If you’re like a lot of marketers using Google Shopping (myself included) you probably spend an inordinate amount of time glued to Google Ads.
Google Ads is where a lot of the magic happens in Google Shopping. With so much critical data right at your fingertips, you might not think to venture elsewhere when analyzing and adjusting your campaigns.
But Google Ads data tells an even better story when paired with insights from Google Analytics. Here are four to get you started:
Product Performance
Why it matters: Google Ads only displays conversions that result from clicks to paid ads on Google. But a product’s popularity may vary across different channels. These variations can and should inform your bidding decisions in Google Shopping.
Where to find it: The Product Performance tab under the Conversions tab in Google Analytics.
How to use it: Identify your top-performing products sitewide to see if they match up to your best performing products in your Shopping campaigns. It’s not always one-to-one, but you should be able to spot patterns. Increase Google Shopping bids for products that are popular sitewide, but haven’t gotten enough exposure on Shopping. These items could benefit from higher bids.
One caveat: If your top seller is a low-value accessory item that’s often purchased as an add-on to other, big ticket products—e.g., a $5 adapter for a range of televisions—it would make more sense to bid up those high-value goods on Shopping, instead.
Percentage of Site Traffic & Revenue from Shopping
Why it matters: To understand how much untapped potential remains in your Google Shopping campaign (or whether you’ve reached a point where additional budget will not efficiently increase sales), determine how much of your site’s revenue and traffic comes from Google Shopping.
Typically, an established e-commerce retailer using Google Shopping will find it accounts for approximately 15% of overall site revenues. You can see how your business stacks up in Google Analytics. If you’re well below the 15% threshold, there’s probably room to grow. If well you’re above it, there’s still work to do in the rest of your marketing channels to achieve a more balanced marketing mix.
Where to find it: The Source/Medium tab under All Traffic in Google Analytics.
How to use it: First, make sure you are also tracking conversions in Google Analytics. Then, consult Source/Medium to see how your channels perform relative to one another. You will also learn whether any upswings or downswings are local to one channel, or consistent across your site overall. This can give you an idea of where you should be investing.
For example, say Google Shopping revenues are up, while your overall site revenues are down. It might make sense to allocate more spend to those Shopping campaigns to make up the difference.
Multi-Channel Conversions
Why it matters: To confirm that you’re investing your ad dollars efficiently and in the right places, you’ll need a complete view of your site’s conversions, where they’re originating, and how the different channels where you have a presence interact. There are a few tabs in Google Ads that paint a complete picture of what’s working and how.
Where to find it: Under the Multi-Channel Tab in Conversions.
How to use it: First, check out your Top Conversion Paths (pictured) report in Google Analytics. This view will show you where each acquisition channel fits into the broader customer purchase journey. Next, take a gander at the Path Length tab, which shows you how many touches it takes to convert a single shopper. Finally, scope out the Assisted Conversions tab, which illustrates how each channel influences purchases on other ones.
For example, a shopper might first encounter a product on a direct visit to your site, while a later click on a Google Shopping ad seals the deal and leads to a conversion.
Site Diagnostics
Why it matters: No matter what channels you’re employing—Google Shopping, Facebook, or another avenue—to attract shoppers to your site, you want them to have a pleasant experience once they arrive. We’ve written before about the importance of crafting your product landing pages with a great user interface in mind. Google Analytics can assist in those efforts by providing data on aspects of your site not visible to the naked eye.
Where to find it: Most critical diagnostic information is contained under the Behavior tab in Google Analytics.
How to use it: Check up on your Site Speed (pictured) to determine if you’re turning away interested shoppers with a slow site. Also look at Bounce Rate for the landing pages of your most-visited products, as well as your most frequent Exit Pages. If shoppers are clicking your Shopping ads, but not converting at a rate that fits within your efficiency targets, Google Analytics can uncover whether this is due to a global issue that’s causing delays, and also spot the page or pages guilty of turning away shoppers most frequently.
As we make our way into the heart of the end-of-year holiday season, it’s an excellent time to head over to Google Analytics and conduct a quick check-up on the items covered above.
Besides, you could probably use a break from staring at Google Ads, anyway…
