5 Ways to Increase Mobile Sales with Google Shopping Ads

So what’s an eCommerce marketer to do? How can mobile be so important to eCommerce and yet still be such a difficult nut to crack?

The answer? Google Shopping Ads. Here’s the case for what Google Shopping Ads mean for mobile, and why you should care.

Why do Google Shopping Ads matter?

Mobile traffic is growing across the board, but nowhere is this more true than when it comes to search traffic. And for eCommerce retailers, adding paid ads to enhance their organic listings can help them stand out from the rest of the search results. Here’s how.

How eCommerce marketers can take advantage of Google Shopping Ads

To start, let’s get the obvious out of the way. As Wayne Gretzsky famously said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

This is true for Google Shopping Ads, too. If you’re a retailer not active in Google Shopping, you should consider joining the party. And for those casually dabbling in the channel, now is the time to explore methods to fully capitalize on it.

Google Shopping relies heavily on data to structure campaigns, so it can get complex – we want to help make it easy for you. Here are a few tried-and-true tactics for creating winning Google Shopping campaigns for mobile:

1. Build a killer mobile UX

This might seem like a given, but the stakes are higher now than ever before. Today, a passable mobile experience isn’t enough. It needs to be perfect.

Before diving into the tactics of optimizing Google Shopping for smartphones, make sure your product pages provide a totally frictionless shopping experience for your customers. Your site should have an entirely flawless UX across all devices.

2. Mobile bid adjustments: Know what they are & how to use them

A mobile bid adjustment tells Google how much more (or less) you’re willing to pay for a click from a smartphone. Set as a positive or negative percentage, the mobile bid adjustment will increase or decrease your mobile bids.

To determine your optimal mobile bid adjustment, divide the value-per-click you receive on mobile by your desktop value-per-click. Then subtract 1 and multiply by 100 to get your percentage.

Input that percentage into the “mobile bid adjustment” field for each ad group or campaign in Google Ads, and voilà, your Google Shopping ads cost adjusts for smartphone traffic accordingly.

3. Group products based on mobile performance

Products typically perform differently on desktop than on mobile. Think about it: You’re probably more likely to buy something small, such as a pair of socks, on a smartphone than a larger item, such as a pair of skis.

Leverage this discrepancy by creating an ad group featuring a handful of products that perform especially well on mobile (consult your Google Ads or general analytics data to identify these items). Then, apply a positive bid adjustment to raise these products’ mobile bids and increase their exposure to mobile shoppers.

4. Create a separate campaign for mobile traffic

Mobile bid adjustments are a powerful tool, but because they are linked to desktop bids, they are somewhat limited. To free products from their desktop bids, break up your traffic into separate campaigns. Make one for desktop and another for mobile.

This kind of structure is simple to set up.

1. Create a new campaign called “mobile”
2. Apply a mobile bid adjustment of -100% to your desktop campaign.
3. Then, set your desktop campaign’s priority setting to “high,” and your new mobile campaign’s priority to “medium” or “low.” This instructs Google to send all smartphone traffic to your mobile campaign.

With separate campaigns, you can now give every item a mobile bid that perfectly matches its performance on smartphones.

5. Never stop perfecting your approach

Success on Google Shopping requires constant vigilance. It’s not enough to simply upload a product feed, set your bids, and let Google handle the rest. Instead, marketers must stay on top of their campaigns and consistently adjust bids according to product performance.

Since Google Shopping is still a growing source of revenue for Google, it is always adding new features and enhancements to make life easier for advertisers. So keep an eye out for updates and ask to join beta programs whenever possible.

Conclusion

Smartphones have changed the type of traffic flowing to eCommerce sites. But many eCommerce retailers are still waiting for conversions to follow. As Google Shopping keeps growing, eCommerce marketers can use the channel’s strong mobile performance to finally bridge the gap.