Shopping Blog

From managing inventory levels, to juggling promotions, to tackling catalog churn - online retail moves quickly, and so should you.

To help you navigate the rapidly-changing retail landscape, we invite you to join our Hangout on Air: Moving at the Speed of Retail. Come hear search leaders from iProspect, Performics, and DoubleClick discuss the latest industry trends, challenges and use cases in retail SEM today. Some of the topics we’ll cover include:

• Tying inventory levels and promotions to search campaigns, in real-time
• Boosting performance with retail-specific bid optimization strategies and best practices
• Finding more cross-channel opportunities through remarketing tactics

Participants: 
Jessica Dearien, Account Leader, iProspect
Dave Strong, Group Account Director, Performics
Matthew Eichner, Head of DoubleClick Search
Dan Arwady, DoubleClick Search Account Manager

Register here to attend the Hangout on September 25th, 2013 at 11:00am PST / 1:00pm CST / 2:00pm EST. Tune in for the session, and interact with the panel via Hangouts-enabled Q&A.

We hope to see you there!

Posted by Justin Huskamp, The DoubleClick Search Team

(cross-posted on the AdWords Agency Blog)

New product launches trigger an enormous amount of online activity, and cause consumers to shop. And we know that search volume can predict all sorts of things, from unemployment to auto trends. Putting those together, we took a look at the smartphone industry. In our Smartphone Launch Predictor study, we uncovered factors that can maximize and predict product success.
One key takeaway is that aggregate search predicts smartphone sales, with over 90% accuracy.

Here are the key findings that show how marketers can predict, and increase, smartphone sales:

• Early buzz is a good sign: Maximize official press and marketing efforts early. Why? Pre-launch buzz, like online news stories is a top factor in propelling long-term search interest. We found that an extra 1,000 news stories in the weeks before launch will likely lead to a 9% boost in smartphone sales (compared to the situation if there are no news stories)

• Customers are searching earlier than you might expect: A whopping 52% of purchase-related searches occur before launch. This is a prime opportunity to reach customers when they’re interested in learning more about the product, as fewer marketers are running ads at this time

• End of the week availability rules: Some days of the week work better than others. The strongest sales figures correlate with Thursday and Fridays on-sale dates, so schedule messaging when it will generate the most interest

• Video is a key channel: Shoppers are taking a sneak peak at products before choosing a device: video views for smartphones increased 60% from 2010 to 2011. Video views during launch week generates great results. If a smartphone accrues 1 million video views during launch week launch, it will likely sell over 1.2M units in the 12 weeks after launch

• Ad clicks correlate closely: The higher the number of clicks on your search ads, the higher your sales - both online and in-store. How much? If a smartphone accrues 100,000 paid clicks during the 12 weeks after launch, it will likely sell over 1.3M units over the same period

• User research cycle: Before launch, shoppers tend to compare brands to explore the smartphone landscape. More detailed searching increases during the week of launch, when searches for smartphone reviews peak. And then, after launch, people dig into the details: searches for specific smartphone features and product issues hit their high points in the weeks after launch. Tailoring ad campaigns to this cycle is a big opportunity

• Buying one screen on many screens: As smartphone retailers know, screens are blurring and campaigns are becoming integrated. At launch week, an extra 25,000 searches for smartphones, from smartphones, predicts an increase in sales of 17%

For more insights, download the full research on smartphone sales predictors at Think With Google.

Posted by Matt Seitz, Technology team, Sr. Analytical Lead

The holiday season is a chaotic time, with shopping activity reaching a fever pitch. Holiday shoppers aren’t just looking for the best deals, they’re also looking for the retailer that provides the most hassle-free path to purchase. Read on for 8 tips you can apply now to earn the business of this year’s throng of savvy gift givers, wherever and however they are on the web.


Be where the shoppers are.
53% of consumers plan to do more holiday shopping research online this year than they did in 2011. It’s essential at this point in the season to double-check that your search and display ads stand out from the rest.

1. Make basic changes for big impact in your search ads.
Using a longer ad headline may result in higher clickthrough rates, and also creates a better experience for users by highlighting more information in the ad. We also recommend helping shoppers see the exact products you offer before they even reach your site with product ads.

2. Convert browsers to buyers with remarketing.
Now that you’ve gotten shoppers to check out your site, use remarketing to keep engaging them. Win back that potential customer who placed their favorite fruit cake in their shopping cart, but did not complete the checkout process. You can show that fruit cake -- now with free shipping! -- to that shopper as they browse other websites.

3. Reach people even when they’re not searching.
Gift givers consult myriad sources online looking for all the help they can get, from blogs to product review sites to the most niche sites you can imagine. Take advantage of every opportunity to tell them that you’ve got exactly what they’re looking for. At minimum, we recommend running a campaign on the Google Display Network, which lets you place ads on millions of sites across the Internet. Consider tools like interest categories and demographics to effectively reach people who are interested in what you have to sell -- even if they don’t already know you exist.


Be useful and engaging.
Once you’ve earned a shopper’s consideration, don’t squander it. Don’t just be informative -- bend over backwards to make it as easy as possible for someone to buy from you.

4. Help people quickly find, visit, and call your business.
Start with your search campaign. Use location extensions to dynamically attach your business address and phone number to your search ads and location targeting to show ads to customers in a specific geographic area. Then, build a mobile site or app that, at minimum, helps shoppers easily find the nearest store, a “click-to-call” phone number, and your holiday hours. Stay ahead of the pack by including which stores are carrying specific products, and how to buy online if it’s not available nearby.

5. Keep your ads fresh.
There are few things that will turn a potential holiday customer away more than clicking on a display ad on a website they trust -- only to find that your advertised product is out of stock. Consider using Keyword Contextual Targeting, which lets you tailor your display ads based on inventory levels. For example, if you're out of a specific product, you can pause a keyword and turn it on when it’s back in stock.

6. Bring your print catalog to the tablet.
The print catalog has been an invaluable shopping tool for years. Bring yours to the next level by creating an interactive, tablet version of your catalog. Shoppers can tap to view products, create a collage, share ideas with friends, or visit your site to make a purchase. And with the new lightbox ad format, you can bring your online catalog to new users, who can then browse and buy right from within the ad. The best part is that you only pay when shoppers engage with the ad.


Be the winner.
Oftentimes, one ad or even five isn’t enough to convince someone to buy from you. Strive to close the deal at multiple points in every customer’s personal journey towards a purchase, both online and offline.

7. Appeal to bargain hunters.
Turn perpetual comparison shoppers to buyers by offering discounts, gift cards and coupons on smartphones and tablets. And make it easy for them to redeem these offers at your store.

8. Make the sale with in-store shoppers.
Make it easy for people to use your mobile site or app as a companion during their shopping trip. For example, you can offer QR codes that enable shoppers to scan out-of-stock products and purchase them from your site. Shoppers also love to use your mobile site or app to make shopping lists, view expanded product details, watch product videos or compare customer ratings.

We hope you found these tips helpful. Happy holidays -- and happy optimizing!

Posted by Erica Sievert, Product Marketing Manager, Google Display Network

* Holiday Consumer Intentions 2012

(Cross-posted on the Small Business Blog)

Please enjoy the second post in the series of tips and tricks for advertising within your industry. This week: Retail! Up next is Travel.

There are countless varieties of products, services, and companies within the Retail industry, but one thing unites us all: seasonality. Whether you’re selling school supplies, MP3 Players, or sports gear, you probably have a ‘hot season’ and some semblance of a ‘down season.’ I think our biggest trap as Retail advertisers is to only focus our efforts on the hot season; whereas Retail marketing should really happen year-round.

You have a lot of options and resources -- both free and paid -- available for marketing your business throughout the year. Below I’ve outlined a few of my favorite tools and tips.

• Figure out when your hot season actually starts. Many marketers assume they know when their hot season starts and ends or they base this year’s strategy on last year’s season. Use Insights for Search to better understand when customers begin to search for your products. If you look at search volume on ‘swimsuits,’ you’ll notice that queries actually begin to rise in January and maintain steady volume throughout July. Don’t fall into the trap of advertising swimsuits only in the summer!

•  Use different types of campaigns at different times. Once you fully understand your seasonality, think critically about the different types of advertising you’ll do throughout the year. For AdWords customers, for example, I recommend exploring the Remarketing Tool to keep track of customers who may have visited your site during the down season. When hot season strikes again, you’ll be able to reach these customers when they are more actively pursuing your products. Remarketing is also a great way for AdWords customers with multiple seasons to reach people throughout the year. For example, if you sell flowers, you can set up a cookie to target people who purchased flowers from you on Valentine's Day, and then begin showing them ads for your Mother's Day specials in April.

• Through it all, continue to optimize your account structure. Once you’ve established the initial structure of your account, be sure to track performance and optimize your keyword lists and ad texts, particularly during down seasons. I recommend using the ‘Search terms’ report on your broad match keywords or the Opportunities Tab to identify new keyword ideas as well as negative keywords. For your ad text, look at which ads converted best in the previous hot season, and see if any consistent themes jump out. You may notice that mentioning ‘Save 20% on Gifts’ worked better than ‘Save Big on Gifts’ and you can edit your text accordingly for the next hot season.

• Take advantage of free offerings, particularly during the down season. For Retailers with physical locations, it’s imperative that you create a listing on Google Places. Particularly as consumers increasingly search while they are on the go, it’s important that people know when they are near your physical location!

Think of how much more time you have when you’re in the down season -- and use this time to optimize and grow your business in advance of the hot season. Our customers’ interests and behaviors change each year and yes, it can be difficult to keep up. Lucky for us, we have plenty of options to reach our customers at different phases of the conversion cycle and many tools to better understand our customers. Best of luck in 2011!


Posted by Tim Freeth, Team Lead, AdWords Retail