Google Shopping Comes to Mobile!

Last week Google announced through its Commerce blog that Product Listing Ads (PLAs), which drive Google Shopping results, are now eligible to appear on smartphones around the globe. The announcement emphasizes the global reach of PLAs, their compatibility with mobile devices, and their integration into Enhanced Campaigns.

PLAs are making the inevitable leap to mobile. In our last blog post, we explored how rapidly PLAs have grown since shifting to paid inclusion. The popular ad format is now receiving a boost from Enhanced Campaigns.  The timing of the announcement also coincides with the roll-out of paid-inclusion PLAs in other countries.  Currently, the ad format is available in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Brazil, Australia, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic.

A Note about Enhanced PLA Campaigns:

Google recommends upgrading to “increase coverage”.  However, be aware that the impression share data Google is showing for these campaigns (you may see things like “>10%” or “<90%”) is not accurate. We have confirmed with our AdWords reps that this information is not reporting for PLA campaigns yet.

Also, note that Google is saying in their post that PLAs are only eligible to appear on Enhanced Campaigns. We have seen PLAs trigger from the old “Legacy” campaigns, though, so you can still get coverage without converting over to Enhanced. You will have to convert your campaigns over in the coming months as Google will be requiring this change of all advertisers.

One advantage of converting your PLA campaigns to Enhanced is that they will have new optimization features such as device- and location-based bidding under one campaign. Campaigns may also see mobile traffic increase simply from upgrading according to Google, though this remains to be seen. It will be interesting to see how much these figures can be manipulated through device-targeted bidding, or if mobile traffic receives an initial boost just from upgrading.

As we upgrade our PLA campaigns, we’ll share any new features that we find most beneficial. For those of you who have already upgraded or currently target mobile devices, we’d love to hear your thoughts.