Setup Free Google Shopping Listing in the UK
As the retail sector faces one of their toughest challenges in history, with thousands of physical stores around the world having to shut down due to strict health & safety rules, Google brings yet another solution for entrepreneurs around the world; free product listings on Google Shopping.
Whilst the lockdown period unpredictably increases, google search engine also sees notable changes and growth in the number of online shoppers. Consumers are no longer restricting their purchases to ‘essentials’ but are now also surfing the internet for things such as children’s toys, home goods and textiles. This may seem like a thriving opportunity for retailers however not every business has the power nor opportunity to do so at scale.
New users can now apply to place free listings through Google’s Merchant which will automatically appear on users search engines when looking to purchase goods online. Existing customers will now be able to list their full inventories in the event they were only paying to promote some products on the platform.
What is Google Shopping?
Google shopping is a Google service which is integrated into the Google search engine platform. When Google first launched in 2002 it was called “Froogle” and was simply a service which indexed product data based search terms.
Google shopping has now been around for nearly two decades and during that time has evolved into its own alternative to e-commerce platforms such as Amazon. Google Shopping allows customers to search for a product and compare different products from different retailers.
Since 2012 Google Shopping has become a more price focused platform and required companies and sellers to pay to have their products listed on the comparison platform. Because of the extra prices, many companies opted instead to simply run Google Ads or list on Amazon.
From the beginning of next week the US will start to notice a change in the search results in the Google shopping tab, as it will prioritise free listings. Throughout the last few weeks we have heard of businesses who have had stock of items that are currently in high demand, both essential and otherwise, but who have not been discoverable online or had the means to easily distribute them to those that need them.
This update will be incredible exposure for a vast array of retailers who may previously have gone under the radar. Advertisers will also be able to augment paid campaigns to the free listings.
Google stated that ‘solutions during this crisis will not be fast or easy, but we hope to provide a measure of relief for businesses and lay the groundwork for a healthier retail ecosystem in the future’.
We can expect to see this update rolled out in the US before the end of the month, and from there, expanded globally before the end of the year. It is times like these that digital commerce ought to be accessible to all kinds and sizes of businesses, and we are grateful that giants such as Google recognise this.