Right now, Google is undoubtedly the market leader in terms of search engine usage. According to statcounter, 92% of all global searches in 2018 were done via Google. With such figures, it is not surprising that advertising on Google is a favourite among online sellers. The success of this sales method comes not only from Google Ads but also from the ever-increasing growth of Google Shopping.
There are many benefits to automating your Shopping campaigns, such as more control over your CPCs and saving time setting up and updating campaigns. But your sales on Google Shopping can also be improved by putting customer reviews in your Google Shopping ads.
What do product reviews in Google look like?
Product reviews in Google Shopping are shown in the form of stars. In addition, textual reviews can also appear in Google’s organic search results.
Ratings are done on a scale of one to five stars. The ratings focus on different aspects, such as quality, material, product features, usability and so on. Remember, these reviews are specific to the product and not the seller. According to Google, the overall product rating is determined based on different sources.
Clicking on product reviews will redirect a potential buyer to Google Shopping’s product page where all the reviews are displayed. Besides the ratings, this product page also shows the list of sellers / online shops that sell the product, prices, special offers, shipping information and seller ratings.
How do Google Product Ratings work?
Unlike seller reviews, product ratings are specific to an individual product. Of course, delivery service, return policy and customer service are all also a factor in the buying experience but Google’s product ratings are only for the product itself and not the sellers.
These product reviews are provided by third parties, such as other sellers, marketplaces, review websites and so on. To link reviews to each individual product, Google uses unique product identifiers such as the GTIN, SKU, brand, manufacturer’s number (MPN), and product link.
If a search query is very general, for example “red t-shirt”, it will display a list of different models. Clicking on one of these models will bring up the sellers’ reviews. On the other hand, if a search term is more specific, for example by having a brand name or specific seller attached, then only the reviews of this one seller will be displayed.
The benefits of posting product reviews in Google Shopping
Ratings and reviews can help you differentiate yourself from the competition
People making purchases online are heavily influenced by the opinions of other consumers. Products with reviews stand out better than those that don’t, which improves conversion and therefore sales. If your product has a lot of positive reviews, it becomes easier and easier for you to sell.
Better informed consumers
Ratings and reviews not only make a product stand out better against other products. They also help a consumer make a decision. In most cases, seller product descriptions are impersonal and biased, which can make consumers suspicious. Therefore, they value and trust other consumers’ opinions more. This is even more so when reviews provide information that is not in the product description.
Improve your conversion rate
Customers who visit your website via Google Shopping are more likely to make a purchase.
This is how to place reviews in Google Shopping using a Google Product Ratings feed
The first question you need to ask yourself is: Do I have enough product reviews? You should be able to provide a feed with a minimum of 50 reviews for all products, but where do you get them from? You can collect them from your own webshop, an external review website you work with and/or from customer reviews in Google.
Once you have enough reviews, follow the steps below:
First, you need to have a Google Merchant Center account linked to your webshop. If you don’t have an account yet, you can find the instructions to create one in Google’s support centre.
Before uploading the feed, you need to fully complete Google’s Product Review Request Form.
Create the feed containing all ratings and reviews. Google will accept this feed in the form of an XML file. Use Channable’s feed management tool to easily create such a file; the mandatory fields are already built into the tool. This means you can create a Google Product Ratings feed in minutes.
Import the XML/Product Ratings feed you just created into Merchant Center
Channable lets you customise your product data to the specifications of a lot of Google products. You can create the perfect feed for Google Shopping, Google Display, Google Product Ratings and even Google Manufacturer Center. You can also set up the structure of your Shopping campaigns or generate thousands of ads for Google Ads with Channable’s dynamic SEA tool. This tool uses the information from your own product feed. Channable is the most complete tool to manage all your marketing and Google efforts.