Google makes online shopping easier in 2020. If you have not already noticed, Google has become more than your go-to source for information. If you really dive into the features Google offers in 2020, you may have noticed that your customers are doing more than just searching for information about your business on Google, now people are directly shopping online from the search results in 2020 due to the tech giants latest new update.

This new feature favors Google’s web page stickiness tremendously as people won’t ever have to navigate away from the web page. All the information people potentially need about a particular product is delivered neatly below each other, including thumbnails and detailed product comparisons relevant to your search.

You’re probably thinking… how do I get on Google Shopping if that’s where my prospective customers are spending most of their time. In this article, I break down need-to-know-basics about Google Shopping and identify eight key steps you need to take to get your products to display in the search results that surfaces in Google Shopping.

What is Google Shopping?

Originally known as Froogle, Google Shopping was released in 2002 and acts as a service comparison shopping engine that allows people to shop for products from different e-commerce retailers across the world.

What is expected in this new update?

According to Techcrunch, previously if you did a web search in Google’s shopping section for something like ‘laptop deals in South Africa’, the result would be a set of links to various products and stores. The text included in the link would be the only factor that influenced you to actually click on the link.

Whereas now, if you search for ‘laptop deals in South Africa’ in Google’s shopping browser, the results surfaced are far more visual and descriptive – with the added benefit of being able to tailor the results according to price, style, department, brand and your preferred South African online retailer.

Has Google’s new update made shopping easier from the search tab?

Yes. You can now look forward to an uninterrupted shopping experience because your attention won’t be shaken by pop notifications or display ads. The only time you will be redirected away from the site is if you click the button labeled ‘visit site’ or any other link included on the page.

When can you expect this change?

It has been less than two weeks since this update occurred. This new feature rolled out on 15 January 2020.

How do use Google Shopping on your mobile phone?

If you’re able to use the internet without having to ask questions like ‘How do I add to this to my cart’, this should be a walk in the park. I’ll guide you through the need-to-know basics of shopping on Google.

  1. Identify what items you need and set a budget to ensure you don’t go overboard


2. Make sure you have a smartphone that is connected to a nearby WIFI router or ensure that your device has enough data to shop for a few minutes on Google Shopping.


3. On your mobile device open up Google’s app or web browser.

If you don’t have the app, you can download it here:

4. For this exercise, I’m going to Google search  ‘laptop deals, South Africa’, pay careful attention as I scroll to click on the tab labeled ‘shopping’.

5. Once you have searched for the product you are looking for in the search bar, a visual list of items from different e-commerce stores will pop-up directly underneath. You are able to do price comparisons easier as each result displays the store’s name, the price of the product and for some products, a comparison has already been pulled for you. Look for the link that reads “Compare prices from 5+ shops.”


How can you get onto Google shopping?

To be a participating merchant you would need to check Google’s policy guidelines to identify if your products are able to surface in Google Search, once you have identified that your products are eligible to be listed, Hubspot details these eight steps you need to take to get your products listed onto Google Shopping:

  1. Set up a Google Merchant Center Account
  2. Optimise your product imagery
  3. Collect and input your product feed data
  4. Link your Google AdWords account
  5. Create a Google Shopping campaign
  6. Place bids on your Shopping
  7. Target and schedule your Shopping campaign
  8. Build ad groups