Intro to Shopping Actions on Google and walk through of the re-vamped Google Express program. SMX Advanced, June 2018

1. #SMX #14C @ebkendo
Taking Shopping Campaigns to the Next Level
WELCOME TO
SHOPPING
ACTIONS
ON GOOGLE
Image source: Getty Images

2. #SMX #14C @ebkendo
 12 years in the search industry
– PPC, SEO, Social, Content
– e-Commerce, Marketplaces
 Speaker: SMX Adv/East/West, PPC
Hero, Mozcon, Engage
Elizabeth Marsten
CommerceHub
Senior Director, e-Commerce Growth Services
Image: @ebkendo

3. #SMX #14C @ebkendo
NORTH AMERICA’S LARGEST RETAILERS,
MARKETPLACES AND SEARCH ENGINES
DEMAND GENERATION
ASSORTMENT EXPANSION
WAREHOUSES, STORES, DROP-SHIPPERS,
BRAND MANUFACTURERS
DELIVERY
NATIONAL CARRIERS, REGIONAL
CARRIERS, LOCAL CARRIERS
Image: CommerceHub

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What WAS Google Express? What WAS Purchases on Google?
 Similar Amazon Prime Now test in
2013 in six cities
 Local/in-store inventory requirement
 Membership fee
 Product Listing Ads mobile device
enhancement
 Advertising through Google AdWords
 Single item order capacity
 An experiment
Image source: Google

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What is Shopping Actions?
Image source: Google

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It’s all about the transaction.
The payment processing, order taking, receipt giving,
delivery information, customer support providing
workflow.
What are Shopping Actions Really?

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Not just Google Home.
Samsung, Panasonic, Sonos, TicHome, JBL, Hogar Milo, Lenovo,
Archos, Sony, Philips, Sharp, Nvidia.
How Does Google Assistant Fit In?
Image source: Google
https://www.the-ambient.com/guides/best-google-assistant-devices-333

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SERP Significance
Image source: CommerceHub
Organic

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 Product Listing Ads and organic real estate
 CPC vs. commission rates
 Product content data quality (feed management)
 Seamless transactions, cross- device
 Pricing and the competition
 New revenue stream!
Why Does This Matter to Search Marketers?
So…who’s in charge of this?

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Tell me MOAR!
Image source: Getty Images

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Shared Content with Google Shopping
If you make a change in your feed, it can affect both programs, most notable:
Product title, description, price, image
Image source: Google
ShoppingExpress

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 Google Express provides Tier 1 Customer Support
– Most commonly handled item: returns
– Similar to the Google Pay team set up
– Has the ability to issue credits to the customer (does not pass on to the seller)
 Tier 2 Customer Support is your CS team
– Sellers can designate at what point they want Google CS to refund the item
without having to ship it back
– Maintain brand experience and service for issues related to the product
Customer Support

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 Prices submitted in the sale attribute will trigger strikethrough pricing,
just as on Google Shopping
 Shoppers can link their loyalty/membership programs and get credit for
their Express purchases
Pricing and Promos
Coming: ability to do discounts per store, category or by product via a retail promotions feed

14. #SMX #14C @ebkendo
 Set at the account level in Google Merchant Center
– Must match your website at this time
– Does NOT use product data from the shipping attribute in the feed or via the
Content API
– Does NOT support dynamic shipping cost options
– Taxes: manual for a flat rate, destination based (more work than manual) or tax-
categories (like for food items)
About Shipping and Taxes
Shipping and Taxes

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 Submit branding assets and logos
– This is the step we see the most lag time with clients. Start early. (You know, to
respect the creative process and all.)
 Banner currently being used to display free shipping thresholds for most
stores
 On Sale and Best Sellers products are auto populated
Coming: additional functionality to customize
Storefronts
Image source: Google Express

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 Retailer Standards are important to maintain
– Calculated over the last 90 days, updated the first day of each month
– Defect rate of less than 2.0% gets Top Retailer status
– Evaluation criteria: SLA reliability – how fast and how accurately you’re able to fulfill
orders without cancellations or rejecting orders.
– Biggest contributor to a high defect rate – selling out of stock items and having to
cancel
About Retailer Standards
Retailer Standards

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 Not like the taxonomies of Google Shopping,
not your categories either
 Geared towards a “browsing” behavior
 Think about them more like store aisles
 Google Assistant and voice search
implications
 Using signals from product type
Categories (Departments) on Express
Image source: Google Express

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 Aggregated from all over
 No way to control at this time on Express
– Just like Google Shopping
 If you haven’t gotten a product review
program or process in place still…
Product Ratings
Image source: Google Express

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 Overall default per user, starts to update as you use it more
– Brand, merchant affinity, past behavior
– A newer merchant can still very much appear here and there are multiple slots
 Product detail pages – similar items for recommendations
– Several signals, like product category and secret sauce
Search Results on Express
Image source: Google Express

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 No, Express listings do not participate in the
PLA auction
 A Shopping Actions on Search sponsored unit
may shows when there is inventory on Express
 If an seller has a product eligible for both –
Google dedupes for that SKU
 Complimentary, increased impression share
Cannibalizing Google Shopping Efforts?
Image source: Google

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 Relevancy to the user’s query
 Immediate purchase intent (via aggregate
behavior for the search term)
 Retailer preferences – membership loyalty or
previous purchasing history
 User signals like existing cart content to
continue basket building
 Shipping speed and price
Shopping Actions on Search Sponsored Units
Image source: Google

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 Retailer Standards
 Price competitiveness
 Relevancy to the user’s query
 Personalization – there is some
– What’s already in your cart
– Purchase history
– Linked account/memberships
– User behavior
Winning the Shopping Actions “Buy Box”
When there are multiple sellers for the same item
Image source: Google Express

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Shopping lists
Quick reorder
Order history
Google Express mobile app
Refer friends, get $$ credits
Get $$ off you first order
Random Bells & Whistles
Image source: Getty Images

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So Now What?

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 Fill out the interest form
 Have a Google Merchant Center account
 You must have order management
integration – be able to ingest and pass
orders
 If you’ve got a partner for feed
management or marketplaces, that’s the
best place to start
I Want In…
Image source: Getty Images

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 Learn about shipping SLAs and tracking, retailer/seller standards and
why those matter
 Learn how to curate an assortment or work with merchandising
 Check out the current Express offerings, categories, what is already
there and if your items would be a good fit.
 Are you set up as a company to manage the program? Can you fulfill
and update inventory cross-channel fast enough?
 Make friends with the Customer Support team
And Do Some Homework

27. #SMX #14C @ebkendo
Share these #SMXInsights on your social channels!
#SMXInsights
 Shopping Actions refers to the transaction
 Shopping Actions is a commission based
program
– Competitive rates, easier to try than other
marketplaces
SERP real estate is being dedicated to it
Google is not competing with sellers
Doesn’t cannibalize current PLA efforts

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 Google Blog – Shopping Actions
 Search Engine Journal – Shopping Actions
 Google Merchant Center Help – Shopping
Actions
Resources, Links and Stuff
Image source: @ebkendo

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SEE YOU AT THE NEXT #SMX