Optimization Tips for Better Ranking on Google Shopping using Google Base Merchant Feed

For E-Commerce site owners (which is the majority of our clients today), it’s very important to rank high in search engines so their products can get noticed by online users. Here we break it down how to get your Google Datafeed optimized and bringing results to your website.

Why should we spend time optimizing products for Google Base?

Let’s start by discussing why we should even bother with using Google Base. First and foremost, let’s look at the placement of Google Results when compared to organic search results. Results are actually placed above the organic search results. As far as page real estate goes, this is extremely significant in terms of the number of impressions and clicks you will get on your product listing.

Don’t have an account with Google Merchant (Google Base)? Click Here

Getting your site integrated into Google Shopping through Google Merchant (Google Base datafeed integration) means

more traffic to your site
more exposure for your products
and of course, more revenue

It is also important to note that Google Base uses the information from Base listings for more than just Google results. The data uploaded may also be displayed in Google Product Search (previously Froogle), organic search results, Google Maps, Google Image Search and more. That adds up to a variety of exposure your site could potentially receive from a single Google Base listing.

You’ll start seeing a spike in traffic almost immediately once your feed’s up. Seriously. Here’s the results

What do I do to get my products to rank higher?

One good example is one of our customers, RT TIRE, and how they make adjustments and tweaks to their site daily. They are always in the pulse of what’s being listed in Google Shopping since that’s key, especially if there’s other listings ranking higher than your products. You, as the site owner, need to constantly know how your products are ranking there so that you know what sort of adjustments you need to get your products listed at the top.

Checking out how they rank, google “massa wheels model 50 black chrome” which is listing on the frontpage of their site as of 12/31/2010, they’re listed at the top.

Diagram 1

After much research on getting to know what their competition who carry the same products are doing to get listed at the top, they’ve taken the same route because they know it works! Now with the same method, they’re getting better rankings on Google AND Google Shopping.

Diagram 2

How to Optimize your Data Feeds

Now we will get into some specific guidelines that will help you increase the effectiveness of your product listings and thus increase your product conversion rates.

Do Your Keyword Research:
Before filling out any information on your data feed, use Google’s Keyword Tool External to find out what people are searching for. You can then optimize your product title and description accordingly. This is very similar to SEO for title and Meta tags. Limit your title to about 65-70 characters and your description to about 160 or so. Also be sure to include your desired keywords, about two or three of them, in both your title and description.

For example: Make sure to include as much information into the title like in Diagram 1. RT TIRE uses the following format to get rankings that bring results:

Manufacturer + Product Model + Color/Type = Massa Wheels Model 50 Black/Chrome

Using “Model 50″ alone will get your listing buried in hundred/thousands of results that are too broad and even outside of your category. The key is to get as specific as possible to target what people are searching for.

Automate Your Data Feeds:
Schedule to have your data feeds automatically sent to and updated in Google Base. Create an xml or txt data feed on your website and then simply supply Google Base with the location of this file. You can then specify how often (daily, weekly, or monthly) you would like Google to update you product listings based on the information from this file. To create the xml or txt data feed for your products, try using shopping cart add-ons such as this one for Drupal or this forosCommerce.

Product ID:
Each product in your data feed will have a unique product id. Be sure to keep this id consistent when updating your data feeds.

Product Type:
Google Base uses product taxonomy to categorize your products. Be sure you use the correct categories and are as specific as possible. You can view the taxonomy structure here.

Include Relevant Information:
Be sure to provide as much relevant information as possible. Google Base has three categories of product attributes; mandatory, recommended, and optional. Include all of the mandatory and recommended attributes and as many of the optional attributes as possible.

Important Attributes:
There are a few product attributes that are very important to include in your listings. The first is tax and shipping information; Google Base will often give better listing placements when these two attributes are clearly defined. The second is a quality picture for the same reason. Do not include a general picture or company logo. Finally, include the Manufacturer’s Part Number (MPN) or Universal Product Code (UPC) when possible. This will assist people who search for a very specific product.

Target Country:
Make sure you select a target country for your listings. This will both increase the relevancy and quality of your traffic as well as lower your bounce rates.

Custom Attributes:
This is extremely important for achieving good results on Google Base. You can define any custom product attribute you want that will help customers find your products. For example, if you are selling an LCD TV you could define the following attributes; model number, screen size, resolution, aspect ration, brightness, response time, etc. That way when someone searches ‘LCD TV 52” 1080p’ your product will have a better chance of coming up versus other listings that have not included this information.

Data Feed Format:
Make sure your data feed is formatted correctly. Simply review Google Base Help for formatting guidelines to be sure you don’t have any errors in your data feed.

Track Your Listings:
Make sure you track your items through Google Analytics. You can then find out what is successful and what is not. Be sure to adjust your listings based on feedback from Google Analytics. You can find information on tracking your products with Google Analytics here.

Build Up Your Seller Rating:
Simply put, Google Base will give priority and higher rankings to products sold by a seller or store with a lot of positive ratings. One suggestion would be to encourage your customers to leave feedback for your store on Google. Offer them a small discount or free shipping on their next purchase if they leave a review.

Optimized Product Detail Page

With the above in consideration, here’s what we produced for RT TIRE’s Product Page

How do I get a site like RT TIRE or get Google Feed Integration?

What we at Akira Graphics have done is provide RT TIRE with the right tools to be able to do this:

E-Commerce Suite
Wheel Vehicle Matching System (matches your customer’s vehicle with products that fit)
Google Datafeed Integration
Facebook Page Customization
Google Checkout Integration
SEO URL’s and Product Titles
and MUCH more

We can do the same for your website, even if you are just starting a new website, allow us to get it done right from the start. Check out our portfolio to see our works.

If you’re ready to get your e-commerce site to start getting more revenue, give us a call to discuss what we can do for you: click here to contact us or call us at (707) 877-6630.