Grand news for merchants and retailers, now you can list your Products for FREE on Google Shopping tab.

Google has recently taken a bright step by announcing that they will now list the products for both merchants and retailers for Free in the Google Shopping Tab along with other Sponsored Shopping Ads. This is just launched for the United States only, but Google is also planning to make this available for other countries by the end of this year.

Google's primary aim behind this is to help more merchants and sellers to connect with shoppers looking for their products. While the shoppers and customers will be able to choose the same kind of products from so many more new stores. So it’s a Win-Win Situation for all.

Just like Google Organic Search Result, Google doesn't charge any website, Google is now offering free product listing in the Google Shopping Tab, which will use the existing product feed submitted to Google Merchant Center account. Google might use the same algorithm and concept for showing the free product listing under the Google Shopping tab which they are using for Organic Search Results, the primary difference is that it will be enhanced and visually rich results with Image, Price, Title, Description and other Extensions like Google Customer Review Ratings or Product Ratings.

Products that are eligible for this free enhanced listings will appear in content-rich formats on the Google Shopping tab, which will help you drive more traffic to your store as well as more sales. Here are the snapshots for such results.

Please note: This change is limited to Shopping Ads only shown on the Google Shopping tab. It will not affect Text Search Ads, Display or Dynamic Remarketing Ads, YouTube Ads, or Mobile Ads.

To take the Advantage of this Opportunity, you may need to complete a few steps to participate in this program and rest will be taken care of by Google.

1. You will need to Sign up for the Google Merchant Center for your store with product feed which must be primarily targeting the United States. If you are already having a Google Merchant Center with approved Shopping Feed, then you can ignore this step.
2. You will need to enable the "Surfaces across Google" Program in your Google Merchant Center. Here is the help video link to enable it: https:// support.simprosys.com/faq/programs-in-google-merchant-center

That’s it, No further steps are required to participate in this program.

To be eligible for enhanced listings, which show your products in content-rich listings on the Google Shopping tab, you must follow the policies for surfaces across Google and Shopping ads. Eligibility will also be dependent on the status of Google Merchant Center account and the quality of the data you provide.

We recommend you to concentrate on optimizing your product data Feed, because like Organic Search Result, Google will also use their Algorithm to show the Best Matched Product for each search query.

You can influence your eligibility by providing Google with high-quality information with as many applicable attributes as possible for your products to ensure that shoppers will have a most positive customer experience. There are many ways you can achieve this. Below are a few suggestions from our end to optimize your product data feed effectively and landing page quality.

• Please try optimising your Product Titles & Description. Currently, you have added so many keyword phrases in Single product title. Please provide other important details in Product Titles like Brand Name, Color, Size or MPN if People is searching for your product using these values.
• Provide all the Product Identifiers in the feed i.e. Brand Name, Manufacturer Part Number - MPN (SKU) and GTIN (Barcode)
• Assign Correct Product Type & Most Related Google Product Categories.
• Use high-quality images.
• Provide your most accurate product data.
• Match your product data to your landing pages.
• Think strategically about your customers. You can use what you know about your products and your audience to plan ahead.
• Make your page fast to load, and mobile-friendly. Add Structured Data Markup on your website.

Reporting for surfaces across Google
You can now also view your unpaid clicks in the new performance report for surfaces across Google in Merchant Center by selecting “Performance” and then “Dashboard” in the left navigation. The screenshot is also attached for your reference.

Want to opt-out from the free "Surfaces across Google" Program?

1. Sign in to your Merchant Center account.
2. Click Tools icon from the main header
3. Click Surfaces across Google Programs from the list.
4. Click on 1st tab “Surfaces across Google status” to expand it.
5. Click on “Cancel Program” to disable this program for your account.

You can also opt-out for the Surfaces across Google program by submitting the Excluded Destination attribute along with your Product feed. You can use the excluded destination attribute to hide it on a product level.
Hope this helps!