Advertising on Google with Ecwid
To be prominent on Google, you can use Google ads: free listings, Shopping campaigns, search text ads, and other types of campaigns. The ads display and location will depend on the advertisement type that you choose.
You can always set up the campaigns manually using your Google Ads and Google Merchant Center accounts. This option is more flexible, but can be time-consuming, especially if you are new to the topic. Another way is to set up the ads right in your Ecwid admin or launch them using the apps from the Ecwid App Market. This option is easier as you don’t even have to leave your store admin for setup.
This article will guide you through the most popular ways to advertise on Google to promote your Ecwid store and products to potential and existing customers.
Text ads on search results
If your catalog is rather small or you are just starting your business, you can begin with a Search campaign. Search campaigns let you reach people who search on Google for the products or services you sell. During the campaign, you bid on specific keywords to display your ad on the search results page. The ads that your customers will see are generally known as Google text ads (formerly Adwords or search text ads).
With the text ads, you can promote your Ecwid store as a whole (or some of your products/product categories) and have more control over the advertisement messaging, sale information, or branding. Text ads can make your brand and products more recognizable – which is especially valuable for a new shop. They can also help you increase traffic to your website and collect audiences for your future remarketing campaigns.
How ads display: When creating a text ad, you add a headline, a display URL, and a description text. Make sure to write a good clear description that will attract customers’ attention and encourage them to click your link. This is how a typical text ad looks in the Google search results:
Where ads appear: Text ads don’t have any images and are labeled as ”Ad(s)” or ”Ads by Google”. They appear on Google Search – above or below search results – as well as on the Shopping tab, Google Images, Google Play, and Google Maps. Google search partners show them as well, and you can also expand your ads to the Display network to grow your potential audience (and make ads more visual).
How to set up
Manually: You can set up text ads using your Google Ads account. This way, you can configure your campaigns as you like. Follow Google's guides on how to create a new Search campaign and a standard text ad.
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Automatically: In case you don’t want to set up your text ads via Google, you can use Kliken Marketing: Google Campaigns and Retargeting app from Ecwid’s App Market.
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Shopping campaigns
If your catalog is rather big, you can turn to Google Shopping ads. Google has two types of Google Shopping (formerly Google Product Listing Ads or PLAs) campaigns for retailers: Standard Shopping and Smart Shopping ads. Smart Shopping includes Standard Shopping and tops it up with additional features such as remarketing, automated bidding, and machine learning, providing you with more options to advertise your products.
How ads display: Shopping ads are more than a text ad — they show users a photo of your product, plus its title, price, store name, and more (even customer ratings). These product details are automatically taken from your store’s product feed to show your ads in front of the right audience.
This is an example of how Shopping ads display, compared to the regular Google text ads:
Where ads appear: Google Smart Shopping ads – as well as Standard Shopping ads – appear in front of potential and existing customers during relevant searches in Google Search Network (including Google Search, Google Images, and Google Shopping tab), on Youtube, and in Gmail. They also appear in the Display Network, which is a collection of websites — e.g., Blogger and other Google sites — that show ads. Your products will be labelled as “Sponsored", ”Ads” or ”Ads by Google”.
Besides displaying ads to the new customers, Google Smart Shopping also uses remarketing to display ads to existing customers who are familiar with your store and thus are more likely to make a purchase. For example, a store visitor has put a product in the shopping cart and left your store. This smart technology shows the product ad to them so they can click back and make the purchase. The engine knows what users are more likely to buy, at what point in time and uses that to serve your marketing needs.
How to set up
Manually: If you are a pro, you can set up your Smart Shopping campaign (or a Standard Shopping campaign) manually using your Google Ads and Google Merchant Center accounts. This includes filling the accounts with data and linking them, verifying your website, adding your product feed, and other actions. The process might seem complicated but setting up your campaigns via Google allows more flexibility. Generally, Standard Shopping campaigns require more attention when it comes to management but give you more control over your advertising than the Smart Shopping ones.
Learn how to set up your store and upload a product feed manually and read how to create Smart Shopping and Standard Shopping campaigns.
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Automatically: In case you are new to the topic and/or have no time for ads setup and management, you can use the integration between Ecwid and Google (powered by Kliken). It allows you to start a Smart Shopping advertising campaign in a few clicks and borrows product images and pieces of descriptions automatically from your online store. All you’ll have to do is choose location and products for your campaign, and after that wait for the ads to go through Google's approval process. You can start right in your Ecwid admin, Other Channels → Google Shopping tab.
If you are using this integration, the feed is updated daily. The ads will automatically stop for a product when you run out of it.
Read more about automated Smart Shopping campaign setup →
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As your store will be checked by Google during the approval process, make sure that it meets the Google Merchant Center requirements.
Free listings
In case you want to make your products more visible on Google for free, you can use Google’s Free listings. It allows showcasing products on an unpaid basis on various surfaces, the most outstanding feature being the Google Shopping tab where these listings occupy the majority of space (the rest are the paid ads).
Your products should meet the Google Free Listing Policies for your ads to get successfully approved by Google after the ads setup.
Where products appear: Your products are eligible to appear during relevant searches in unpaid listings on Google surfaces. These surfaces include Google Shopping tab, Google Search, and Google Images (as well as Google Maps and Google Lens).
How listings display: The exact look of your products in the listings depends largely on the surface. There are different listing types. For example, the Shopping tab features quite a variety of information, including prices, pictures, descriptions, etc. – while Google Images add a special “Product” label to the pictures. Read more about the free product listings display on different surfaces.
For example, that’s how Free listings might look on the Google Images tab:
Pay attention to your product photos and descriptions. There are lots of merchants who use Free listings, and good-looking photos will help you stand out.
How to set up
Manually: You can set up Free listings yourself in your Google Merchant Center account. To do this, you will need to add products to your product feed, verify your website, and some other actions.
Read more about manual free product listings setup →
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Automatically: Another option is to use the integration between Ecwid and Google (powered by Kliken). In this case, all you’ll have to do is choose location and product categories for your campaign, and then wait for the ads to go through Google's approval process. You can start right in your Ecwid admin, Marketing → Google Ads tab.
Read more about the setup of automated free product listings →
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