GOOGLE

Google base, Google merchant center, Google product search, Froogle if you’re old school, whatever you call it, the concept is very simple, you want to sell products and people want to buy them. Google is the catalyst for most things these days and shopping is no different. In order for people to buy your products from Google Shopping, you need to do everything in your power to ensure the feed you submit to Google is at its optimum best. In doing this, all you have you is rely on the powers at be making the right decisions and ranking you high against your competitors. The bargain hunters get the best deals and you increase your visibility and online conversion rates. Sounds simple doesn’t it? IT IS. Providing you follow the guidelines (which can be found through the Google Merchant help centre) and regularly update your feed, your only worry should stock control. There are a few tweaks and tips you may want to consider when producing your feed, as noted below:

Optimise Product Titles

As with organic search engine optimization techniques your product titles in Google Shopping are vital. Titles can be up to a maximum of 70 characters. Make the best use of every single character. If your titles fall short of the character range, always try and find ways of appending your title to include additional attributes.

Always undertake research as to what may be influencing existing Google Shopping rankings, in respect of titles, before submitting your product. As a guideline, take a look at the top three ranking competitors and look for similarities between competitor product titles and the title listed in Google shopping. Try to match your title with that of high ranking competitors, but look for areas of opportunity to include terms or words that your competitors may not be using. If you’re using dynamic titles that are fed directly from a database to both your product page and Google Shopping feed you will have to seriously consider the way in which your titles will affect both your organic SEO campaign and Google Shopping simultaneously.

In terms of editorial guidelines, never use block capitals within your title or promotional copy.

Optimise Product Descriptions

Google Shopping descriptions can be anywhere up to 10,000 characters long though Google recommends writing a unique description, somewhere between 500 and 1000 characters long. This means no copying and pasting manufacturer descriptions!

Taking a similar approach to forming product titles, you should always have a look at competitor’s descriptions before formulating your own. Note down the key terms used within descriptions of the top three competitors and be sure to include these in your own description.

Undertake keyword research to look for additional terms associated with that product, such as alternative or abbreviated names and use these variants within your description.

Again, never Google may refuse your feed if you include promotional copy or unnecessary capitalisation within your description.
Mandatory and Optional Attributes

The following are mandatory attributes and MUST be included for each product.