“If it isn’t broke then don’t try to fix it” is definitely NOT a mantra that Google works by.
So were now a third of the way through the year (time flies when your having fun) and Google has appeared to have taken it easy with their AdWords customers. There have been many small changes but nothing too drastic and all has appeared calm. However those of us who know have been waiting for the storm to follow the calm.
Many of you may have noticed recently that your PLA’s are changing and Google are pushing their new Shopping campaigns. Great news some of you may think the new interface looks great and it appears to give you more manageability however like a great thriller all is not how it seems.
Over the past 6 – 12 months I have prided myself on the fact that I and my Mentoring /Account Managers are the Uk’s leading experts on product listing feeds we are one of a very small minority of AdWords Experts who would even consider working on PLA’s for clients and we are pretty much the only people in the Uk who derived and implemented successful strategies based around the segmentation, descriptive text, negatives etc for PLA Campaigns.
What makes us so great at it is this, We are real Database nerds and that is the key manipulation of the databases meant we can create greater segmentation and have greater control of which products, pictures, prices etc were showing for which search terms and more importantly what is selling.
The new AdWords Shopping Campaigns on the face of it makes it easier to segment your products into set categories however not all of you have products that fit perfectly into Google’s categories add to this the fact that when you get down to a product level you can’t see what the product actually is as Google only give it a number, all of a sudden the great looking interface starts to fall apart. Unless of course you have a mind like Rain man!
We are currently working with several clients who have made the move to Shopping and have implemented new strategies that are working around some of the issues the new Shopping campaign is bringing up. But I haven’t moved to the new Shopping campaigns and don’t intend to I hear you cry; well as good old Google always do, come August you won’t have an option everybody will have to move over or risk missing out on business. When I was having a brew with my Google Strategy manager over in Google’s HQ in Dublin he gave me an insight into this and how it is going to affect everyone he also told me from some of the research Google have done that if you have an ecommerce website and don’t have Shopping or PLA’s at the moment then you’re a dead duck as far as getting sales through Google!
So you have a big Question to ask; do I have the knowledge on how to make the most of this opportunity or does my Agency have the expertise to build success online? If the answer is no or don’t know then give us a call and let Click Convert the PLA/Shopping experts show you the way or do it for you.
