Google offers so many services for commercial operations and marketers that it’s easy to lose track of all the options available – and in our opinion, the Google Merchant Center (GMC) is one of the most overlooked of all Google’s services. Using the GMC at least once is a requirement for setting up Google Shopping ads, but far too many businesses (and even some digital marketing companies) then completely forget that it exists.
Let’s take a minute to look at some of the things that GMC can do that are beneficial for anyone selling products online.
4 Great Features in Google Merchant Center
1 – Easily updating product listings
Using GMC to upload your product listings is part of the Google Shopping setup – but don’t let your products languish. There are multiple ways to keep your listings up-to-date and ensure interested buyers don’t see old information.
It’s easiest if you’re using a shopping platform like Shopify or Woocommerce, which feature plugins that send their data straight into GMC. Or you can simply use Google Spreadsheets to edit your listings directly.
2 – Updating shipping settings
Shipping information is often included in Google Shopping ads, so it’s important to keep that information up-to-date. Fortunately, Google Merchant Center makes this simple – and also allows you to run special promotions, such as free shipping. This is a great way to help your products stand out in a long list of purchase options.
3 – Merchant Center Diagnostics
As the number of listed products grows, some errors are inevitable, which is what makes Merchant Center Diagnostics so useful. It provides a full overview of all potential errors and conflicts within your listings, grouped into Errors or Warnings depending on their severity.
Keep an eye on these diagnostics, otherwise, you could have products going unsold because errors prevent them from appearing in searches.
4 – Directly Implemented Merchant Promotions
Did you know you can put special deals directly into your Google Ads? That’s what the Merchant Promotions system does. This allows for a wide variety of special deals, beyond shipping costs, such as offering discounts for buying certain combinations of items. The rules you can set are robust and allow for a lot of creativity in your promotional efforts.
Contact us to get started with Google Merchant Center & more
WSIDMINC stays on top of the digital marketing game and offers solutions that utilize the full range of Google services. If you’re looking for better digital marketing that can fit any operation’s size or budget, contact us online for a consultation or call 1 (888) 455-3230.
