Buy on Google best practices – 6 winning tips for success this holiday season

What was once a commission-based Shopping Actions program is now a commission-free Buy on Google program. The 0% commission evolution by Google makes it easy for merchants of all sizes to reach millions of shoppers while allowing them to buy when browsing. The BOG program holds excellent potential businesses legally registered in the US and France to get a massive customer base, increase sales and elevate the brand on the world’s most significant search engine’s shopping tab. But to make the most of this program, it is essential to use it in the right way. This article highlights numerous Buy on Google best practices that will help you skyrocket your brand’s reach in no time.

Moreover, the Holiday season 2021 has just begun, and there can be no better time than this; to opt for valuable strategies and best practices for the busy shopping rush ahead. The unpredictable consumer shopping behaviour, increased preferability for online shopping and drastic switch towards online retail business are important factors to consider.

Throughout this comprehensive guide, BigCommerce merchants will find ways to make the most of the Buy on Google program while automating their selling operation using CedCommerce’s Google Shopping & Ads integration solution.

Buy on Google best practices at a glance.

• Calculate EDD
• Set up Merchant promotion
• Streamline Return management
• Maintain high-quality product data
• Meet the feed requirement
• Resolve diagnostic issues

Calculate the Estimate Delivery Date

The estimated delivery date or time plays a crucial role in consumers buying decisions. Shoppers today want a precise, accurate delivery date, regardless of where they are located and what they are buying. Half of the shoppers even abandon their carts due to uncertainty of delivery dates.

Hence, providing a clear picture of delivery dates to the shoppers is a key to win their confidence.

Note: The estimated delivery date is also crucial for winning Buy on Google (previously Shopping Actions) Buy Box. Read more about how to win Buy on Google Buy Box!

Now, coming back to the topic – Buy on Google best practices for EDD; let’s learn some helpful optimizing tips for EDD.

• Firstly, update the Order cut-off time, as it determines when handling time will begin.
• Secondly, configure Weekends as business days whenever needed. Now, this means if you are working with carriers or delivering items during weekends, make sure you reflect this on your shipping policy.
• Thirdly, update handling time to reflect business operations. For BigCommerce merchants, it is strongly recommended to handle items on the same day or the following business day to constitutes 0-1 of handling time.

Set up Merchant Promotions

Shoppers love special deals, and according to Google – “40% use Google to find Special deals and offers when buying a product online”. And, with the holiday season 2021 around, it is vital to strategize product promotion wisely.

So, when you sell on Buy on Google, make sure to opt for the Promotion feature as that will allow you to provide a special discount offer for your listings.

Listed below are few reasons why setting up Promotions for products is yet another essential Buy on Google best practices-

• Increased visibility
• Increased traffic engagement and clicks
• Followed by more leads and conversions
• And ultimately more revenue

Pro tips – When selecting the duration promotions, make sure to have at least seven days duration and target enough weekends and weekday traffic.

BigCommerce merchants who opt to Buy on Google selling through CedCommerce’s integration solution can set promotions in the app itself. Simply select Promotion ID at the time of mapping Google Shopping feed attributes with BigCommerce attributes.

Besides, merchants can also set promotions from their Google Merchant Center account. Find out more details on Buy on Google Help centre.

Streamline Return Management

Streamlining return and refund management is the cornerstone of sustainable profitability. Managing returns efficiently not only increases customer satisfaction but also enhances your profitability in conjunction with the reverse logistics base.

Ensure your Return policies are clear and easily understandable

If you are a BigCommerce merchant, you can easily simplify your return management via CedCommerce’s Google Shopping & Ads integration solution.

So, here are a few tips & tricks for you to manage returns successfully-

• Clear Return policy pre-purchase. Communicating your return policy beforehand on the product page itself can help you manage customer’s expectations post-purchase.
• Flexible return window. A lenient return time frame of at least 30 days enables customers to feel at ease and not rush into returning items.
• Offer free return. Although managing returns can add operational issues, make sure you offer a free return—the reason being that consumers are more likely to spend online when retailers provide free returns.
• Prominent return & refund terms. Ensure that you disclose your return and refunds terms pre-purchase. Consider implementing a checkbox for customers to agree to your return & refund policy before payment.

High-quality product data is important.

Product data is the most valuable resource customers are attracted to. It shapes the way your products show and perform on the Google Shopping tab. High-quality, accurate and comprehensive product data holds great potential to increase a product’s visibility.

When selling on Buy on Google program, it is important to optimize your product data with these suggestions –

• High-quality images: Provide the highest resolution product images as they are more likely to capture the customer’s attention, especially on high-resolution devices.
• Alternate product images: Put at least a minimum of 3 images for each product so customers can see that product is in use for different purposes.
• Important product highlights: make sure to include important attributes in your product title such as brand name, size, colour, pattern, etc.,
• Show product variants: Don’t forget to list the variants of the products (if any); this will indeed give customers a choice to choose between different variants.

Meet the Feed requirement

Meeting feed requirements is yet another one of the most important Buy on Google best practices that every merchant should consider. When you sell on Buy on Google, make sure your product feed has all the relevant information that influences customers in buying your product. Any missing information related to the product will distract shoppers to look for other available options. Hence, meeting Buy on Google requirements for feed is extremely important.

For BigCommerce merchants, when uploading store products on the Buy on Google destination, make sure you consider including these feed attributes-

• Product ID: make sure your product has a unique Product ID
• Fee: To sell on Buy on Google, always mention product fee or price in the feed.
• Title: Ensure you provide a unique yet crisp title to your product.
• Description: Product description is the most important part as it tells what the product is all about. Make sure you include as many features and specifications as possible in the given description limit.

Pro tips – Always ensure that your products are identifiable with brands, GTINs, and MPN attributes.

Read more about – Buy on Google requirements for products!

Unblock product assortment by resolving Diagnostic issues

Maximize your product assortment by resolving diagnostic issues to activate as many of your products as possible.

The diagnostic section in your Merchant Center gives you a birds-eye view of how many of your products are activated and disapproved by the Buy on Google program. It provides you with a quick insight into the health of your product data. And when it is the festive season, it becomes extremely important for you to fix the item issues.

Also read: Check out Buy on Google help centre to know-how to fix Diagnostic issues from Google Merchant Center!

BigCommerce merchants who opt for CedCommerce’s Google Shopping & Ads integration can resolve diagnostic issues related to Buy on Google from the app itself.

Let us show you how –

• Click on the Merchant Center tab of the app
• Go to the Diagnostics section
• Filter destination to “Buy on Google.”
• Identify the issue
• Click “View Samples” of affected items
• Hover over (?) to learn how to resolve the issues

Wrapping Up

As an ecommerce seller, there’s nothing better than revamping your selling strategies from time to time. And when it comes to trying hands-on Google Shopping and its destinations, especially the Buy on Google program, then implementing some of the most valuable tricks and best practices is a must to reap profitable returns. The reason being that you are not only allowing shoppers to buy products from the Google website itself but also influencing in transforming their browsing into buying.

So, follow this guide to ensure that your business is working in the right direction and positively influencing millions of shoppers in their buying decision.

If you have any queries about BigCommerce store automation with Google Shopping and its programs and wish to stay up-to-date with all the latest happenings, connect with our Google Experts Today!