A Fully Integrated Shopping Experience on Google Images

Google has been on an integration spree of their existing properties to reach users at different stages in the funnel. This last March, the search giant deepened the integration of Shopping ads into its Google Images platform, as their research shows that 50 percent of shoppers browse images to find ideas and inspiration before making a purchase online.

What has changed
Advertisers previously had to opt in to the Search Partner Network to serve ads on Google Images. Now, Shopping campaigns will automatically be eligible to serve on both the Search and Image results pages.
 
For campaigns not currently opted in to Search Partner Network, Google is estimating a 3-10% increase in traffic at a lower cost-per-click (CPC) and similar conversion rates as ads will now start showing on Google Images.

What else is new
Some advertisers have already started taking advantage of Showcase Shopping ads. This allows brands to appear for more broad searches, reaching users as they’re making purchase decisions. With this new integration, Showcase Shopping ads will also serve on Google Images.

What is happening next
As Google reaches consumers at different points in their journey, they are also making the search experience more interactive with shoppable ads on Google Images. This feature is still in its early stages, but when it gets fully rolled out, advertisers will be able to highlight different products for sale within sponsored ads on Google Images.
 
For the shopper, while browsing on Google Images, they will hover over an ad to see more product information such as brand and price.

What this means for marketers
With brands competing across more digital properties and more stages of the customer journey, advertisers will need a broader strategy to stay competitive. Google anticipates that it will roll out even more changes and open features to advertisers in the second half of 2019, which means that there are only a couple months to get ahead of these opportunities.
 
If you’re interested in learning how to integrate these new changes into your strategy, contact Rise.