Setting Up Your Google Shopping Campaign Step by Step Instructions

Setting up your first Google Shopping campaign may be overwhelming because of the many steps involved in the process. But by following the step-by-step instructions listed here, you’ll be better equipped to run great campaigns that drive high sales for your products.

Another option is to hire a Google shopping expert to set up and manage your campaigns. This can be expensive of course but the results could be far better than you setting up and managing your own campaigns because of the steep learning curve.

But, with the right process, you can navigate through the Google Shopping campaign process seamlessly. And in this article, I’ll walk you through the essential steps to set up your first Google Shopping campaign and start selling your products to your target audiences.

 

Step 1: Create a Google Merchant Centre Account

The first to setting up a Google Shopping campaign, is to create a Google Merchant Centre (GMC) account. This is where you will add your business details and upload a product feed to promote your products.

If you already have a Google account with another product like Gmail, you can use that and sign up for a GMC account.

Once you’re logged in, click on “Get Started” and follow the instructions to set up your account. And you’ll add your details and website and verify it and then upload your product data feed, which includes information about your products, such as title, description, image and price.

 

Step 2: Set Up and Optimise Your Product Feed

After uploading your feed through the various options in your GMC account, you’ll now need to optimise it so the products display effectively in the search results.

Your feed is the foundation of your Google Shopping campaign, so it’s essential to make it accurate, comprehensive and follows Google’s policies. And any errors and warnings that appear before and after the review process, which happens before you can start advertising.

Your feed should include high-quality images, clear product titles, detailed descriptions, correct prices and availability.

 

Step 3: Link Google Merchant Centre to Google Ads

Next, you’ll need to link your Merchant Centre and Google Ads accounts. If you don’t already have a Google Ads account, visit ads.google.com to create one or sign in on that page if you already have an account.

Then navigate to Tools & Settings in the top right corner of your Google Ads account. Click on ‘Linked accounts’ and select Google Merchant Centre. And follow the instructions to link both accounts successfully.

 

Step 4: Create a Google Shopping Campaign

Now, you’ll need to create a Google Shopping campaign to promote your products and get sales. To get started, click the blue ‘+Campaign’ and choose the Sales objective and then the Shopping campaign type.

Next, select your Merchant Centre account, country of sale and currency. And choose either a Standard Shopping or Performance Max campaign type or Local Inventory Ads, according to your requirements.

A Standard Shopping campaign gives you more control over the features and you’ll see the searches you are getting. But if you’re a beginner, a Performance Max campaign can be a good choice, as it uses machine learning to optimise your campaign automatically.

 

Step 5: Set Your Budget and Bidding Strategy

In campaign settings, you’ll now update key features such as the budget and bid strategy settings. These are two very important features that have a huge influence on your results and how many products you will sell.

So, you’ll need to decide the maximum amount you want to pay daily and monthly in your campaign. This will be your daily budget and will determine how much you’ll pay each day and throughout the month.

Also, Google Shopping is an auction, and it uses a cost-per-click (CPC) bidding system, where you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. So, set your bids based on the value and profitability of your products. Higher bids can increase your ad’s visibility, but make sure they align with your budget and desired return on investment (ROI).

 

Step 6: Create Ad Groups and Product Groups

Next, you’ll create your ad groups and product groups. When you first set up your Google Shopping campaign, you’ll automatically create your first ad group, and all the products will be in there.

And you can then create more ad groups and split out your products into a different group, to manage your campaign effectively. So, in each ad group, create product groups which determine which products you’ll advertise in the ad groups.

You can group products based on attributes like brand, item ID, or custom labels. This segmentation allows for better control over your bids and performance tracking.

 

Step 7: Launch and Monitor Your Campaign

After setting up your Google Shopping campaign, all you need to do now is wait to receive traffic and start optimising it. The campaign will run automatically when your first ad group has been created, and it will take a few hours to a few days for the traffic to pick up as the bid strategy is in learning mode.

Monitor the performance of your campaign regularly in Google Ads and Google Analytics. Keep an eye on important metrics like click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and return on ad spend (ROAS). And optimise it to improve campaign performance over time.

 

Conclusion

I hope these step-by-step instructions to set up and manage your Google Shopping campaign have been helpful. And with dedicated and continuous optimisation, this can lead to increased visibility, higher click through rates and sales.

I’m a Google Ads specialist and I’d be happy to help you set up an effective Google Ads Shopping campaign. Contact me today for a proposal and quote.