Find the official Google full recap here or watch it for yourself on YouTube. Here's our quick take on the Shopping Ads/Product Feed announcements from Google Marketing Live this year:
3 New Shopping Ad Formats Introduced:
- Video Highlights will be launched as a closed beta this year for certain ads in the apparel and beauty space first. Ads include a set of short-form product videos (or videos from creators) and will be accessible via your Shopping ad by clicking on a “Watch” badge that will show up in the top right corner of the product image. Key quotes from the video will be surfaced along with styling suggestions from your brand. The ad unit can offer multiple items so shoppers can add all their favorites to their cart.
- Virtual Try-On (VTO) has been highly successful so far for the Beauty brands receiving 60% more high-quality views than other images. Google is now expanding this ad format and technology to apparel ads for men’s and women’s tops to “let shoppers see how your products look on a variety of body types and build the confidence to buy,” Google explained.
- For shoe retailers, their product images are eligible to automatically spin via 3D technology within Shopping ads. This 360 degree view is intended to feel more like window shopping. The only requirement is to provide a handful of high-quality images of the product at different angles within the product feed submitted to the Merchant Center.
More Updates for Shopping Ads:
- Google will begin testing shopping ads within the AI overview and will be matched not just to query contents but also to information within the AI overview
- Shopping ads will start to show up at the top of Google Lens and Circle to Search results.
- Loyalty Promotions is being resurfaced, after being first introduced at GML in 2022. While currently available for free listings, Google mentioned Game Stop and Best Buy joining the pilot for the paid Shopping ads after seeing great results on the free listings side.
- Automated Product Highlights will start displaying key attributes from product descriptions or reviews making it increasingly important to have robust product descriptions and linking your product reviews to your Merchant Center.
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Animated Image Ads for Demand Gen with Product Feeds will utilize product images pulled from your feed to animate and consolidate into one ad unit. Google claims advertisers that have added their product feed to their Demand Gen campaigns have seen 33% more conversions at a similar CPA.