Since its launch as a paid channel in 2012, Google Shopping ads have become a beloved channel for shoppers and advertisers. They are one of Google’s most-clicked ads, accounting for 76.4% of U.S. retail searches and spend . Google Shopping ads have evolved over time, becoming smarter, easier to set up, and more accessible. This guide will walk you through how to set up your products in Shopping ads and how to make the most of technological advancements.

What are Google Shopping Ads?

Google Shopping Ads, also known as Product Listing Ads (PLAs), are paid advertising that allows retailers and e-commerce brands to promote their products directly on search engine results pages (SERPs). These ads display product images, titles, prices, and other relevant information, allowing shoppers to search and compare products in a visually appealing format.

To set up Google Shopping ads, retailers should follow these steps:

• Setting up a Google Merchant Center account
• Upload Product Data Feed
• Link your Merchant Center account to your Google Ads account

Ads are then automatically generated and displayed based on your product data and the user's search queries.

Shopping ads can appear in several places:

• Shopping tab in SERP
• Search Partner Websites
• Google's price comparison shopping service and app (iOS and Android)
• youtube

These ads can increase your brand visibility on SERPs, drive targeted store traffic, and increase sales.

How to set up Google Shopping ads

Google Shopping ad campaigns run on two platforms: Google Ads and Google Merchant Center. Google Ads is where you manage your Shopping campaigns, setting budgets, managing bids, gaining insights, and optimizing. Your Google Merchant Center account stores your product feed and shipping and sales tax information. Google uses your product feed to create Shopping ads.

The main difference between traditional text ads and Shopping ads is that Google uses product feeds and ecommerce SEO to determine which search queries will trigger Shopping ads.

How to get started:

1. Create a Google Merchant Center account

Google Merchant Center is the hub for your Shopping ads. It’s where you store your product feed and set up tax and shipping rules for your Google Shopping ads.

Tips for setting up a Google Merchant Center account :

• You must have access to your domain registrar: You must verify and claim your domain name for use in Merchant Center. The easiest way to do this is to log in to your domain registrar and give Google access.
• You need to know your tax and shipping settings: Set up your tax and shipping rules in General Settings. For sales tax, you can enter your own rates or select the states that charge sales tax and let Google determine the rates. For shipping, you can choose a flat rate (which can include free shipping), a rate based on the carrier you use, or a rate based on a rate card or rules.
• Link your Merchant Center to Google Ads: In Settings, click 'Link Ads and Accounts'. You will need your 10-digit Google Advertising ID and an email address that has administrator access to both accounts.

If you don't have a Google Ads account, you can find more information in Shopify's guide to setting up a Google Ads account.

2. Select campaign type

Campaign types determine how your product ads are structured and managed, and where they appear on the SERP. Here are the most common Google Shopping campaign types:

Performance Max Ads (formerly Smart Shopping Ads)

To set up Performance Max ads, log in to your Google Ads account and click the + New Campaign button. Select the “Sales” goal, set your conversion goal, and then select Performance Max as your campaign type.

When selecting a campaign type, you can choose the campaign type through a selection process.

Then select the account you want to run your ads in and select the country you want to run your ads in. Give your campaign a name and click 'Continue'.

Pro tip: Choose a campaign name that has a catchy description. For example, something like “Black Sneakers” will make it immediately clear which campaign you’re looking at.

You can now go to the Ad Builder section and enter all the required information for your campaign.

First, enter your daily budget and choose a bidding strategy. For bidding strategy, you can choose between conversions (actions performed on your website) or conversion value (profit optimization).

If you’re setting up a Performance Max campaign for the first time, leave the Target Cost-Per-Action (CPA) box unchecked. This will help Google find new audiences for your campaign.

Next, enter your campaign settings. In this section, you’ll add your location, language, and final URL extension. Final URL expansion is a new feature for Performance Max ads. When you click Send traffic to the most relevant URL on your site, Google will update the headline of each ad to match the search intent and send traffic to the most appropriate landing page for conversion.

Next, click the Next button to go to the Asset group tab in your Google Ads dashboard. This setup is different than traditional Google ads. Here, you’ll need to add variations of your ad assets, including images, logos, videos, headlines, long headlines, and descriptions. After you’ve filled in that information, choose a call to action, like “Shop Now,” and add your business name.

We also recommend creating audience signals. These custom segments give Google a starting point for finding the best audience to show your ads to. Setting up audience signals will help Google target the right audience for your ads more effectively.

Finally, you can add site link extensions to direct users to specific pages on your site from your ads. For example, you can link to your FAQ page or customer service page. You can also add extensions for things like pricing or promotions.

You can add as many Google ad extensions as you need. Performance Max ads are a hybrid of search and shopping ads, so the more information you provide to your viewers, the better. This will help you maximize the effectiveness of your ads and increase your click-through rate.

Standard shopping ads

Standard Shopping campaigns offer greater control over bidding, targeting, and creatives, but lack the automation features of Performance Max ads.

To set up a standard Shopping ad, select Sales as your campaign objective and Shopping as your campaign type.

Next, select your Merchant Center account and country, then select Standard Shopping as your campaign subtype.

Then, name your campaign, select Target ROAS as your bidding strategy, and enter your desired ROAS.

If you want to prioritize efficiency over scope, uncheck the Include Search Partners and YouTube, Gmail, and Discover options. However, these networks deliver results for certain types of businesses, so it’s okay to check them if you want to run more aggressive campaigns.

Finally, create an ad group, give it a name, and set a bid if necessary.

Local Inventory Ads (LIAs)

Local inventory ads are ideal for brick-and-mortar stores. These ads appear when shoppers are near a physical store and are highlighted with a message like “Available for pickup today” or something similar.

To set up local inventory advertising:

1. Activate LIAs in Google Merchant Center.
2. Create and submit a local inventory feed.
3. Request inventory verification.
4. Activate local inventory ads in your Shopping campaigns.

Google can verify your in-store inventory in person or over the phone. For more information on setting up local inventory verification, see our help article .

3. Create Google Shopping Ads

Before you start, you need to build a good product feed. This is the information Google uses when developing your Shopping campaigns or listings.

Feed creation options:

• Manual feed using Google Sheets : Ideal for small number of SKUs.
• Feed tools like GoDataFeed or DataFeedWatch : For larger inventories, automatically pull data into your store.
• Shopify Apps: Apps designed specifically for Shopify stores, such as the Google & YouTube apps.

Best Feed Tips

Unlike traditional advertising, Shopping ads don’t bid on keywords. Google crawls your feed and product detail pages to determine relevant keywords. Optimizing key elements of your product feed is critical to appearing in the search results you want.

Key feed elements include:

• Product Title
  Your product title is the most important part of your feed. It tells shoppers and Google what your product is, and influences how your product appears in searches.

For example, “Breville Espresso Machine” is a weak title. A stronger title would be “Breville Barista Express BES870XL Espresso Machine with Dual Burners—Stainless Steel.” If you use the Feed tool, you can create rules that combine different attributes to create detailed product titles.

It should contain the most useful information from your product data. The product title field has a 150 character limit. Google places more weight on words that appear at the beginning of the title, so consider the structure and word order carefully.

Product Description

Although it's primarily visible on the Shopping tab, Google scans this field to understand key product details. Write a compelling and descriptive caption, especially when targeting the Shopping tab with unpaid listings.

Google Product Categories

Use Google's taxonomy to choose the category that best fits your product. For example, for a dress, instead of simply "Clothing & Accessories," choose "Clothing & Accessories > Clothing > Dresses" to give Google more specific information.

Google Product Types

This free-form field lets you add your main keywords. It's not visible to shoppers, only to Google, so you have flexibility in what you include.

image

Next to price, product images have a huge impact on click-through rates. Google prefers product images with white backgrounds, but photos showing the setting in which the product is used can also be effective. Highlight essential features with appropriate cropping for thumbnail viewing.

Product Highlights

Include four to six highlights, each limited to 150 characters (maximum 10). Think of these similarly to bullet points on an Amazon product detail page.

Sale price notes

Google emphasizes price reductions for products, but there are certain requirements to ensure fairness. Sellers must have charged the base price (the price that is not sold) for at least 30 days, over the past 200 days. Sale prices must be between 5% and 90% lower than the base price for Google to display the sale annotation . This system helps maintain the honesty of pricing and promotions.

Product Details

This section can provide additional product information that isn't included in other properties. It's a good place to include technical specifications, such as product dimensions or compatibility information.

price

While an attractive image grabs attention, price has the biggest impact on click-through rates, especially if you sell the same products as other retailers or operate in a price-sensitive market.

Other important feed items

Brand

Whether you sell your own products or resell third-party products, brand identification is important. Include the brand name of each product in your feed. Shoppers with high purchase intent are more likely to search by brand name.

Clothing Category

If you sell clothing, you'll need to provide additional data points.

• Gender: Male, Female, Unisex
• Age Group: Newborn, Infant, Toddler, Child, Adult
• Size: Number or small, medium, large, etc.
• Size Type: Regular, Small, Plus, Big & Tall, Maternity
• Size system: US, UK, Europe, etc.
• color

Manufacturer's product number and Global Trade Identification Number (GTIN)

The manufacturer’s product number and the Global Trade Identification Number (GTIN) are also important. In North America, the UPC (or ISBN for books) serves as the GTIN.

Previously, Google required two of the three identifiers (brand, MPN, or GTIN), but now the GTIN is required for all products assigned by the manufacturer. If you resell a product, you must obtain this information from the manufacturer to avoid having your item rejected by Google.

Sales Tax and Shipping

You can specify the regions and states where you charge sales tax and shipping rules in the Account Settings tab of Google Merchant Center. You can choose between free shipping, flat rate shipping, or carrier-calculated shipping.

Other required information

• Google also requires information about the availability and condition of the product. Acceptable availability options are “In Stock,” “Out of Stock,” and “Pre-Order,” and the condition options are “New” and “Used.” If you omit this information, your product will not appear in shopping results.

Custom Labels

Custom labels are optional, but can be useful for campaign management and bid optimization.

When you set up a new campaign in Google Ads, you can group your products by brand, category, custom labels, or a few other attributes. Labels like “Top Products,” “Spring Categories,” or “Holidays” can help you filter and organize your campaigns later.

4. Understanding Google's Bidding System

You can bid at the product group level within each ad group, allowing you to set specific bids for different categories or types of products.

The most common bidding strategies are:

• Cost per click (CPC): You pay for each click on your ad.
• Cost per acquisition (CPA): You pay for each conversion, such as a purchase or a new subscriber.
• Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): Choose how much you want to earn per dollar spent on advertising.

You can allocate your budget more effectively by adjusting your bids based on device type, location, time of day, and audience characteristics.

Smart Bidding is primarily associated with Performance Max ads, and uses machine learning to analyze millions of signals per second to adjust bids to help you achieve your goals. It uses “auction-time bidding” to adjust bids in real time based on each shopper’s likelihood to purchase.

What are the benefits of Google Shopping ads?

• Product Discovery: Shoppers can find products they might not have found in organic search results or other discovery methods.
• Increased visibility and traffic: These ads appear at the top of Google search results, driving more targeted traffic to your website.
• Attract relevant shoppers: Shopping ads are triggered by product-related searches and are shown to people who are already interested in the advertised product.
• Detailed performance tracking: Google provides granular performance metrics to help you make data-driven decisions that optimize future campaigns and improve your return on investment (ROI).
• Retargeting opportunities: You can combine Shopping ads with retargeting campaigns to show your ads to users who have previously viewed or shown interest in your products.

Types of Google Listings

Even though free product listings are back in shopping results, it’s still beneficial to invest in Shopping campaigns to maximize your online shopping traffic from Google.

Paid placements

The most prominent position in shopping results is still paid, occupying 100% of the main Google search results page. Listings sit at the top of the SERP (search engine results page) and receive the majority of clicks in every product search.

Free listing

Free shopping placements are available on the Shopping tab, Google Images results, Google Lens, and more. However, for most merchants, the traffic from free listings alone may be limited. Even on the Shopping tab, the most prominent listings are still paid listings, with free listings appearing below them.

Free shopping listings won't dramatically change your business, but they can make a difference and serve as a way to test the potential of paid advertising.

Shopping Actions (Buy on Google) United States

Shopping Actions is a program that displays your products in multiple places and allows shoppers to “buy on Google.” These ads appear on standard Google search results, the Shopping tab, YouTube, Google Images, Google Assistant, and the Shopping app.

How Google Shopping Actions works:

1. A shopper clicks on the Shopping Actions listing.
2. Google collects the total price, sales tax, and shipping costs.
3. Orders are sent through Google Merchant Center.
4. Google pays for the transaction.
5. We package and ship products to end customers.

To participate in this program, you must meet the following criteria:

• We accept returns for at least 30 days after all purchases.
• We will process your refund within two days.
• Comply with all other Shopping Campaign Policies.

Comparing Google Shopping Ads to Other Ad Types

Shopping ads offer a visually rich and immersive experience that is especially beneficial for ecommerce brands. These ads provide product images, prices, and detailed information up front, helping shoppers easily discover and compare products.

Shopping Ads vs. Text Ads

Shopping ads provide more information and transparency than traditional text ads, allowing users to evaluate products based on appearance, price, and other important information before clicking through to a merchant’s website.

These ads are triggered by product-specific search queries and are more effective than the broad keyword-based targeting used in other ad types because they attract more qualified leads with a higher likelihood of converting.

Shopping Ads vs. Display Ads

Display ads may include visual elements, but often rely on contextual or audience targeting that may not always align with the searcher's immediate product interests or search intent.

Shopping ads directly address product-centric searches, making them a more effective advertising channel for ecommerce brands.

Strategies to maximize your revenue with Google Shopping ads

1. Set goals and figure out numbers

Setting clear goals will keep you on track while giving you the freedom to solve problems and achieve your goals. When setting business goals on Google, consider the following factors:

What is your return on ad spend (ROAS) goal?

Determine how many sales you need to generate for each dollar spent on advertising. This will depend on factors such as your margins, customer lifetime value, and growth goals.

For example, if you sell a product for $100 and your margin is $50, a 100% ROAS would result in an initial loss:

$100 sold - $100 advertising cost - $50 product cost = -$50

For every $100 you spend on advertising, you need to generate $150 in sales to break even, which is a 150% ROAS. Generating $3 in revenue for every $1 you spend is a 300% ROAS.

After calculating your break-even point, set your ROAS goal. A lower, more aggressive ROAS goal allows for more aggressive billing and potentially higher sales volume across multiple campaigns. A higher, more conservative ROAS goal allows for more efficient, focused shopping advertising at a smaller scale. There is no right or wrong approach.

Do you want to build customer relationships or close sales?

Merchants typically focus on generating sales (transactional) or building customer relationships. Both can be profitable, but building relationships leads to a more sustainable business and brand strategy. Your approach will affect how aggressively you bid and optimize your campaigns.

2. Setting up conversion tracking

Conversions are critical to your Shopping campaigns. Without conversion data, you can’t evaluate performance or effectively optimize your campaigns. Conversion tracking is required to use Smart campaigns or Smart Bidding.

Use Google Ads conversion codes primarily rather than importing conversions from other sources, such as Google Analytics. Google Analytics may underreport conversions from Google Ads due to its default last-click attribution model. Optimize performance by providing accurate and complete data to the Smart Bid algorithm.

Here's a quick guide to setting up Google Ads conversion tracking for Shopify.

3. Add an audience to your shopping campaign

Remarketing Lists (RLSAs) for Search Ads

RLSAs let you tell Google, "I want to bid more for searchers like this when I see them." For example, if someone has previously purchased from your site and is now searching for a different product you offer, you want to bring them back to your store.

How to use RLSAs:

1. Add remarketing tags to your site or create a remarketing list using Google Analytics. If you use Google Analytics, you may need to update your tracking code .
2. Create lists in your shared library, which is a collection of visitors who meet certain criteria.
3. Break down your list in different ways.
   • All visitors
   • Users who abandoned their shopping cart
   • Product Viewer
   • Previous Buyer

Customer Match List

Upload your customer email list to Google to “match” your users. Target these users across a variety of marketing channels, including Search, Display, YouTube, and Shopping. This approach is great for targeting customers who don’t remember your URL or name. Customer Match lets you bid more aggressively when someone on your list searches for your products on Google.

Similar audience

One of the best reasons to upload a customer list is so you can create ads that target similar audiences . Google does this by creating audiences with similar behavior to other remarketing lists. You can create a target market similar to your customers (similar to Customer Match) or create a target market similar to all visitors or other remarketing lists.

YouTube List

If you create video content, consider using YouTube lists to target your audience. You can target people who have subscribed to your YouTube channel or who have watched your videos.

4. Add product reviews and promotions

Promotional Feed/Special Offers

Use the Promotions feed to highlight sales, temporary free shipping, or other special discounts to boost your ads. This feature highlights promotions with “Special Offer” text and often has a callout at the top that highlights the promotion. For example, you can get 25% off Adidas running shoes.

When you click on “Special offer” a pop-up will appear showing your discount code.

To set this up, you must first create a Promotions feed. Contact your Google Ads representative to ask to be added to the safe list for promotions.

After that, you can create your promotion in one of two ways:

• Use the Marketing tab in Google Merchant Center (easiest for simple promotions like site-wide sales).
• Use a promotions feed (ideal if you offer different promotions for different products). In the Feeds area, click the + Data Feed button and select Promotion from the Type drop-down menu.

These attention-grabbing special offers can increase your clicks. For detailed instructions on setting up your promotional feed, see the Merchant Center Guide .

Product Reviews

Including product ratings can significantly improve the performance of your shopping campaigns.

To include product reviews in your Shopping ads, you must be approved by Google. Start by filling out and submitting the Product Ratings Interest Form . Google will contact you within 10-15 days after your submission to discuss next steps.

Third-party rating aggregation tools

Google integrates with third-party review aggregators like Bazaarvoice, eKomi, PowerReviews, Shopper Approved, and Yotpo.

5. Leverage merchant feeds to run dynamic remarketing ads

Dynamic remarketing ads use images and information from your product feed to deliver highly relevant ads to your site visitors. Google uses the products you viewed on your site to create these ads as a personalized remarketing experience.

For a complete guide to creating dynamic remarketing ads, see Google's help article .

Need help getting started? Check out our onboarding guide for step-by-step assistance.

Google Shopping Ads Examples

To optimize your digital marketing campaigns, focus on increasing your click-through rate (CTR) and lowering your cost-per-click (CPC). Check out these examples of successful Google ads to help you improve your ads.

Women's Shirts

The Woolx V-neck Women's Shirt ad is a classic example of a well-made Google ad. It features clear product images, concise descriptions, and boasts 3,000 product reviews. To make it even more appealing, Woolx offers free shipping.

organic dog food

Take a look at Chewy's Just for Dogs ad. The image depicts a raw food diet, and the description emphasizes its health benefits and veterinarian approval.

Chewy's ads also feature free shipping, a 365-day return policy, and a prominent "special offer" link that includes a 35% off coupon.

Mountain bike

Heybike Mars fat tire folding electric mountain bike ad stands out with:

• High quality images that clearly show the unique features of the bike
• Detailed description including important specifications such as wattage and range
• Attractive benefits like free shipping, no taxes, and a 30-day return policy

coffee table

When you search for coffee tables, you’ll see a ton of product shopping ads. This West Elm listing stands out because:

• Lifestyle image showing a table setting in a room
• Comprehensive Description
• A prominent “price reduction” sticker
• Shows both the current sale price and the original total price

Work boots

LL Bean's work boot ad showcases practical elements:

• Clear product images
• Detailed description
• Noticeable discounts
• Free Shipping Offer
• Generous 365-day return policy

Proven Ways to Sell More on Google

Getting the most out of your Google Shopping campaigns requires time and attention to detail, but the effort is worth it. Product listing ads are effective because they connect you with active shoppers who are searching for products like yours. When compared to Facebook ads, traditional ads, or display network ads, Shopping ads often perform better because of their ability to target shoppers who are in “buying mode.”

If you want to grow your customer base and sell more products in a proven, measurable way, Shopping Ads is a great channel to integrate into your marketing mix. Now you can fine-tune your product feed, create strategic campaigns, and watch your sales grow.

Google Shopping Ads FAQs