Google’s Guide to How to Get Your Products Found in a Search
Did you know that you can increase traffic from Google to your products on your e-commerce site for free? And that you can help your product move up the product rankings on Google? The trick is to provide Google with timely and accurate product data. You can also use some technical practices to help potential customers find your site in their Google product searches. By combining these two efforts, you can find ways to reach users in a competitive online shopping environment.
How is Product Information displayed in a Google Product Search?
Google search uses certain formatting to display product information in search results. They include ratings, reviews, prices, and if the product is currently in stock. Google images will also display a photo of the product if the seller makes it available. All this is done to help users decide which product to purchase.
Another way people can view your product is on the Google Shopping Tab. Since last year, all online sellers can display their products for free on the Google Shopping tab. Participating in this tab is a free way to direct more shoppers to your site. This tab allows the user to filter products by price, size, and availability. Those who are searching for products also have the option to use Google maps to see which products are currently stocked in stores nearby.
Google organizes products and ranks them according to what information they think will be the most helpful to the user. So, how do you make sure that your products appear in a Google product search?
Provide Accurate and Specific Product Information
If you want your product to be ranked higher on a Google search, it starts by providing accurate and specific product information.
Google uses Google Merchant Center to make it easy for sellers to list their product information online. Business owners can pay for ads, but their products can be listed for free. The information listed on Google Merchant Center appears on both the Google Shopping tab and in organic Google searches. This allows your product to be seen by more users.
In order to help potential customers find your product during their online search, you need to provide as much information about what you are selling as possible. This includes information about product prices, discounted prices, brands, photos, and even where your inventory is located. You can also make sure that Google extracts accurate data from your page by making sure it is structured data. By putting all of this information on your e-commerce website, you are giving searchers more opportunities to find your products. And there is a higher chance your product will move up the product rankings on the Google Shopping tab and in organic searches.
How Does Google Find Product Data?
There are several different strategies you can use to make sure Google includes your accurate product data in a Google product search. And deciding which strategy is best for you depends on what users you want to reach and how often you are updating your product information.
Website Crawling
Google Bots are constantly crawling the internet to find reliable, relevant, and accurate information that will appear in a user’s Google search. You can increase the accuracy of your product data by using structured data, and understanding how often Google is crawling your site in search of new information. You also have to give approval in Google Merchant Center to make sure that your products will appear in the Google Shopping tab. This is an easy way to give your products more exposure online, but it isn’t the quickest way to direct traffic to your site because you don’t have as much control over how often the data is updated.
Platform Feed
Another way to be found in a Google Product search is by providing Google Merchant Center with a feed of all of your product data. You can schedule this feed to update once or even twice a day. This will ensure that your product data is up to date and accurate. However, Google may compare your uploaded information to the information found during their web crawl. If any inconsistencies are found, they can be excluded from certain Google searches. So it is important that your product data is up to date and that your e-commerce website is in sync with the information you upload to the Google Merchant Center. .
Targeted Content API Calls
A third strategy you can use to increase your product’s exposure online is to use targeted content API calls. This means that instead of waiting for a Googlebot to find your product information, or uploading a catalog of your entire inventory, you can edit, delete and add individual products to Google Merchant Center. This allows you to make changes to product information individually or in small groups. These changes can be made live in minutes. Instead of waiting for Google Merchant Center to update to the latest data. This strategy is more reliable, because you control when your product information is updated.
What Should You Do Next
First, you should start adding structured data to your website. Then, you need to decide which of the three strategies will work best for your business. You also need to think about which strategy will help your information show up in the Google Product searches you want. And throughout the whole process, remember that your SEO is still important. Make sure your product data isn’t just accurate, but that it is appealing and attractive to potential customers. And if you have any questions, or just want more help getting started, connect with us at Boostability. Our top-notch, affordable small business SEO services can help the right kind of customer find your small business and your products in their Google search results.
