Conversion Optimization in Google Shopping through Bidding and Excluding Keywords

The foundation of conversion optimization in Google Shopping is data feed optimization. A carelessly created data feed leads on one hand to inaccurate search results and on the other to poor click-through rates. Conversions then become at best random occurrences, and it's better not to count on them.

This article, however, will focus on conversion optimization through negative keywords and bidding. Further information about data feed optimization can be found here.

A SEA campaign stands and falls with excluding keywords

Why should you use excluding keywords in conversion optimization? This way, you control at what point in the sales funnel (AIDA) potential customers are made aware of your products. You can start in the initial Attention or Interest phase, or you decide to let the customers onto your webshop only in the Action phase - when they are truly ready to make a purchase.

If my client sets conversion optimization, meaning better performance in terms of the cost-revenue ratio (KUR), as a target with a limited budget, I try to send only potential customers in the Action phase to the client's website. This way, I already save the click costs of those who are not yet sure of what and if they want to buy anything at all.

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Fig. 1: Google Shopping campaigns without negative keywords can receive similarly poor search inquiries as spam.[/caption]

How to use negative keywords

We generally use a negative keyword list in our performance campaigns, which allows us to keep freebie seekers, review hunters, and info seekers away from our ads. More importantly, though, it is to consider what exactly your product is. And also: What your product is not.

Example: A potential customer wants white adidas sneakers. However, you sell black Converse sneakers. Accordingly, you do not sell adidas sneakers, therefore I exclude "adidas." You do not have white sneakers on offer, so I exclude "white." You might think: "Wait, the potential customer could..." Yes, exactly. Could. But not now, at this moment, with this search query. With this search inquiry, they were pretty set on white adidas, and you cannot offer either adidas or white.

You have invested your limited budget in someone who looked at your product but actually wants something else. One instance is not terrible, but if it happens often, you ultimately lack the budget to invest in clicks from those who are searching for black Converse sneakers. These you can serve immediately, as you offer their desired product. A conversion here is much closer.

In addition to creating specific lists of excluding keywords, you should also pay special attention to the "Search terms" tab. Here you learn what exactly the users who clicked on your ad entered. Often, you can identify "cost drivers" here, which despite numerous clicks, have not led to conversions or only sporadically. Therefore, exclude them, but make sure to exclude them using the "exact match" keyword option to avoid crippling your campaign.

Another example: In a sneaker online shop, the search inquiry "sneakers" certainly garners many clicks, but likely seldom leads to conversions, thus driving up your Cost-per-Order (CPO). If you exclude "sneakers," your ads will no longer appear when users enter anything containing the word "sneakers." This means you lose a lot of traffic. However, if you exclude "sneakers" in square brackets, with the "exact match" option, you avoid showing ads only for search queries that contain solely the term "sneakers" without any other word.

Bidding as a conversion optimization tool

Good data feed optimization, meticulously set-up campaigns, and specific excluding keywords mean that you don’t have to worry too much about bidding anymore. Because all this ensures that your ads get displayed in line with the search queries. But: how generic can the search queries be for a good conversion rate?

We start with a limited budget of the advertiser and aim for the highest possible return-on-investment (ROI). We are therefore interested in potential customers in the Action phase.

What do you think? Who is going to buy a pair of sneakers within the next few minutes/hours?

1. Users with the search query "sneakers"

2. Users searching for "Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers black size 43"

A is a so-called generic query, mostly from users still searching for the model that suits them. Many clicks on various online shops take place until a pair of sneakers are eventually bought, if at all.

B is a so-called longtail search query of a user who knows precisely what they want and have a clear purchase intent. Usually, it follows just a price comparison, and then the shoes are bought.

This is the customer we want! But how can we bypass user A and get user B? The answer: Through proper bidding. You can observe a certain rule between high bids and generic search queries. This means in reverse that low bids lead to longtail search inquiries. Still, a certain level must be maintained to remain visible at all. This is not so easy in practice.

A tip is to orient yourself on the benchmark CPC. I recommend always bidding less than what is shown there. For control, you should repeatedly work through the search queries in the "Search terms" tab. This tells you your share of generic vs. longtail and whether the generic inputs lead to conversions and good revenue after all. Generic is not always bad, you just have to have these keywords under control.

While exclusion is more of a tedious task, bidding is a mix of analysis, experience, and some intuition. Bidding tools work only with the first point, but still often successfully. However, automated bidding should only be used once very extensive data material has been collected. Only then are they reliable. Until then, experience and intuition in manual bidding are invaluable.

There are, of course, impression share percentages for different product groups that tend to work well. But a few small things have to remain internal. Perhaps the image below gives an indication.

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Fig. 2: Small report column selection of a shopping campaign with almost 11% KUR. 23% visibility delivers very specific search queries, but still enough traffic. However, "only" 0.8% conversion rate? Completely okay because it involves higher-priced products, as evident from the conversion value.[/caption]

What can we do for you?

Would you like to promote your products on Google Shopping? We are happy to advise you on bidding and negative keywords in shopping campaigns.

We look forward to your inquiry.