Tag Archives: shopping

Introducing the new Merchant Center Status Dashboard

At Google, we strive to provide the highest level of service possible to our users. Still, from time to time, unexpected service disruptions do occur. When your team experiences an outage or other technical challenge, one of the first evaluations they need to make is whether the issue is with a third-party service provider or in-house. As part of our commitment to transparency and speed when communicating the status of our products, and incidents when they happen to occur, we’re pleased to roll out the Merchant Center Status Dashboard.

Check the status of a service
A look at the Merchant Center Status Dashboard

If a major incident is identified, we will generally post an outage notice on the Dashboard and provide updates when the issue is resolved. If the dot is green, it means there are no issues. The Merchant Center Status Dashboard provides status information on the Content API for Shopping, Merchant Center, and Feeds.

You can check the dashboard to view the current status of any of those services. All incidents are first verified by our support engineers, so there may be a slight delay from the time they actually occurred. More information can be found on the Merchant Center Help Center.

Subscribe to the Status Dashboard RSS or JSON feeds
To get the fastest outage alerts, we recommend subscribing to the Status Dashboard RSS feed:
  1. Go to the Status Dashboard.
  2. At the bottom, click RSS Feed and copy the feed URL.
  3. In your RSS reader, paste the URL to add the Status Dashboard feed.
  4. If you want programmatic access to the Status Dashboard, for example to integrate it into your monitoring system, at the bottom, click JSON History.
Learn more
More information about the Status dashboard can be found on the Merchant Center Help Center.

To investigate the most common errors regarding the Content API for Shopping, check this page on our Developers site. For other errors or for general Content API support, visit the forum.
Ian Ballantyne, Content API for Shopping Team

Smart Shopping and Local Campaigns upgrading to Performance Max

Starting July 2022, existing and future Smart Shopping campaigns (SSC) will begin automatic upgrades to Performance Max campaigns. Local campaigns (LC) will begin automatic upgrades starting August 2022. If you manage and/or report on SSC and/or LC, you should implement Performance Max campaign features as early as possible in order to avoid loss of functionality. Closer to July, we will provide more details and precise timing.

We recommend you begin to build integrations now to ensure adequate preparation for migration.

New retail and local campaigns

Performance Max has been available in the Google Ads API since v9. We recommend you use Performance Max today for any new campaigns with online, offline or omnichannel sales goals.

SSC can be created without conversion tracking. While Performance Max campaigns, including retail, do not require conversion tracking, it is highly recommended.

Ways to upgrade

Here are the ways you will be able to upgrade existing campaigns to Performance Max:
  • [Recommended] Self-upgrade through API recommendations. In an upcoming Google Ads API release later this year, a new recommendation type will be available for per-campaign or bulk upgrades. You can use this to control the sequence of campaign upgrades or apply all recommendations at one time. There will be equivalent upgrade options available in the Google Ads UI. Self- and auto-upgraded campaigns will carry forward some learnings from the legacy campaign to help ensure continuity.
  • Auto-upgrade. Starting July 2022, SSC will be auto-upgraded to Performance Max on a rolling basis. Starting August 2022, LC will be auto-upgraded on a rolling basis.
  • Create a new Performance Max campaign through the API. This would involve creating a new Performance Max campaign with the same attributes and properties as an existing SSC or LC. Should you choose to create a new Performance Max campaign, the new campaign may not utilize the learnings of the existing SSC or LC to the same extent.

Upgrade impact on existing campaigns

An upgraded campaign, whether by self-upgrade or auto-upgrade, will:
  • Preserve budgets, assets, and settings of the existing SSC and LC
  • Mark the legacy campaign as REMOVED status (metrics will continue to be available in the legacy campaign for historical purposes)
  • Contain a mapping from the previous campaign ID to the new campaign ID
Upgraded campaigns will function like your previous campaigns and use existing assets to run on additional inventory that drives your conversion goals. We recommend adding additional assets to get the most value out of Performance Max.

Timeline


Date Event
Now Start implementing Performance Max in your application. When possible, start new campaigns with Performance Max instead of SSC or LC.
April 27, 2022 Sunset of AdWords API
April 2022 Self-upgrade period begins in the UI
April / May 2022 Self-upgrade period begins with the API's new recommendation type
July 2022 Start of SSC auto-upgrade
August 2022 Start of LC auto-upgrade
September 30, 2022 Completion of most SSC and LC auto-upgrades


Guidance for AdWords API developers

The AdWords API will sunset on April 27, 2022. Developers using SSC via the AdWords API should migrate to the Google Ads API using SSC as early as possible. The self-migration by the Google Ads API will only be available after the sunset of the AdWords API.

Additional information



For additional information, see the Google blog post about this upgrade.
If you have any questions or need additional help, contact us via the forum.
, Google Ads API Team

Shared budget for Smart Shopping Campaigns

Starting February 15, 2022, all existing and future Smart Shopping Campaigns (SSC) will use a shared budget type. Although shared, the assigned budget will only be used by the SSC and will behave like a standard, non-shared campaign budget. New campaigns cannot be added to the shared budget. This change will not have any impact on campaign performance. In reports and queries, existing and future SSC budgets will be returned as explicitly_shared = true (isExplicitlyShared in AdWords API).

Note: the AdWords API will sunset on April 27, 2022. Developers must migrate to the Google Ads API before then.

If you have any questions or need additional help, contact us via the forum.
, Google Ads API Team

PrestaShop merchants can now display their products on Google

As the end-of-year holiday season is in full swing, our aim at Google is to help shoppers browse for inspiration, discover new products and ultimately find what they’re looking for. This is why we are building an open ecosystem that connects merchants and customers around the world.

To help merchants reach more customers online, we welcome PrestaShop merchants globally to more easily integrate their product inventory across Google. Starting today, “PrestaShop Marketing with Google,” a new add-on to the PrestaShop Essentials suite, is available in France and in countries where Shopping campaigns are available, allowing 300,000 PrestaShop merchants to feature their products across Google in just a few clicks. This collaboration with PrestaShop will enable their merchants to become discoverable by millions of people across Search, the Shopping tab, Image Search and YouTube.

This is the first partnership of this scale with a French and European e-commerce platform. We hope that this collaboration will give shoppers more choice online, and help merchants meet their customers more easily during the end of the year holiday season and beyond.

PrestaShop merchants can now display their products on Google

As the end-of-year holiday season is in full swing, our aim at Google is to help shoppers browse for inspiration, discover new products and ultimately find what they’re looking for. This is why we are building an open ecosystem that connects merchants and customers around the world.

To help merchants reach more customers online, we welcome PrestaShop merchants globally to more easily integrate their product inventory across Google. Starting today, “PrestaShop Marketing with Google,” a new add-on to the PrestaShop Essentials suite, is available in France and in countries where Shopping campaigns are available, allowing 300,000 PrestaShop merchants to feature their products across Google in just a few clicks. This collaboration with PrestaShop will enable their merchants to become discoverable by millions of people across Search, the Shopping tab, Image Search and YouTube.

This is the first partnership of this scale with a French and European e-commerce platform. We hope that this collaboration will give shoppers more choice online, and help merchants meet their customers more easily during the end of the year holiday season and beyond.

Power your holiday strategy with helpful insights

This year’s holiday shopping season is shaping up to be one of the biggest yet. In fact, 53% of consumers plan to shop online more this year compared to last year.[1b9db3]To help you prepare, check out the Google Shopping Holiday 100, featuring our predictions for the most popular categories and products in the U.S. this holiday season.

The Holiday 100 is a great way to help you understand what people are shopping for. The Insights page in Google Ads was designed to keep businesses up to date on similar trends and insights, which is especially useful during the holiday season. In the coming weeks, you’ll see four new features roll out on the Insights page globally to help you drive results this holiday season and beyond.

Demand forecasts (beta): Previously, the Insights page focused on historical performance — trends that explained why your ads performed the way they did. Now, you’ll see more forward-looking trends with demand forecasts (beta). By combining machine learning technology with past seasonal search trends, these forecasts predict emerging search interest over the next six months. These insights are personalized to your business, meaning that you’ll see trends based on the categories where you advertise.

For example, let’s say you’re a beauty retailer. You might see a prediction that search interest in "perfumes & fragrances” will start to trend in the middle of November with an increase of 27%. Interest then peaks to 93% on Black Friday and tapers off in the following weeks. To help you understand this forecast, you’ll see trendlines for predicted search interest, actual search interest, and your clicks (the amount of traffic you’ve already received from this trend).

On the right side of the page, you can view trend details to see the specific searches that are predicted to increase — like “clean perfume” or “sandalwood.” These insights help you better prepare your budgeting, marketing and merchandising plans to meet the rise in consumer demand.

A desktop screen showing increasing interest for "perfumes & fragrances" on a line graph
Our clients find strategic value in demand forecasts, especially as we approach Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Some of our clients are even using this data to help inform inventory and product development. Aaron Levy
Head of Paid Search, Tinuiti

Consumer interest insights (beta): Are you interested in learning how people search for your business? Consumer interest insights (beta) aggregate and anonymize the top-performing search query themes that drive performance in your campaigns. You’ll see the number of people who searched for each theme, its growth, and how it performed in your account.

As that beauty retailer, you might see that the top themes in the “perfumes'' category are “affordable” and “floral,” and that your overall impressions for the theme increased by 12%. These themes can be found in the search themes section of the page, and can help you update your marketing and product feed copy to include similar words and phrases.

A desktop screen showing a "consumer spotlight" page for a beauty retailer

Audience insights (beta): With audience insights (beta), you can understand more about the interests and affinities of your customers, including what creative resonates the most with them. As the beauty retailer, for example, you might discover that people interested in beauty products prefer the headline “10 must-buy winter fragrances” — and that the audience took part in 57% of the conversions in your campaign.

A desktop screen showing a page titled "understand who is engaging with your campaign," with different boxes for audience insights

Change history insights and auction insights (beta): Now, you can find both change history insights and auction insights throughout the Insights page. This can help you understand how shifts in auction competition or changes you made in your account impacted performance.

Many businesses are already using the Insights page to drive growth. Etsy saw an increase in searches for “Sweatshirts & Hoodies” on the Insights page and used that information to help inform their website merchandising, content strategy and ad copy. This contributed to a 49% lift in sales for Google Search and Shopping campaigns in that sub-category.

These updates will launch in the coming weeks at both the campaign and account level. In the meantime, visit the Insights page on Google Ads to check out the latest trends for your business.

Power your holiday strategy with helpful insights

This year’s holiday shopping season is shaping up to be one of the biggest yet. In fact, 53% of consumers plan to shop online more this year compared to last year.[1b9db3]To help you prepare, check out the Google Shopping Holiday 100, featuring our predictions for the most popular categories and products in the U.S. this holiday season.

The Holiday 100 is a great way to help you understand what people are shopping for. The Insights page in Google Ads was designed to keep businesses up to date on similar trends and insights, which is especially useful during the holiday season. In the coming weeks, you’ll see four new features roll out on the Insights page globally to help you drive results this holiday season and beyond.

Demand forecasts (beta): Previously, the Insights page focused on historical performance — trends that explained why your ads performed the way they did. Now, you’ll see more forward-looking trends with demand forecasts (beta). By combining machine learning technology with past seasonal search trends, these forecasts predict emerging search interest over the next six months. These insights are personalized to your business, meaning that you’ll see trends based on the categories where you advertise.

For example, let’s say you’re a beauty retailer. You might see a prediction that search interest in "perfumes & fragrances” will start to trend in the middle of November with an increase of 27%. Interest then peaks to 93% on Black Friday and tapers off in the following weeks. To help you understand this forecast, you’ll see trendlines for predicted search interest, actual search interest, and your clicks (the amount of traffic you’ve already received from this trend).

On the right side of the page, you can view trend details to see the specific searches that are predicted to increase — like “clean perfume” or “sandalwood.” These insights help you better prepare your budgeting, marketing and merchandising plans to meet the rise in consumer demand.

A desktop screen showing increasing interest for "perfumes & fragrances" on a line graph
Our clients find strategic value in demand forecasts, especially as we approach Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Some of our clients are even using this data to help inform inventory and product development. Aaron Levy
Head of Paid Search, Tinuiti

Consumer interest insights (beta): Are you interested in learning how people search for your business? Consumer interest insights (beta) aggregate and anonymize the top-performing search query themes that drive performance in your campaigns. You’ll see the number of people who searched for each theme, its growth, and how it performed in your account.

As that beauty retailer, you might see that the top themes in the “perfumes'' category are “affordable” and “floral,” and that your overall impressions for the theme increased by 12%. These themes can be found in the search themes section of the page, and can help you update your marketing and product feed copy to include similar words and phrases.

A desktop screen showing a "consumer spotlight" page for a beauty retailer

Audience insights (beta): With audience insights (beta), you can understand more about the interests and affinities of your customers, including what creative resonates the most with them. As the beauty retailer, for example, you might discover that people interested in beauty products prefer the headline “10 must-buy winter fragrances” — and that the audience took part in 57% of the conversions in your campaign.

A desktop screen showing a page titled "understand who is engaging with your campaign," with different boxes for audience insights

Change history insights and auction insights (beta): Now, you can find both change history insights and auction insights throughout the Insights page. This can help you understand how shifts in auction competition or changes you made in your account impacted performance.

Many businesses are already using the Insights page to drive growth. Etsy saw an increase in searches for “Sweatshirts & Hoodies” on the Insights page and used that information to help inform their website merchandising, content strategy and ad copy. This contributed to a 49% lift in sales for Google Search and Shopping campaigns in that sub-category.

These updates will launch in the coming weeks at both the campaign and account level. In the meantime, visit the Insights page on Google Ads to check out the latest trends for your business.

That’s a wrap: Tips on keeping holiday gifts organized

Because I have an enormous family and am the type of person who squirrels away random gifts over the course of the year, holiday gift giving can get disorganized to say the least. Last year, I decided to stop simply trying to write down my list and keep track of gift shopping and delivering by hand. In lieu of these mental gymnastics, I added some structure to the whole endeavor. And now, ahead of the holiday shopping season, I’m sharing my system with you.

Start the hunt with Google Shopping

Whenever I get an idea for a gift, I’ll head to Google Shopping and search for an item, select the product page and check typical prices across the web to see if I should grab it now or wait. If the price is high or I’m not quite ready to make a decision, I turn on “Track price” so I’ll get a notification if it drops.

Animated gif showing how price comparison works on Google Shopping.

But there are also folks on my list who I don’t know as well…and there are a few White Elephant gifts I’ll need, too. For these purposes, I keep an eye on the deals feed on the Shopping tab. I also take note of the price badges on product cards — they’ll tell you things like “$5 off” or “25% off,” which can be helpful so I know if the deal I’m getting is actually a good one or just a small price drop.

Animated GIF showing the deals feed on Google Shopping.

Stay organized in Gmail and Sheets

Once I decide on a gift, it goes in my “gift tracker” that I use Google Sheets to make. I keep track of what I bought and whether I’ve wrapped and delivered it or not. (Go ahead and make a copy of my template and create your own if you want.)

Screenshot of a Google Sheets document titled “Gift tracker” with a list of names and different gift ideas and checkboxes for “bought,” “wrapped,” and “sent/delivered” labels across the sheet.

And when the actual purchase confirmation or receipt hits my inbox, I add it to a label I’ve made for gifts. All these emails are nested under a designated folder so they aren’t mixed in with the rest of my emails. Plus, that way, if I missed the mark with a present, it’s easy to find the gift receipt…hey, it happens to all of us.

That’s a wrap: Tips on keeping holiday gifts organized

Because I have an enormous family and am the type of person who squirrels away random gifts over the course of the year, holiday gift giving can get disorganized to say the least. Last year, I decided to stop simply trying to write down my list and keep track of gift shopping and delivering by hand. In lieu of these mental gymnastics, I added some structure to the whole endeavor. And now, ahead of the holiday shopping season, I’m sharing my system with you.

Start the hunt with Google Shopping

Whenever I get an idea for a gift, I’ll head to Google Shopping and search for an item, select the product page and check typical prices across the web to see if I should grab it now or wait. If the price is high or I’m not quite ready to make a decision, I turn on “Track price” so I’ll get a notification if it drops.

Animated gif showing how price comparison works on Google Shopping.

But there are also folks on my list who I don’t know as well…and there are a few White Elephant gifts I’ll need, too. For these purposes, I keep an eye on the deals feed on the Shopping tab. I also take note of the price badges on product cards — they’ll tell you things like “$5 off” or “25% off,” which can be helpful so I know if the deal I’m getting is actually a good one or just a small price drop.

Animated GIF showing the deals feed on Google Shopping.

Stay organized in Gmail and Sheets

Once I decide on a gift, it goes in my “gift tracker” that I use Google Sheets to make. I keep track of what I bought and whether I’ve wrapped and delivered it or not. (Go ahead and make a copy of my template and create your own if you want.)

Screenshot of a Google Sheets document titled “Gift tracker” with a list of names and different gift ideas and checkboxes for “bought,” “wrapped,” and “sent/delivered” labels across the sheet.

And when the actual purchase confirmation or receipt hits my inbox, I add it to a label I’ve made for gifts. All these emails are nested under a designated folder so they aren’t mixed in with the rest of my emails. Plus, that way, if I missed the mark with a present, it’s easy to find the gift receipt…hey, it happens to all of us.

Shop what’s trending this holiday season

It’s that festive time of year when we start planning holiday gatherings, swap out our iced lattes for hot cocoa, and once again, try to find the perfect gifts for our loved ones.

To help you zip through your holiday shopping this year, we’re sharing the Google Shopping Holiday 100 — a list of what we predict will be the 100 most popular categories and products in the U.S. for the holiday season, according to Google searches.

This year’s Holiday 100 reflects the realities many of us are still living in. Home equipment like coffee makers and fitness gear continue to make the list. But we’re also seeing more items that suggest people are getting out more, like fragrances and beauty products.

Spanning ages and interests, the 2021 trending categories include tech, gaming, kitchen gear, sports and fitness, health and beauty, fragrances, and toys and games. Let’s explore a few of them.

The year of the fragrance

Looking for a new fragrance to add to your collection? You’re not alone. This year, perfumes and colognes are trending higher than in years past. It could be that we’re all after a new signature scent, or maybe we’re sending hints to those who have been in their (less than fresh) loungewear for too long. Ranking highest on the list includes Christian Dior Sauvage Eau De Toilette Spray, Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540, and Versace Men's Eros Eau de Toilette Travel Spray.

Brewing at home

While coffee makers are no stranger to the kitchen gear category, we saw an uptick in the number and types of at-home coffee makers on this year’s list. So no matter how your loved ones take their cup of joe, you’re sure to find something for them. The top coffee maker is the Breville Barista Express Espresso Machine, followed by the Keurig K-Mini Single Serve Coffee Maker.

Gaming goes big

Gaming has become an increasingly popular category over the years, and 2021 is no exception. At the top of the gaming consoles list is the Nintendo Switch OLED, and top trending games include NBA 2K22, FIFA 22 and Metroid Dread. And you won’t just find the latest and greatest gaming products. This year, we saw 80’s and 90’s nostalgia play out with high rankings for the Nintendo 64 (ranked #6 in gaming consoles) and the Game Boy (ranked #8 in gaming consoles).

This holiday season, Google Shopping is helping you find deals, track the price of a specific item, check a product’s availability and more. Whether you’re looking for your family, your best friend, or even yourself, we hope you find the perfect gift with Google.