s some interesting data! Seems like the impact and exposure you garner from advertising in the Display Network goes well beyond just brand name exposure.

I have found the best scenario for using the Display Network in AdWords is to:

  1. Create separate campaigns in mature programs.
  2. Make sure to create text as well as display ads – I love the Display Ad Builder.
  3. Carefully monitor exposure and conversion rate and don’t get spun up on CTR or click through rate.

When you are ready to try AdWords Display Network advertising, make sure to contact us for help on setting up your Google AdWords advertising program.

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Google AdWords Trademark Violations Explained

In this video, Nancy McCord President of McCord Web Services, shares her insights on trademark use on Google AdWords. In this video you will learn:

  • Trademark policy overview on Google AdWords
  • What a trademark violation flag looks like in the AdWords control panel.
  • What you can do to lock up your own trademark from use in Google AdWords.
  • How to resolve a trademark issue in Google AdWords.
  • Tips to prevent trademark problems in AdWords.
  • Why you need to be concerned about trademark violations and flags.

For information about our Google AdWords advertising services please visit our programs page.

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Google Places Know the Attributes You Can Change

Don’t be scammed by Google Places optimization services, and here’s why there are only certain fields that Google Places now allows you as the business owner to update. Here is the list:

  1. Name
  2. Address
  3. City
  4. State
  5. Zip Code
  6. Country
  7. Main Phone Number
  8. Five Service Category but only from Google’s list
  9. Five of your own categories
  10. Latitude and Longitude

That’s it! No keyword dense title or business description, nothing  more than the list above. If you are approached by a supposed Google Places optimization service that says you need a special title and more keyword density, understand that they are not selling a program that they can deliver. You can only affect changes to the above elements.

If they say they will load hundreds of reviews, steer clear of them. There is no faster way to get your listing banned on Google Places than to have suddenly a bunch of new reviews suddenly appear. Once banned, you may never be able to get back in and with a strong location focus as the future of search, you could really be creating future problems for yourself.

For more information you can check out the attributes on this Google page.