Google Shopping’s generative AI transformation is a reality check for e-commerce marketers for the 2024 Christmas gifting season and beyond.
Google launched a transformed version of Google Shopping for U.S. consumers on October 15, 2024.
“The new Google Shopping experience uses AI to intelligently surface the most relevant products, making product searches faster and simpler,” said Google Vice President and General Manager of Consumer Shopping. Sean Scott said. blog post.
Small business leaders often cringe when Google changes their services. For example, phrases like “Showing the most relevant products” raise concerns. What kinds of T-shirts and down jackets are “relevant”?
shopping graph
The answer may lie in your shopping graph. According to Scott, Shopping Graphs powers the new Google Shopping. Gemini AI.
a knowledge graphA map that connects ideas and concepts (nodes) through relationships (edges), such as Google’s shopping graph.
The new Google Shopping now lets you identify down coats with zippers. Click on the image to enlarge.
in Articles for 2023Randy Rockinson, group product manager for shopping at Google, explained how the shopping graph connects concepts.
“Let’s say you’re looking for a down jacket,” Rockinson writes. “That seems simple enough. But what if you have something special in mind? Maybe you’d like a cropped, shiny, women’s red down coat with a fleece hood. I don’t know.”
In this example, Google’s Shopping Graph understands the relationship between a particular jacket on the Nordstrom website, for example, and the concept of red and shiny. You can return a list of products that match a specific request.
Google has been using Data Graphs since at least 2012, and officially announced Shopping Graphs at its 2021 I/O event. Therefore, retailers, direct-to-consumer sellers, and B2B marketers may be familiar with this concept.
list
Google’s Shopping Graph has approximately 45 billion product listings as of October 2024. These lists are obtained from several sources, including:
- Google Merchant Center (think product feed),
- Google Maker Center,
- Google Ads,
- e-commerce website,
- Product photography,
- manufacturer’s website,
- Product content, including PDFs,
- Content of blogs and articles,
- product reviews,
- social media,
- YouTube video,
- Product testing.
For many sellers, their connection to Google’s shopping graph begins with their e-commerce platform. Shopify, BigCommerce, and similar solutions streamline sending properly formatted product feeds to Merchant Center.
Nevertheless, many marketers are concerned when they learn that Google Shopping, through shopping graphs and AI, is trying to understand details like whether a down jacket is shiny or has a hood. I feel it.
Is your business optimized for these details?
Product content
Merchants who rely on Google Shopping should audit product details on that platform to ensure sufficient specifications and descriptions for Gemini to display personalized results.
Product feed? Getting listed on Google Shopping starts with a high-quality product feed. Make sure all required attributes such as product title, description, price, availability, and images are included and up to date. use high quality image. Google Shopping uses images for Google Lens (visual search tool) and virtual try-on services. Also, make sure your inventory levels are accurate.
Structured data markup? Make sure your e-commerce site uses: Structured data markup Provide Google with detailed information about your products. Structured data helps Google correctly list and categorize products in the shopping graph.
Optimize for visual shopping? Google’s Scott said in a post that the main goal of the new Google Shopping is to integrate Google Lens with virtual try-on.
Product review? We know that Google’s Shopping Graph gets at least some of its product data from reviews. Therefore, it’s a good idea to enable and encourage these reviews.
Product-centric content marketing? We also know that Google uses third-party blogs as well as YouTube videos. gift guidesimilar information to inform shopping graphs. Most stores focus only on essential feeds. But don’t stop there. Tutorials, instructions, examples, and more can give you a competitive advantage on Google Shopping.
what’s next
As generative AI becomes more prevalent, search engine optimization and content creation will remain at the core of e-commerce marketing. The new version of Google Shopping is the latest example.
Don’t be surprised if more changes are made.
