Many changes have been made in Google Shopping for the last many years such as Froogle, Google Product Search, Google Base etc. However, it is still the most preferred method used by the internet marketers for driving traffic to the eCommerce storefronts.

In this article, we will discuss various strategies using which the Google Shopping data feed can be managed and optimized effectively for increasing the amount of traffic that your website gets.

Make use of optimized descriptions, page titles, categories and other attributes

Data is loved by Google. You must include the below-mentioned elements in the data feed of your Google Shopping campaign:

• Shipping costs

You must display the product listings along with the shipping costs and other details. The customers do not like to go through a whole bunch of pages just to check the shipping costs. Estimated shipping costs are also listed in the search results of Google.

• Unique product descriptions

Do not just re-write the product descriptions given by the manufacturer. You must write the descriptions yourself. This results in a better visibility of your product in the Google Shopping results.

• Google Product Category & Product Type

The products are ranked by Google depending upon their type and category. Therefore, your products will be indexed faster if this information is included.

• Page titles

Page titles are also very important. Page titles should consist of 70 characters or less. You should try to include the product category, type and keywords within the page title.

• Good-quality product images

Many consumers make their buying decision by just looking at the images and reading their description. Therefore, you must use high-quality images.

Keep on updating and testing the data feeds

You must update your information on Google. Your data feed should be updated whenever there is a change in the price, shipping cost or product description. Your information is submitted to the Merchant Center by a test data feed for the purpose of troubleshooting. If you do not go for a test run, many errors will occur after submission. In fact, your account can also be suspended and you can earn penalties. This results in loss of revenue.

Make use of unique identifiers for comparison tables

You can include the following unique product identifiers in your data feed:

• UPC

• Brand

• Manufacturer’s part number (MPN)

The individual products are included by Google in comparison charts by using this information. Therefore, you must use these identifiers. You must include at least two unique identifiers at a given point of time.

Make the Google Shopping feed different for tracking purposes

You have to differentiate your Google Shopping feed from various referring urls and search traffic so that your data feed is optimized for a better visibility. For doing so, an identifier should be added to the urls of your products. It is the most simplest method for optimizing your data feed. You must use the common parameters for traffic source (utm_source) and medium (utm_medium). When the data feed is resubmitted, the Google Shopping traffic will be shown separately on the dashboard of Google Analytics.

It is not difficult to use Google Shopping. In case you are selling your products online, you must make use of it.