Part IX: Free Listing on Google Shopping- Europe, Africa and Middle East

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In a series of some of the most revolutionary updates from Google, here is one that almost beats all of the others so far! Google is doing all it could do for Small Businesses and free listings in Google shopping in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa in addition to the US, is one of those efforts. Other beneficial programs recently launched by Google include Local Service Ads, Accelerating Retail program, Google for Small Business, Grow My Store, and so much more.

The world is caught in the middle of a pandemic, that is no new surprise. Small and medium businesses are struggling and in dire need of help. Google, recognizing the needs of SMBs across the globe has launched a series of updates releasing free listing programs.

Small Businesses and Free Listings in Google Shopping

Back in the month of April, Google launched free listings in the Google Shopping Tab of the Search Engine for merchants in the US which later expanded to the main Search Engine. Followed by this came the big news of Buy On Google going commission-free for “Buy on Google” Products.

It was announced in the beginning when the free listings started to roll, that soon the unpaid experience would incorporate more countries, eventually becoming a global thing. And after experiencing massive success in the US now the Free listings on Google Shopping are finally expanding to the middle part of the world covering Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

In fact, Google claims that SMBs are enjoying an average of twice the number of views and 50% more visits than before and thereby the program will be made global by the middle of October ensuring SMBs from every nook and cranny of the world can successfully recover from the effects of Covid-19.

Why are Free Listings on Google Shopping in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East such a big deal?

Increased Visibility at zero cost. What more could you want. Using Google Shopping Ads costs merchants every time their Ad is clicked by a customer, irrespective of the fact that the said customer buys the product or not. With a free listing, merchants only require an account on Google Merchant Center to upload their feeds and make sure it is optimized for search engines.

The free listing program ensures that as long as Surfaces Across Google is active all of the products are appearing organically on Google Shopping, Google Assistant, Google Search Engine, Google Images, Google Lens, etc.

Merchants can control the ranks through following proper listing guidelines and feed optimization. All of this becomes easy with an expert on your side.

CedCommerce is an official Channel and Feed Partner with Google and provides expert assistance in Creating optimized Feeds, Automated Order Management, Onboarding Free “Buy on Google” program, Organically listing feeds on Google Shopping, Updated and Intelligent Business Strategies and all kinds of support during Covid-19 pandemic.

Other Updates:

Choose any Comparison Shopping Service in Europe

Free Google Shopping in Europe comes with another special feature. Now merchants in Europe can also choose any CSS of their choice to list their products for free.

The CSS Dashboard in the Google Merchant Center is meant for the merchants from the European Economic Area and Switzerland. They can decide which CSS they want to promote their products on Google and completely disable the CSS of their choice from promoting their products as well.

Local Services Ads

When it is best not to go out, the first thing people do is look online for what they want. Numbers show the more and more people are looking for not just products but services as well. Over the months, it has been observed that “Available Near Me”, “Buy online, Pickup from store”, “Curbside Pickup”, “Contactless Delivery” and other such keywords have increased dramatically.

Bringing your physical store online is absolutely necessary, but not enough. Think about expanding the store limitation from mere products to services as well. Local services such as Home Improvement, Electricians, Plumbings, and other domestic maintenance services have become largely popular across the Globe with people spending so much time in their homes.

Google claims that the searches for local services have increased by 25% in Europe alone.

Thus, the smart strategy is to incorporate services with your products and to give a boost to this extension, choose Local Services Ads from Google
Local Services Ads are now available in around 10 European countries including, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK.

The professionals can now connect with the local population without having to prove their trustworthiness with much effort. A Google Guarantee Badge on their Ads would do that for them easily.

Customers can access license information, reviews, contact information as well as compare all the service providers from one place. But one cookie point that beats all of this is that merchants and service providers do not require any website to run these Ads or even pay until they have been contacted by the customers, which means no PPC.

Digital Transformations for Small and Medium Businesses

Google has now launched Google for Small Business in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK. Also, the Grow My Store program is now available in Germany, France, Netherlands, Sweden, and Spain. According to Google, the two services will be available in more countries pretty soon.

Google for Small Business is an initiative from Google to help SMBs take the first step towards Digital Transformation. The service provides support and guidance with essential Tools. Along with specific strategies customized to suit the needs of these businesses are met thoroughly.

Whereas Grow My store is a program that helps local merchants in boosting traffic. It also helps with the overall online experience for customers for their stores.

Accelerating Retail

Google successfully wrapped up a month-long training cum support program, Accelerating Retail. The program aims to help SMBs in reviving and accelerating their sales. Training, tools and insights for SMBs unrolled throughout the month of September. Incorporating engagements from more than 7500 merchants from Europe, Middle East and Africa, it was a hit.

 ‘Buy on Google’ program in France will be ending on December 7, 2021. For more updates or support, get in touch with the experts at CedCommerce here!

Resources for Small Businesses and Free Listings in Google Shopping:

• Shopping Actions(Buy On Google) vs Google Shopping vs Shopping Ads: Which is better?
• Free Listing expands from Google Shopping to Google Search
• Free Google Shopping Feed Updates: Shop Sales by Store
• Google will now allow any business to list products free on Google Shopping
• Free Listing on Google Shopping Updates: Local Surfaces Across Google
• What is New with Google Shopping as Free Listing Rolls out?

If you have more to add or got questions, make sure you drop a comment. We will get back to you as soon as possible.

Google is continuously involving all its efforts in coming up with as many ways to help the global economy recover. Especially through eCommerce, they are helping Local and Global SMBs uplift themselves. Now, merchants just need to get in touch with the right set of industry experts. Start from Digital transformation and complete your journey of not just revival but absolute success with CedCommerce.