Ahead of the Holiday Rush, Google Adds More Product Listing and Discovery Options

With people still buying online at faster rates than ever before, and with the lingering uncertainty surrounding the COVID situation, brands must maximize their digital listings to ensure they meet consumers where they're looking and promote their items in the correct context.

And Google is a major player in this. While social media is a valuable tool for brand recognition and connection, and social platforms are rapidly playing a larger part in product discovery and connection, Google remains the primary search engine. This is especially important right now, as customers check for local shopping options and see if there are any tales available for them to buy from. As a result, it's critical to keep track of Google's product and business display upgrades and include them into your planning - and today, Google revealed a slew of new commerce capabilities for the upcoming Christmas season that all merchants should be considering.

To begin with, Google has introduced new shipping and return annotations to its Google Search and Shopping results, which are now available in both free and paid listings.

Customers can now know when their goods will be delivered, thanks to shipping annotations such as "For products that ship for free in five business days or less, look for “Free delivery by Fri, Dec 24,” “Get it by Dec 24,” and “Free X-day.” You may now specify extended holiday return windows with return annotations like "Free 90 day returns" or "Free 30 day returns" to offer buyers more confidence in their purchases "Returns are free till January 31.

Prompts like this could be all it takes to pique consumers' attention and encourage them to visit your site, and they could be a tremendously beneficial addition to how your products are presented in relevant search queries.

Google also mentions that retailers who use Shopify, WooCommerce, or GoDaddy can now sync their products with Google for free. Taking this a step further, entrepreneurs may turn their YouTube videos into virtual stores to promote their wares.

Connect a product feed to either your Video action campaigns or your App campaigns to send customers to your app. Most marketers will be able to link a product feed to Discovery advertising in the coming weeks, allowing them to present more relevant products to clients who are investigating their interests in Google's feeds. This means you'll get even more exposure to discovery surfaces that may be linked back to your product listings, allowing you to engage with more customers at the right time in the buying cycle.

Brands should also make sure that their product and business information is up to date via Google My Business, and that their catalog listings are linked to each Google surface, which helps to provide more context.

Searches for "open now near me" have increased by more than 200 percent year over year globally. People are switching between online and offline purchasing more than ever before, and searches for "local gift stores near me" have surged 440 percent in only the last month in the United States. If your physical locations are accessible for in-person shopping, it's critical that your customers can locate you readily online. Businesses can use their Google profile to indicate in-store services and safety measures, and you can use your listings to add in-store and curbside pickup remarks.

Finally, Google is expanding its suite of tools and reports to assist businesses in tracking the success of their campaigns and listings. The best sellers report can assist firms in deciding which new brands and goods to stock for the holidays. You'll soon be able to see real-time offers reporting in the Merchant Center if you're running sales or promotions to move inventory, especially in the lead-up to Black Friday or Cyber Monday. The extra information will give your strategy more context, and it could be crucial as you try to maximize your marketing efforts.

While all online channels are experiencing greater activity, Google remains a vital consideration for maximizing discovery and meeting potential shoppers as they search for products and services, as previously stated. Given this, it's critical for businesses to keep their Google My Business information up to date, as well as to be informed of newer features like this, to meet expanding demand.