How to use Google Shopping for your Shopware 6 store

Did you know that you can combine Shopware and Google Shopping to generate even more sales? You can also increase your reach by running Google Shopping Ads! In this article you will learn how to use Google Shopping if you already have a Shopware 6 store. In general, we tell you everything you need to know to get started with Google's online shopping platform in our Shopware Google Shopping Guide.

Reading time 7 min

1. What is Google Shopping?
2. Integrating Google Shopping in Shopware 6
3. Requirements for the integration of Google Shopping in Shopware
4. Step-by-step instructions
5. Is a Shopware plugin needed for Google Shopping?
6. The costs of Google Shopping
7. The advantages of Google Shopping
8. Success measurement
9. Different strategies for Google Shopping Ads
10. Free product listings in the Google Shopping tab
11. What is important for the Google Shopping Feed?
12. Our conclusion
13. FAQ around Google Shopping
    1. What is a Google Shopping campaign anyway?
    2. Where do Google Shopping ads appear?
    3. Where can I find the Google Merchant Center?

What is Google Shopping?

You've probably come across Google Shopping before if you've used the Google search engine. When you search for products, products and details such as prices are usually displayed directly in the search results. In principle, these search results already look like a small section of an online store. However, these are all products that are available in other online stores. This is because Google does not have its own online store. Rather, Google Shopping can be used by store owners to advertise their products directly in the search engine. This is possible via the so-called "Google AdWords" system in combination with the Google Merchant Center. So you can simply submit your data to Google and book an ad for the products to be displayed directly in the product boxes on Google.

Integrate Google Shopping in Shopware 6

With just a few clicks you can link Google Shopping directly to your Shopware store. To do this, you must meet two requirements and can then create the link step by step. How you can do this, you will learn in the next sections.

The requirements for the integration of Google Shopping in Shopware

To use Google Shopping in combination with your Shopware store, you need a Google AdWords and a Google Merchant account. With the Google Merchant Center you can manage your products and make all settings. The Google AdWords account is necessary for the financing of your Google Shopping Ads.

You can create your Google Ad account here: Your Google Ad account. There you can then control and create all Google Shopping campaigns. This also applies to search, display and other campaign types. You can create your Google Merchant Center account here: Your Google Merchant Center account. In the center you can manage all data about your products. From here, the data is simply transferred to your Google Ads account. For this you have to connect both accounts. In the Google Merchant Center, you will find a small gear in your account, under which you have to click on "Linked accounts". Then select "Link account" and enter your Google Ads account number. This number has ten digits and is located in the header of your account. In your Ads account you only have to confirm the request via Tools and Settings - Linked Accounts - Google Merchant Center and then both accounts are linked.

Step-by-step instructions: Google Shopping with Shopware 6

Now it's about how you can bring the products from your Shopware Shop into the Google Merchant Center, so that you can then create Google Shopping campaigns. To do this, you need to go to your Shopware store and then work through the steps below:

 

1. administration in Shopware 6:

For the first step of the Google Shopping setup you have to call the administration in your store and create dynamic product groups there. You create these dynamic product groups with attributes that are important for you. For example, you should only use active products for Google Shopping. You can find the products under "Catalogs - Dynamic product groups".

2. create a sales channel:

Now you have to create a new sales channel with the option "Product comparison". Then select a suitable template. Here you should find the template "Google Shopping (XML)", which is of course best suited for this. This way, all relevant settings for the use of Google Shopping can be made directly.

3. make further settings:

Now you can select some more details. For example, which link should be used by Google Shopping. For this, the link to your main store probably comes into question.

4. activate the sales channel:

Once you have made all the settings and filled in the open fields, you can activate your new sales channel.

5. call Google Merchant Center:

Now you have to link your Google accounts with your Shopware store. Since you have already linked your AdWords account and your Merchant Center account, you now have to create the Google Shopping feed. You can do this in the Google Merchant Center under "Articles" and then "Feeds". Here you enter a name for the feed and also select "Scheduled retrieval". You also need to specify a name for the export, add the time zone and specify the file URL. You can find the file URL in Shopware (via the export to file name or to the lightning icon).

6. open the uploaded feed:

In the next step, open the "Feed" item one more time and open the uploaded feed there. Click on the icon with the three dots and click on the button "Retrieve now" via "Option" to process and retrieve your uploaded file. Now you can see if everything worked as you imagined when you call up the feed again and see if any errors occurred.

 

If you already have a Google account and would like to see the step-by-step instructions explained again, you can use this video to learn how to integrate Google Shopping into your Shopware 6 store. You can also create a Google Ads account later directly from Shopware.

 

 

Is a Shopware plugin needed for Google Shopping?

A plugin is not absolutely necessary for Google Shopping. You can see from the step-by-step instructions how to use Google Shopping for your Shopware 6 store. However, you can find some plugins in the Shopware Store, Shopware's official online store for extensions, that might make your life easier. Of course, this always depends on how your starting position is, whether you find your way around, look for external support or want to try it with the help of a plugin.

In the Shopware Store, for example, you can find plugins that make it easier for you to set up and better maintain the item data especially for Google Shopping. A plugin is not absolutely necessary for your success with Google Shopping.

The costs of Google Shopping

If you want to use Google Shopping effectively, this is not possible without monetary investment. You create campaigns and only the ads with the highest bids will be displayed in the Google search results. So we can't give a general definition of how high the costs are. It depends on your industry and your product. But in the end, you decide for yourself how much an ad is worth to you, so you don't have to pay unexpectedly much. Since you can set your budget or your financial pain limit per day at Google. If this limit is reached for your ads on one day, your campaign will simply be switched off for the rest of the day.

The advantages of Google Shopping

If you are not yet convinced of Google Shopping, then our compilation of the advantages of the Google Shopping platform will certainly help you. The Google Shopping Ads are now simply a very good tool for all online store owners and online marketers to achieve more sales and reach. How you can benefit from Google Shopping Ads in detail, you will learn in the next sections:

 

1. increase of Reach

Google Shopping is a promising way to increase the reach of your products and to show them to people who don't know your online store yet. In addition, Google also selects other keywords that are synonymous or related in a campaign. So you don't have to optimize your campaigns for every single keyword.

2. image ads are well received

Another advantage is that image ads on Google are well received by searchers. They click on an ad especially when they really have an intention to buy. Text ads do not always imply that a customer also intends to make a purchase, because he might just want to find out more. In addition, he does not know what the product looks like before he clicks. In the worst case, they don't like what they see and click away again.

3. directly on the first page

If your ad is the highest bid and your campaign is aired conclusively, then your products are directly represented on the first page of the search results. What you would otherwise do with expensive SEO (which you should not do without), you can "buy" to a certain extent. Of course, you must always remember that this is a short-term investment. If you always want to be on the first page, you have to invest more money or rely on organic SEO. However, Google Shopping Ads are of course a great boost!

4. you can easily combine Google Shopping with Shopware

As you just read, you can easily integrate Google Shopping if you already have a Shopware online store. This way you can draw even more attention to your online store without much effort. And if you need help integrating Google Shopping with Shopware 6, we'll be happy to help you as experts!

5. easy handling

In addition, another advantage is that creating campaigns for image ads takes hardly any effort. Unlike text ads on Google, you don't even have to pick out keywords. Google takes care of this for you! Based on your product data feed, Google considers which terms are relevant for your ad.

 

Of course, there are always a few disadvantages that you have to evaluate for yourself. In our opinion, these are comparatively small. At least, the disadvantages should not stop you from trying Google Shopping Ads. This is the best way to find out if this type of marketing is worthwhile for you. Google Shopping Ads can have the following disadvantages:

• With Google Shopping, you have competition, of course. Depending on the product and niche, the competition can be high.
• If you are in a market where there are many competitors, your Google Shopping Ads will also be more expensive.
• The fact that you can't choose your own keywords can also be a disadvantage.
• Changes in the Google algorithm can have an impact on your ads, which you have to react to.

Measuring the success of your Google Shopping ads

Once you have created your first Google Shopping ads, the next step is to find out if they were successful. This way you can check what went well and what didn't achieve the results you wanted. To determine the success of your Google Shopping ads, you can use Google's tools, which are completely free.

 

Overview of important Google tools for measuring your success:

 

• A normal Google Account
• Google Search Console
• Google Tag Manager
• Google Analytics
• Conversion Tracking for Google Ads

 

 

For all tracking methods of Google you also need a normal Google account for your company. You should already have this account if you use Google Shopping with your Shopware 6 store. You can then also set up the Google Search Console for your webshop. With it, you can monitor your store well and discover potential for improvement. For example, check if Google has indexed all important pages of your store by using the Search Console. You can also find out the rankings in Google, identify technical problems, manage sitemaps and see how your site is performing in terms of loading times, etc. If you want to find out more details about the transactions in your online store, you need Google Tag Manager, Enhanced E-Commerce Tracking and Google Analytics. What this is all about, we have already covered in more detail in another post. Just read the chapter "Enhanced E-Commerce Tracking with Google Analytics" in our article "Google Analytics 4: Why it's worth switching to GA4".

Conversion tracking for Google Ads lets you find out all the details about your ads. To set up your conversion tracking, you need to set a goal that is important to you for your ads. Among other things, this can be to achieve a certain number of sales or signups. Google will then generate a tracking code that you can easily embed on your website to track user behavior after they click on your ad. When the desired action is achieved, this is recorded in Google Ads. This way, you can easily monitor the performance of your ads.

Different strategies for Google Shopping Ads

You can also roll out your ads with Google Shopping according to different bidding strategies. Google offers you automated bidding strategies that you can easily implement. You have the choice between the bidding strategy "Cost-Per-Acquisition" (CPA) and the "return on ad spend" (ROAS). With the CPA bidding strategy, bids are adjusted at ad group level. The aim is to achieve as many conversions as possible at a cost per conversion that you define. Historical data is used and user behavior on your website is also analyzed. This way, the ad can be optimized again and again and achieve the best possible result. Nevertheless, you have to make adjustments yourself in between and set realistic CPA targets. The automated strategy ROAS is based on the maximum outcome of your ad spend. Here, the maximum revenue is to be achieved. The bidding strategy also uses historical data, but also real-time information.

Free product listings in the Google Shopping tab

Another way to generate more reach with your products is the so-called Google Shopping Tab. If users search for a product in the Google search engine, they can switch directly to the Google Shopping Tab to find only products. Here you also have the option to filter directly by characteristics. You can also present your products to Google users there, and it's completely free! All you need is your Google Merchant Center account and the option to sign up for free product listings. For this you also have to synchronize your product feed once.

 

The advantages you have with the Google Shopping tab:

• Free marketing and branding
• Higher reach
• Potential customers discover your online store
• Possibility to generate more sales when traffic increases
• The Google Merchant Center can accurately track the clicks generated by the free product listings

 

By the way, there is also a Shopware integration for Shopping Ads with Google. So you can link your Google Merchant account directly with Shopware and transfer all your products from Shopware to Google.

What is important for the Google Shopping Feed?

If you want to be successful with your products on the Google Shopping platform, then you should consider a few aspects during the implementation. So you should definitely optimize that:

 

• your product images are high-quality and appealing. It's best to post images from different angles so that users can thoroughly examine the product.
• all information about the product is included. This includes the title, description, brand, availability, price, color and so on.
• the categories are set correctly. You have to sort your products into the Google Product Taxonomy categories.
• you specify a unique Product ID.
• you specify the regions where the product can be purchased.
• there is a sales channel through which you sell the products.
• you specify the data update, so that the data is always transferred correctly if there are changes.

 

Our conclusion

Overall, the connection of the Shopware store to Google Shopping is a great way for all store owners to reach more customers. If you know how to do it, it's also not hard at all to create a product feed for Google. Creating ads for Google is relatively easy and with an automated bidding strategy, all you really have to do is check performance and make small changes. There is a charge for the success of the ads, but it can be regulated via a daily budget. All in all, we are sure that it is worth it for you to give Google Shopping a chance! We are happy to help you with the setup if you have any questions. Our support and monitoring packages are also available to help you with words and deeds to make your online store even better!