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<h3>Tips on how to select the products for Amazon</h3>
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amazon</a> is a marketplace with a very high sales potential, but how can you sell on it in a profitable way? The key to success is to choose the right products to display on the platform. Indeed, it is very likely that some of your items are not performing well on Amazon, while others sell like hotcakes. It is fundamental to carefully select the products you want to sell on Amazon. We’ve written a few tips on choosing which products to sell on Amazon:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**Easy to ship products**
By choosing to sell small and light products, you can lower the shipping costs in your ads. The shipping cost has a big impact on the purchase decision of the customer; the lower it is, the more likely you are to sell the product.</li>
 	<li>**Products with prices that are not too low**
Amazon charges a cost-per-sale fee (CPS), which means you pay a fee every time you sell a product. Therefore, advertising a cheaper e.g. €2.00 product is not very profitable. Try to sell only products that are worth selling, taking into account the commission.</li>
 	<li>**Specific and targeted products, containing relevant and complete information**
It is much easier to sell a product called "15-inch MacBook Black Cover" than "Laptop Cover". Why? Even if the second title matches with many keywords used in the Amazon queries, it will hardly ever correspond to what the user is really searching for. Always try to give a complete description of the product, by listing its model, its color, its size, and so on, so that users already have an entire overview of the item before clicking on it. Of course, this depends on your familiarity with the products you want to sell. If they're already being sold on Amazon, this could mean that the content has already been provided by another supplier</li>
 	<li>**Products that match customers' wishes**
In order to give you a little insight into what sells best, Amazon created a "bestsellers" corner on its website. In this feature, all the top-selling products are listed by category. If you can advertise these items at a lower price than other merchants, then you’ll be sealing the deals!</li>
</ul>
In order to only send products with the highest selling potential, you will need a good tool to filter between the products that are going to be sent to Amazon and those that aren’t. Channable’s <a href="/products/product-feed-management-tool">data feed management tool</a> could save you loads of time here. How?

The biggest challenge for selling on Amazon is to get your product information right in order to meet the requirements of Amazon. Channable’s smart rules enable you to very easily optimize your product information to meet Amazon standards, which is extensive. Examples of how to use the rules can be found below.
<h3>Attribute builder for completing mandatory information</h3>
It can take a whole day to modify your information to Amazon’s standards by yourself, especially when you're selling products in many different categories. That is why Channable developed an attribute builder for Amazon. This feature helps you to easily match your product information with the requirements of Amazon. Here is an example of a shop with many different categories in Channable:

![01_Amazon Profit_Image_01_EN.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/znz60SAR1Kjeo0xJQAlf)

Once you click on one of these categories, you will see the different mandatory attributes in red (see example below). In order to help you, Channable provides you with a description of the required information needed for that column. You just have to click on the title, and you will see a suggestion of what the accepted values on that column are. You can then either map this column with a field from your feed (i.e. color field) or add a static value (i.e. if you sell only products for women, you can fill the column Department with “women”).

![02_Amazon Profit_Image_02_EN.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/xckAEMknTGOXpWyeSFvl)

<h3>Filtering products based on their size</h3>
The above tips can be applied to an example feed from an online cosmetics shop. Based on the above, only products that are worth more than €10.00 with a maximum size of 30 cm will be sold on Amazon. This restriction can be implemented with the following rule:

![03_Amazon Profit_Image_03_EN.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/jzQJvqWZS7S7lAcGnvoy)


By excluding these products, they are not permanently deleted from the feed, instead, they are just not sent to Amazon. If one of the products costs €9.00 today, it will be excluded. But if tomorrow its price increases to €11 on your online shop, it will be automatically sent to Amazon.
<h3>Filling in missing information with the rules</h3>
As mentioned above, products with complete information sell better. Complete missing information can also be done in the Channable tool:

![04_Amazon Profit_Image_04_EN.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/fDrNezQWSZSimSbAz6Ay)


In the example above, the field "color" was not filled for all the shop’s products. A rule can be created in the tool to retrieve this information from another field e.g. "description". This rule allows you to find a certain value in the product information and copy it to an individual field that is recognized by Amazon.

It is also possible to create rules based on the results in Analytics. This allows you, for example, to exclude products with a low conversion rate.

Now that you know how to implement a good strategy on Amazon, you can start filtering your products and selling them on the top eCommerce marketplace!

Amazon Ads is part of Channable's end-to-end marketplace solution, making it even easier for advertisers to access the benefits of Amazon PPC adverts. Learn how Channable can optimize and accelerate your Amazon PPC campaigns and how you can manage thousands of ads across marketplaces. [Sign up for a free trial today!](https://www.channable.com/signup)

Easy ways to make more profit on Amazon

It's getting colder outside and we are slowly approaching Christmas. Millions of people are looking for the perfect gift for their loved ones. As many people don't want to leave their house to participate in the Christmas shopping marathon, they order their presents from home - online. So the question is: Is your online store ready for the Christmas business? With these tips, we are sure you will succeed and sell more.
<h3>1. Your homepage</h3>
**Responsive design**
Ever tried to scroll from one side of a homepage to the other on a mobile device? Then you know - it's not fun. Nowadays, responsive design is a must for every homepage and online store. Make sure to offer your potential customers the best homepage experience and invest in a responsively designed website.

**Optimize website speed**
3 seconds is all you have - this is the maximum amount of time it takes a website user to leave when a page is not responding. Increase the speed of your website and improve your user experience to encourage browsing and purchasing.

**Christmas design and festive layout**
Get potential customers into the Christmas spirit. Change teasers and slideshows into a winter wonderland, feature seasonal products and display high-quality pictures, graphics and/or videos. These will grab the customer’s attention and result in a longer stay on your homepage, which could lead to higher conversion rates.
<h3>2. Products</h3>
**Promote best-sellers**
Do you have any best-sellers that continually perform well throughout the year? Make a special promotion presenting them as an "often bought by others" or apply a discount on those products. If they sell well during the year, they will probably also perform well over Christmas.

**Modify product descriptions**
Add value to your products with holiday-specific pictures or modified product descriptions. Add for example "Perfect for Christmas" or "the perfect Christmas present" etc. so your products appear on the search terms "Christmas" or "present".

**Stock**
Prepare for potential stock shortages! Get an alert before your stock falls to zero. By increasing your minimum stock level, you will be able to process your orders without stress or stock shortages. Exclude products which are out of stock to make sure that only available items are shown. You can update your data several times a day on those marketplaces to ensure that your products are shown with up-to-date information on price comparison sites, display ads or others. Another way to encourage customers to finalize their purchases is to post how much stock you have left.
<h3>3. Increase traffic</h3>
**Rethink your advertising strategy**
lure more visitors to your e-commerce platform with the help of Google AdWords or remarketing to reach a higher conversion rate. With Channable you are able to optimize your product feeds and even feed based text within minutes.

**Place your products on price comparison sites**
Consumers will compare your prices on the internet. So make sure to be found on any price-comparison site that is relevant for your business.

**Consider selling on marketplaces**
Have you just started a web store and people don't know about you yet? Then consider selling your products on online marketplaces. Each month, there are millions of unique visitors on Amazon, Cdiscount or eBay <a href="/integrations?channel=marketplace" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">(you can find more marketplaces here)</a>. Take advantage of their name, amount of visitors and customers to sell more!
<h3>4. Deliveries</h3>
**Communicate delivery times**
Have you ever been desperate for your package to arrive on time? Then you know how crucial it is to communicate the exact delivery time. Check the delivery deadlines with your couriers prior to guaranteeing delivery before Christmas to your customers. Communicate all the delivery times, even if they are after Christmas day.

**Free delivery and packaging service**
Free delivery is one of the top reasons to buy online and spend more money (as shoppers are saving on delivery costs). Also, make your customers happy by offering free gift wrapping, for example for Amazon you can easily share this information in Channable’s attribute builder. Regular shoppers will appreciate the service. Don't forget to buy enough wrapping paper and scotch tape!

**Return policy**
Offer free returns and a longer return period than usual. No need to stress people out during their Christmas break to return unwanted presents. Give them at least 30 days to return their unwanted gifts.

So, are you ready for this year's holiday shopping? If you need help on optimizing your product feeds, setting up your marketplaces or feed based text ads, let us know. We will support you by setting up your first product feed in our feed management tool. Test it now for free and ask for a demo from one of our experts. Happy Christmas selling everybody!

How to sell more: Get ready for the online holiday shoppers

Today, boxing day is more well known as the day after Christmas when the infamous end of year sales begin and the masses flock to the high street to subtly exchange those unwanted Christmas gifts. Luckily, shoppers can now enjoy the Boxing Day sales from the comfort of their sofa. But are you ready, as online retailers, for the final surge of sales for Britain and other commonwealth countries this year?

Channable’s data feed optimization tool means that you also won’t need to lift too many fingers because as, you’ll all know, rules to filter, optimize, and complete your product information are made in just a few seconds! So you can instead spend the day with loved ones, catching up on the new Doctor Who special or simply digesting. Here are some of our top rules for Boxing Day:

**Sales means sale prices**
If you’re going to participate in the Boxing Day Sales you will need to advertise on your sale price. <em>Note:</em> Make sure not to just change your price in Channable if you use feeds because the comparison website or other platform might reject your product if your ad price differs from your webshop. To add a sale price field in your import feed/own webshop and use this figure. You can either: use rules to copy the sale price into the price field…

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7443" src="https://media.graphcms.com/0DUlWbZ5TQORT2qKmMHf" alt="" width="952" height="416" />

...or, in the finalize step, map the sale price to either the sale price field or the price field if there isn’t the sales price channel field (just make sure all your products include a sale price).

<img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-7448" src="https://media.graphcms.com/AOjrvqVRwGKRsSIml8AI" alt="" width="900" height="365" />

You could go one step further if you could choose to advertise products with a certain discount percentage. For example, you want to only push advertisement’s whose sale prices are 20% less than the retail price. You can do this by using the calculate rule. See our example below:

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7451" src="https://media.graphcms.com/gIJOxBGBT2eI74VSzUA3" alt="" width="700" height="708" />

Above we calculated what the percentage is by creating a new mapping field (price_discount_percent), first subtracting the price from the sale price (to calculate the difference) then dividing the difference by the initial price and multiplying this value by 100. This was the end result:

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7452" src="https://media.graphcms.com/aNFudli2T9OREtjc0JMO" alt="" width="286" height="238" />

This percentage field can now also be appended to the title. You can then decide what you would like to do with products that have an exceptionally high/low discount, perhaps a rule to exclude products which have a discount percentage which is too high or too low, or sell them at their normal price without the sales discount, or even sell high discount products on different channels. The possibilities are endless!

**Boxing Day AdWords Campaigns**
Modify your AdWords advertisements to include boxing day keywords, limited stock keywords and sale prices. Channable allows you to include dynamic ad customizer fields so you don’t need to constantly monitor all of your campaigns; then you can push them all with a few simple clicks!

<img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-7453" src="https://media.graphcms.com/AjgzuCF6QZWtY7J0dNXc" alt="" width="900" height="246" />

**Add size to the title when the stock level is low**
This is a great rule to include if you want to avoid wasting money on CPC when certain sizes are out of stock. Check out our simple Channable method to do this below:

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7454" src="https://media.graphcms.com/Ub11x113Rmmv8NOvaNXZ" alt="" width="969" height="496" />

**Prepare in advance!**
In Channable you can create rules now that can be paused until Boxing Day. This way you can fine-tune them and activate them at the right time, so you can have even more precious time to yourself on the 26th.

<img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-7455" src="https://media.graphcms.com/gu7MKSgCQKU1E9JMej1E" alt="" width="900" height="338" />

We even have rules that are based on a date if you have the promotional period in your data feed, so you don’t even need to unpause them yourself. Just create a rule that uses “if” the date is in the promotional range i.e. 26th December, “then” push the specific products with promotional values. You can even append certain expressions to the title for this specific period, like in the example below.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7456" src="https://media.graphcms.com/3AGosghzS06p49H5UxA3" alt="" width="827" height="490" />
<br><br/>
**Ensure you don’t run out of stock! **
Best case scenario, you sell everything! However, be sure to allow yourself a safety net to ensure that you can fulfill all those orders. Channable can offer to run your feeds multiple times a day at an extra price (contact us to find out more!). However, check with the channel first to see if running your feed multiple times is feasible, as it depends on the update time of your own data and the time the platform updates the information.

If you’re selling on a marketplace that uses an API connection and you have order processing active, you can include rules to exclude all products if your stock level falls below a certain amount.

Channable's top Boxing Day rules (aside from relaxing)

<h3><b>An insight into today’s job industry</b></h3>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">The job industry is a dynamic and fast paced market with vast numbers of job vacancies opening and closing daily. Job agencies are also faced with the huge task of managing job ads for multiple markets, cities and even countries. The magnitude of online job vacancy data feeds has led to an increase of issues. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Issues such as: displaying and paying for job ads that have already been fulfilled, not reaching the correct candidates, not meeting the specifications of a selected job board or other platform and finding that individually uploading, modifying and pausing ads is (inevitably) time consuming and expensive.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Display advertisements, text ads and job boards, are just a few channels and methods of how jobs vacancies can be spread. However, they in turn are coupled with their own issues. If you want to reach the maximum number of people in your market, you’ll want your ads to be visible on as many outlets as possible. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Creating new job ads every time a vacancy is opened is an ordeal in itself. But the moment those vacancies are filled, it is necessary to go through and pause or update every single ad on every single platform. Luckily, some of these platforms allow you to upload your feed, happy days! Unfortunately, the necessary information is different for every job board, so lots of time is spent filling it in manually. Furthermore, remember those text ads you wanted to create on job level...good news, there is a way to simplify the process. </span>
<h3><b>Introducing: Feed management possibilities for advertising jobs</b></h3>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Data feed management tools like Channable can provide both employers and job agencies with the means to ease the process of:</span>
<ul markdown>
 	<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ensuring that job vacancies are posted at the appropriate time to the right audience</span></li>
 	<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Automatically pause job adverts that have already been fulfilled</span></li>
 	<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Save time, money and resources by using only one dashboard to advertise job openings everywhere online</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">By using Channable as a middle man between your data feed and the places for displaying job openings, stakeholders of the job industry can relax. The information can be smoothly managed during the day, minimizing the need to manipulate it manually out of office hours.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">But don’t take it from a blog post, Blue Mango Interactive is a marketing agency for Randstad, one of the world’s leading HR service providers, and also a happy Channable client:</span>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">"With more than 4,000 vacancies in 26 different industries in 2,402 cities continuously throughout The Netherlands, Randstad is one of the biggest job boards in The Netherlands. Thanks to Channable's ad generators, we can create, activate and pause all these Randstad vacancies automatically and in real time with very specific and dynamic keywords, ad copy and landing pages."</span></i></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gemma van Dorst - Search Specialist at Blue Mango Interactive</span></i></p>
</blockquote>
<h3><b>Using Channable to help post your job ads</b></h3>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">So how can Channable help you? First and foremost, it provides you with the means to optimize and fulfill your data feeds according to the specifications of over a thousand channels, including Google and Facebook. These platforms attract many applicants and offer versatile recruitment opportunities. Many agencies also turn to third parties like job boards to list their vacancies. But displaying on multiple channels is also beneficial for re-marketing strategies, as you can control what information gets shared on which platform. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Custom CSV files can be created in Channable too. This is a true time saver if you want to organize and segregate your data feeds into i.e. market specifications. Extracting all jobs of a certain criteria from your master feed and placing them into one custom CSV enables you to create specific rules for only that criteria without having to import a second master feed. Perhaps you want to separate student jobs from executive jobs, and place them on different channels to reach the right target audience - this can all be easily arranged with a Channable custom CSV! </span>
<h3><b>How to advertise job vacancies with dynamic text ads in Channable</b></h3>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Creating text ads at the individual job level can be a real nuisance. Merely setting up the ad is time consuming but the process is further extended when monitoring the ads to ensure they’re up-to-date and relevant. Their continuous adjustments make it further time consuming and costly, which is why our tool can be a blessing. By partnering Channable and your data feed, you can automatically generate dynamically templated campaigns, AdGroups, text ads and keywords that will then be automatically paused when fulfilled. This is because the information will already be in your data feed.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">You’re in control and can decide which fields from your feed you’d like to use. Do you want a campaign on city level and ad groups on vacancy level? Or do you want campaigns on industry level and ad groups on city level? Make your life easier and <a href="/signup">give it a try</a>. Use one template for hundreds of ads! See our example below of how you can create potentially hundreds of unique ads depending on the industry, region and number of vacancies; your data feed will fill in the blanks.</span>

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-7585 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/pPxqhcRWSIyR4n7EqevW" alt="" width="1067" height="466" />

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Ads are automatically paused within our tool based on the smart rules you set up. Set up the right templates for the right campaigns and let the Channable text ads feature do the work. You specify when to pause ads; for example, if a vacancy is fulfilled or when there are less than 5 vacancies in a city or branch, because you can even create branch specific ads. Channable has the potential to specify your AdWords ads to your taste.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Channable offers this feature for <a href="/products/ppc-tool">Google Ads</a> and will also soon launch this feature for Bing Ads, which is perfect if you serve markets and target audiences where Bing is favoured. Channable’s got your back. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Channable works hard to streamline everyone's online experience, not just the obvious contenders. Data feed management can help the job industry with its core business. We invite you to try it for yourself with our</span><a href=""><span style="font-weight: 400;"> free trial</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and discover how else Channable can improve your online job vacancies.</span>



Advertise Job Vacancies Online with a Feed Management Tool

Have you tried using Google Analytics in Channable’s rule functions? Users who have coupled with their Google Analytics account can use this information as creatively as you like. You can either specify the selection you make (“if”) with Analytics variables such as sessions, conversion rate, bounce rate, revenue or transactions, or create actions (“then”).

<img class="alignnone wp-image-7649 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/YUenyT4SqKjIT5Qe2W6N" alt="" width="872" height="378" />

Skip straight to rules and go ahead and experiment with using Analytics in the “if” or “then” section. Adding Google Analytics information to your feed with a custom label can help you differentiate certain products i.e. bestsellers or lower-converters. Create new custom labels in setup&gt;edit mapping to use in the “If” or “Then” part of your Google Analytics rule to differentiate certain products.

In the example below we create a new field called <b>bestseller</b>. So any product with a conversion rate greater than 3 will now have the value yes in the bestseller field. This is the information we can then transfer to i.e. the Shopping or Facebook feeds by adding the bestseller field in the finalize step. Why? Because you can then easily push certain products based on the performance within your AdWords or Facebook Business Manager account.

<img class="alignnone wp-image-7650 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/JNAzXUiJSnGyYWodbe9Q" alt="" width="1244" height="347" />

As of the end of 2017, you can now use the Google Analytics variables in the “Then” section to execute actions. Create statements such as calculating actual return on ad spend (ROAS) to measure the efficiency of your digital advertising campaign by using our mathematics rules.

<img class="alignnone wp-image-7651 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/uvCfhhKQ42pqaObpVfJg" alt="" width="872" height="378" />

&nbsp;

Finally, analytics can be added to your feed in the finalize step so you can send this information to your platform of choice.

&nbsp;

<img class="alignnone wp-image-7652 size-large" src="https://media.graphcms.com/OAe9gwjhR3KrhpH6dtTg" alt="" width="900" height="674" />

If you find a creative way to include Google Analytics in your rules, <a href="mailto:support@channable.com">let us know</a>! We love hearing how you use Channable.

Quick tips to using Google Analytics in Rules

This is how it looked before:

<img class="alignnone wp-image-7658 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/YZjIbmChTI26b6hHf5Ze" alt="" width="364" height="365" />

And this is where you can find the Shopping campaigns tab now:

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-7747" src="https://media.graphcms.com/WdpKUM7NSJ6hpP8meaGy" alt="" width="1444" height="780" />

Find Shopping campaigns in its own tab

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Understandably, not all of you have Valentine’s appropriate gifts. For those of you that do, we have some tips below, but there are other ways to boost website traffic and piggyback off this gift giving event. We’ve written this blog in three segments:</span>
<ul markdown>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">First, inspiration on how to incorporate Valentine's if you’re selling non-romantic items</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Second, tips for feed optimisation if you do sell Valentine's themed products</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Third, tips about how to use our <a href="/products/ppc-tool">Text Ads feature</a> to help with Valentine's promotion</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">So without further ado, here is our Valentine’s how to:</span>
<h3><b>Be inspired this Valentine's</b></h3>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">This recommendation is for those of you that think you’re not Valentine's suited. There are some great examples online of how non-romantic brands advertise at this time of year. One way to do it is to </span><b>create content</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. After all, some of the most searched for terms during February include gift ideas, outfit ideas, date ideas, etc. By creating Valentine’s content, you can engage with and inspire consumers in more creative ways to get them to visit your webshop. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">You can easily distribute the content using Channable. If you already have your customers’ information in a data feed, you can easily upload this information into Channable and then create a custom CSV file containing this specific target market to send them the market specific content. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">For instance, you could create a CSV with all customers who have bought a certain item in the recent past and create a </span><b>newsletter </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">for them promoting a certain product that’ll go perfectly with their recent purchase this Valentine’s Day. Get creative with puns like “No Valentine's date? Let us light up your life” if you’re a lamp seller, or “Does size really matter? Browse our sofas and judge for yourself” if you sell furniture.</span>

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-7772 " src="https://media.graphcms.com/SjAUa6wXScOg8Ko0B7k6" alt="" width="811" height="396" />

<span style="font-weight: 400;">
According to Google, one of the biggest target markets are men over this romantic period, who also tend to spend more on presents. Consider creating content specifically targeted to different markets and selling on the sites they frequently visit. Couples aren’t the only market this holiday, there has been a rise in gift exchange between colleagues, friends, and even pets!</span>
<h3><b>Valentines-ify your feed</b></h3>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">For those of you who are lucky enough to have more Valentine's appropriate items, such as gifts, jewellery and raunchier numbers, here are some ways to make your feeds even more attractive this Valentine's.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">With Channable, you can easily incorporate keywords, search terms, and other information into product titles or descriptions. You can use keyword tools to find the most popular search terms, as many consumers are searching for unbranded terms and even location specific results. You can easily include values and expressions, like “perfect for Valentine's” to titles or descriptions in Channable, by using the</span><a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827625-Rule-combine-value" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><b> “combine value”</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> rule. It can also be used to meet consumer trends, such as the demand for more delivery options. By combining values such as the title and the delivery time, you can more easily communicate to the customer when the items will be delivered. Notably, to those customers that are perhaps a little late in finding a gift.</span>

<img class="alignnone wp-image-7773 " src="https://media.graphcms.com/7irdIOc7RaymZwNKnZkd" alt="" width="871" height="264" />

<span style="font-weight: 400;">If you want to take Valentine's selling to the next step, you can adopt a</span><b> remarketing strategy</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> with only your Valentine's appropriate items. Remarketing has been shown to help in lowering shopping cart abandonment. <a href="/integrations/facebook-product-feed">Facebook </a>is a popular remarketing channel as you can easily target specific genders, age-groups, etc. You can also set up specific Valentine's promotional lines within Channable and push it to Facebook. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">You can now simply duplicate a feed within Channable to save you time in setting up a new one. To do this, you simply need to select Facebook from the selection of channels when adding a new feed. </span>
<h3><b>Romanticise your Text Ads</b></h3>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Channable’s</span><a href="/products/ppc-tool"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Text Ads feature</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> can further help with the final touches of your Valentine's strategy. Make ads as specific and unique as possible with our dynamic templates. As mentioned above, many consumers search for unbranded keywords and terms not obviously related to Valentine's. Our dynamic fields can be used in the keywords section of building an ad to help increase your keyword compatibility. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">If you choose to opt for faster delivery service over this busy period, you can even incorporate dynamic data values such as delivery date into your text ads with our, appropriately, pink </span><b>Ad Customisers.</b>

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-7774" src="https://media.graphcms.com/WNM19zMWTWA4OXCQAvIg" alt="" width="1102" height="524" />
<h3><b>Go spread some Channa-love</b></h3>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">So whether you sell lamps, vacations, or more sensual accessories, Valentine's can be a season for everyone. To benefit from all of Channable’s features, just </span><a href="mailto:support@channable.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">get in touch</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> or create a </span><a href="/signup" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">trial account</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and make sure your feeds are ready this Valentine's. Spread the love!</span>



The ultimate selling guide this Valentine’s Day from Channable

However, there are certain things you need to consider before choosing the Channable API.
<h3>Uses for the Channable API</h3>
<ul markdown>
 	<li>retrieving all orders from marketplaces</li>
 	<li>automatic order updates for when orders have been shipped</li>
 	<li>automatic addition of track and trace codes</li>
 	<li>stock synchronization of individual items directly in the marketplaces</li>
</ul>
<h3>Restrictions of the Channable API</h3>
It is not possible to import products into Channable with the Channable API as it is not a plugin (use XML-, CSV-, TXT-files or Google Spreadsheets for the import). Furthermore, it will not update the stock of products within the Channable tool (this is the same for general order connections)
<h3>Who is the Channable API a solution for?</h3>
The Channable API can be handy for people who use custom made eCommerce platforms. Nevertheless, bare in mind that implementing the Channable API requires advanced technical knowledge and will take some time. It does not have a plug and play functionality. You need to set aside time for the development process in order to connect to the Channable API.

We hope that this article helped you understand the usage, the pros and the cons of the Channable API.

If you want to have more information about the Channable API you can give us a call or <a href="mailto:support@channable.com">send an email </a>to our support team, who are happy to help you.

<a href="https://docs.channable.com/api/v1/#getting-started">Technical Documentation</a>

Channable API

Google Shopping merchants received an announcement late January that Google will no longer support integrations with BigCommerce, <a href="/integrations/magento">Magento</a> or <a href="/integrations/prestashop">Prestashop </a> vendors from 20th March 2018 onwards. Google Merchants received an email from Sales &amp; Orders stating that the decision was made: “in order to better focus on solutions that will make the Shopping ads onboarding a more seamless experience. We’re continuing to work with e-commerce platforms to explore more frictionless integration opportunities.”

However, this does not mean the end for Google selling for webshop owners. The use of third parties to generate feeds and build API connections for Google Shopping remains supported.
<h2>Channable supports Google feeds and API</h2>
Channable has long supported feed generation and is continuously improving an API connection with Google Shopping. So rest assured, you can continue to sell on Google Shopping, as well as over 1000 more channels, and enjoy many more of Channable’s other features such as <a href="/products/marketplace-integrator">order connections</a> and <a href="/products/ppc-tool">SEA tool</a> for dynamic text ads and shopping campaigns.

With Channable you can optimize your product information to increase your discoverability on Google Shopping with our unique rules. So you can make sure that your titles and image links are optimized, before you appear on Google Shopping.

Channable wants to help everybody that has been affected by Google’s decision. We’ve created a special promo code* to ensure that you remain on Google Shopping as fast as possible. We will set up your Google Shopping feed free of charge when you use the promotional code: <b>GOOGLE_PROMO2018</b>. Hurry, <em>**this code expires 1st April 2018**</em> - and no, this is not an April’s fools joke. After you<a href="/signup"> create an account </a> , enter the code at the set up and one of us will be in contact asap to discuss the finer details. Make sure to take a look at your new feed and experiment with our rules to make your products shine!
<h2>Prestashop and Magento Channable Plug-Ins</h2>
If you have a Prestashop or Magento shop you can directly import your data feed into Channable with a plug-in. The plug-in incurs <i>no additional costs</i> and you can make use of any of our <a href="/pricing">monthly subscriptions</a> starting at 19 euros a month. It’s possible to import products into Channable if you use BigCommerce with an XML import. Once your import is complete, create a Google Shopping connection with just a few clicks. Channable's API connection is continuously being developed to ensure that a more seamless integration is offered.

Feel free to <a href="mailto: support@channable.com">contact us</a> if you have any questions regarding our tool, how our connections work or to have a good old rant about Google’s decision

Channable’s solution to Google’s decision to drop BigCommerce, Magento and Prestashop API connection

Nowadays, people rely more and more on technology. Simultaneously to the rise of technology’s demand, the market for second hand and refurbished electronics is also booming. Buying electronics online has become a regular habit for many consumers. Electronics and appliance specialists have been significantly affected by the rise of internet retailing. It’s become necessary for them to adopt a multi-channel strategy in order to survive this new evolution. Find out how a data feed management tool can help you to master selling online.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-9400" src="https://media.graphcms.com/ock2rMkWTyrU1dX1Ti8z" alt="Sell electronics with Channable" width="800" height="485" />
<h3>Stay on top of managing your channels</h3>
If you have a large amount of products and if the information on your ecommerce website changes frequently (i.e. new products, price and stock changes), then a data feed management tool is necessary for managing your online projects. This tool will indeed automate the whole management process and help you to keep all your ads and listings updated.

For example, within the electronics industry, price matters. Vendors will know about the price war on certain platforms. If your pricing is dynamic and changes often throughout the day, Channable can offer to run your feed multiple times a day to make sure your price is always updated on every platform you sell your goods on. Another useful trick with a data feed management tool: if your stock runs out, you can create a rule to “pause” your ads on marketplaces or price comparison websites, avoiding useless costly clicks for products with no stock left.
<h3>Increase your online visibility</h3>
Marketplaces, price comparison websites and search engines are very useful for increasing your online visibility to the widest range of buyers possible. Electronics and their accessories can be rather expensive and consumers like to compare prices before making their choices. In order to reach more customers, it is necessary to have your ads on a range of platforms, but preferably with minimal effort (see above). Channable has connections to over <a href="/integrations">2500 channels</a> that you can manage from one dashboard.

<img class="wp-image-9375 size-full aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/IPQ9iDgxQkSxqiHrTzmt" alt="Channels for electronics" width="723" height="197" />
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Some platforms where you can sell your electronic items</em></p>

<h3></h3>
<h3>Instantly create perfect product listings</h3>
Using a data feed management tool to display content rich ads for electronic goods is vital for conversion. So, how can you do that?

Within your product feed, it is likely that you don’t have all the specifications of your products in separate fields. If you weren’t already aware, consumers find electronic’s specifications very important. For smartphones, the RAM size (GB) is vital; for a fridge, its the consumption of kW; for a computer, the core speed (GHz), and the list goes on for all electronic appliances or pieces of technology. However, this kind of product information might be in the title or even in the description. With Channable you can easily extract this information and place it in it’s own field to be modified in order to make it match the marketplaces’ requirements. No need to manually copy-paste individual product information into the marketplace’s ad creator as Channable will send products instantly to the marketplace through a feed or a direct connection.
<h3>Analyze your performance</h3>
Channable also gives you the opportunity to discover which items are your top sellers for each comparison website and search engines that you display your items on. This information can be really insightful and help you choose which items you want to advertise. You can <a href="/blog/blog-analytics-insights-for-better-performance">connect Channable to your Analytics</a> and use all the performance information to optimize your sales.
<h3>Make sure your strategy covers all the (mega)bits</h3>
Up until now, we’ve mainly touched upon how to make the best product ads for marketplaces and price comparison websites. But you shouldn’t forget retargeting in your multi-channel strategy.

Data feed management tools can help you to create feeds for affiliate platforms and, ultimately, save bundles of time. Imagine a potential customer visits your website and buys a new camera. With the help of affiliate platforms or display networks you could target this visitor again with ads about matching lenses or SD cards. Whenever they visit a photography blog or are browsing their social media pages, they would see your ad. This kind of paid marketing is much more efficient as it reaches people already interested in your items.
<h3>Make the most relevant Paid Ads yet</h3>
A data feed management tool will help you to organize and structure your AdWords and Bing Campaigns, both text ads as well as Shopping Campaigns. What is actually very special in Channable is that you have the ability to<a href="/products/ppc-tool"> create dynamic text ads</a>, based on the product information in your feed. Enabling you to advertise on long tail keywords without the manual hassle.
<h3>A data feed management tool is all you need...</h3>
A tool like Channable will facilitate any electronics seller’s digital marketing. Channable will enable you to automate all the processes and create perfect, optimized ads for your online marketing strategy, which includes price comparison, marketplaces, affiliates and AdWords. Get in contact for more information by emailing us at <a href="mailto:support@channable.com">support@channable.com</a>, or <a href="/signup">sign up</a> for an unlimited free trial to test it out for yourself.

Why a feed management tool can be a blessing for selling electronics online

To win at Google Merchant center first time round, you need to ensure you send certain Google approved mandatory specifications. You can send product information to [Google Shopping](https://www.channable.com/integrations/google-shopping-feed) with Channable in two ways: via a live API connection or with a <a href="/products/product-feed-management-tool">feed</a>. The difference between the two can be read in Channable's handy <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002818909-Marketplaces-data-feeds-vs-APIs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">help center article</a>. To send the right information, you can easily get an overview of the mandatory fields within Channable under either ‘Finalize’ (for Google Shopping feeds) or ‘Build &gt; Item’ (for Google Shopping API’s). Ensuring that this information is sent to Google is fundamental, but it must also be in the right format.<em> What? Right format?!</em> Yes, certain information can only be processed in a Google specific way. Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll need to send for top quality Google Shopping feeds.

First, and foremost, it’s recommended you create what Channable coins a ‘<a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002817249-How-do-I-filter-items-using-rules-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Filter rule</a>’. This rule will simply exclude any items that would otherwise be automatically rejected, or you simply don’t want to sell. For reasons such as there is no image link, or the price is 0. Channable rules work in descending order. So, starting with a filter will ensure that the rules that’ll follow will only be applied to items worth advertising. Much of the advice below involves creating a new field. If you’re unsure how to do this, you can familiarize yourself by scrolling to the bottom of <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002825765-How-do-I-map-fields-in-edit-mapping-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this help center article</a>.

&nbsp;
<table markdown>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">**Necessary info**</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">**What exactly?**</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Image Link</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Images are very important for Google Shopping, and selling online generally. We recommend you create a filter rule when you first start making rule, to exclude any items that do not have an image. For more information about specific dimensions and picture quality accepted by Google, read about it in their <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324350?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">help center</a>.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Availability</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">This mandatory field needs to be sent to Google Shopping in the form of either: ‘in stock’, ‘out of stock’ or ‘preorder’. You don’t need to send actual stock levels but the value you set must match the value on your website. To include this information into your feed, simply use Channable’s <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827565-Rule-set-to-value" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">‘set to value’ rule</a> and set a newly created field to one of the three options depending on the actual stock level.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">*GTIN/EAN
<em>* You’ll need at least one of these, as Google requires you have 2 of the 3 pieces of info: Brand, GTIN or MPN.</em> There is still hope if you don’t, please check this <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827285-Useful-rules-for-Google-Shopping" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>help center article</em></a><em>. </em></td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">GTIN is the umbrella term for unique identifiers such as EANs, UPCs or ISBNs and is basically the barcode of an item. If you don’t already have this information, you can easily purchase them online or ask your distributor for them. Making them up won’t help, you can’t outsmart Google.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Title</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">This mandatory field ought to be easily found in your feed already. Make sure it describes your item well. You can even include things like the color or size with Channable’s <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827625-Rule-combine-value" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">‘combine value’ rule</a>.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Description</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Similarly to the title, this information should already be easily found in your import. Alternatively, you can always build a new description by combining relevant information from your feed.

Make sure your description is free from HTML jargon by using our <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827845-Rule-modify-text">strip HTML </a>rule.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Link</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">This field is the URL of the products. Simple.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Brand</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">This information may already be in your feed, but it is VITAL for becoming Google Shopping approved, in conjunction with either GTIN or MPN. See the other descriptions below.

If the brand doesn’t have its own field but can be perhaps located in the description, you can easily search for the ‘value’ (specific brand name) and pop it in a new field.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Condition</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">The condition of a product needs to be listed as either ‘new’, ‘used’, or ‘refurbished’ in Google Shopping. Google will default set all condition's to new if you don't specify, but if in fact you do sell used or refurbished items you'll have to communicate this to them. If this information isn’t in your feed yet, you can easily implement it with the 'set value' rule. Simply create a new mapping field from the settings and then ‘set value’ to the applicable condition.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Category</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">The second stage of creating a Channable feed/API is categorization (NB: with the API if you send known EANs, Google Shopping will automatically be able to categorize the items). The options from the drop down menu are the specific categories Google has. So, you simply need to allocate which groups of items belong to which Google product category. When you map the fields (in the finalize stage or build stage in Channable) remember to use ‘**Category (internal)**’. More<a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003090569-Smart-categorization" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> tips on categorization </a>can be found in Channable's help center.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Price</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">This information will be in your feed. Do not try to modify it, as the price shown in Google Shopping should match your website.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Shipping Price</td>
<td>You’ll most definitely know what the shipping price is if it isn’t already in your feed. If it’s missing, simply create a new mapping field and set the value. For example, if you offer free shipping for items over a certain price you can make a simple rule to set shipping price to zero. Simply create a rule such as “IF **price **<em>is greater or equal to</em> 50. THEN take** shipping price **and <em>set to value </em>0”. You can always set shipping options within your Google Merchant account, more information can be found in <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6069284?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google's Support article</a>.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">*MPN/SKU
<em>* You’ll need at least one of these, as Google Shopping requires you have 2 of the 3 pieces of info: Brand, GTIN or MPN.</em> There is still hope if you don’t, please check this <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827285-Useful-rules-for-Google-Shopping" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>help center article</em></a><em>. </em></td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">A stock keeping unit (SKU) or a manufacturers number (MPN) is a more internal method of identifying items. If you don’t have this number, but you do have a GTIN you can still advertise with Google. If you have neither, you can still send your items to Google Shopping. To find out how, check out <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827285-Useful-rules-for-Google-Shopping" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">useful rules for Google Shopping </a>help center article.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">**Shipping Country</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">If this information isn’t already in your feed, you should know where your items will be shipping from. As it’ll probably be a fixed country, you can go ahead and make a new mapping field and then just set a country name as the shipping country.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">**Id</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">This information can be any form of number/combination that uniquely identifies each of your items. Note the word, unique.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">***Size</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">For clothing items, it’s important you send the size to Google Shopping. If this value is perhaps at the end of the title, you can simply use Channable’s <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827785-Rule-split-text" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">split text value</a>.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">***Age group</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">The age group is only applicable if you want to advertise clothing items with Google Shopping. The specific groups they accept are: ‘newborn’, ‘infant’, ‘toddler’, ‘kids’ and ‘adult’. With this list in mind, you could use a rule such as <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827725-Rule-search-for-value" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">search for value</a> (search for specific sizes) and then use the replacement value option. So, any clothing item with the size 0 - 9 months can be assigned to the age group ‘newborn’ by searching for it and replacing the value with ‘newborn’.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">***Color</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">The color of an item is only applicable for fashion items. Luckily Google Shopping doesn’t specify color names, so feel free to use the values you have in your feed. If you don’t have them in a specific field, simply create a new field and search for the value.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">***Gender</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">This information is only needed for sending fashion items to Google Shopping and needs to be either unisex, female or male. If you sell only fashion items for one gender, this field can be easily provided by creating a new field and setting the value to the ‘Google recognized’ gender you sell to.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">****Currency</td>
<td>This is only necessary for using Channable's API connection with Google Shopping. You can either choose from 'EUR/GBP/USD/CAD/NOK/SEK/DKK/CHF' from Channable's built in drop down menu or implement it into the feed with a new field and ‘set to value’ rule. Make sure this value is true to what is displayed in the URL link of the item.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<span style="font-size: 11px;"><em>** Mandatory for feeds only (because when you create an API connection you already specify in the first step what the unique ID per item is)</em><em>
*** Mandatory only for when fashion is selected as 'Type of market' in feed settings</em><em>
****Mandatory only for Google Shopping API</em></span>

So, there you have it, Channable's guide to creating quality Google Shopping feeds. Your items are more likely to get accepted first time round by ensuring that the above-mentioned information exists in your Google Shopping feeds/API connection. Naturally, the more information the better. So, do pay attention to the recommended and optional information in the build/finalize steps in Channable. This way, consumers will be wowed by the detail you provide and could find you more reliable than other merchants. To get started with advertising on Google Shopping with Channable, sign up <a href="/signup" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here </a>for an unlimited free trial or get in contact with a Channable representative, they’re very friendly.

**<em>Channable and Store Growers discussed these points in a knowledge session and shared even further insight into how important it is to solve disapproved items. You can <a href="/videos" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> watch the knowledge session here</a>.</em>**

Channable and Google's guide on creating top-quality Google Shopping feeds

Channable’s rules are the (not so) secret behind being able to optimize and modify data to perfection. You may already be familiar with the <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002828085-Rule-group-items" target="_blank" rel="noopener">group items rule</a>, which is used to merge multiple items together under one item if there are variants i.e. of size or color. There is also the deduplicate items rule, which can be used to keep the item with the lowest variable of a group e.g. the item with the lowest price. To further improve what you can do with grouped items, Channable’s special “Calculate item group” rules have been introduced.

This overarching rule includes: COUNT ITEMS, CALCULATE SUM and FIND HIGHEST/LOWEST VALUE.

With the rules it is now easier and faster to:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Get an overview of how many items are in an existing (or newly created custom) group.</li>
 	<li>Find the total sum of a variable for all the items that are in the group. For example, the total sum of stock for all the items in a group.</li>
 	<li>Easily find the lowest value in a group, which makes advertising on the lowest price easier</li>
 	<li>Find the highest value of the group, which can be useful for communicating the highest discount</li>
</ul>
For a full overview of how to implement these rules, and for more examples, <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360007539014-Rule-Item-group-rules" target="_blank" rel="noopener">consult our help centre article</a>.

Channable’s new group rules

The description is missing, the images are low quality, and most importantly Google product category is vague.  Customer searches for plumbing and Google shows your pumps (shoes). Not what the customer had in mind. 

With over [50000 businesses](https://www.google.com/retail/solutions/merchant-center/#:~:text=500%2C000%2B%20online%20businesses%20use%20Google%20Merchant%20Center&text=Adding%20free%20listings%20to%20our,in%20online%20retail%20is%20high.) on Google Shopping and [85% of all product searches starting on Amazon or Google](https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/mary-meeker-report-ecommerce), the need to optimize your Google product category is immense.
 
How else is your product going to show up in relevant Google search queries? How else are these clicks going to translate into conversions and sales?
In this article, we’re going to discuss what is Google Product Category and how you can optimize it to boost sales. Let’s get into it.

## What is a Google Product Category?
Google Product Category is used to classify your products into distinct categories on Google’s Shopping platform. You can either let Google decide your product’s category based on its vast taxonomy or you can manually assign the right category to your product.

For example, if you’re selling cooking pots on Google Shopping, your product should be classified as **Home & Garden > Kitchen and dining > Cookware** and show up to people looking for cooking pots.

If your cooking pots are wrongly classified and come up instead when people search for gardening pots, your sales will massively decrease and your ad dollars will have a low ROAS (return on ad spend).

### How does Google Product Category work?

Google has its own constantly evolving product [taxonomy](https://www.google.com/basepages/producttype/taxonomy-with-ids.en-US.txt). When you list a product on Google Shopping feed, Google will assign a category  **[google_product_category]** to your product according to your product's data like titles, product descriptions, and GTINs.

This way Google can match your product to the customer’s query. 
Since Google Shopping is connected to Google Merchant Centre, which is synced with Google Ads, your Google product category directly affects your Google ad campaigns, too.

Google also allows you to target long-tail keywords, which is essentially your product category. These long-tail keywords translate into higher conversions and lower bounce rates on your website because of higher buyer intent. 
For example, a person specifically searching for a Men’s performance zip black leather pullover knows exactly what they want and intends on buying, as opposed to a person who’s searching for a black jacket.

So the better and more specific your product category, 

- the more organic clicks you’ll receive from relevant customer search queries, 

- the better your ad campaigns will perform.

### What is the difference between Product Type and Google Product Category?

Confused between Google product type and product category? You’re not alone.
Put simply, product type is how you categorize your products and Google product category is how Google categorizes a product according to its taxonomy. If you feel Google hasn’t correctly or specifically categorized your product, you can fill in this gap by adding your own product category.

You can use Google’s [Keyword Planner](https://www.spyfu.com/blog/google-keyword-planner/) or Ahrefs to come up with the exact terms customers use when searching for your products.

## Why are Google Product Categories important for your products?

On Google Shopping, it is not mandatory for you to categorize all your products. Apart from a few categories like Apparel and Software, you can list (and sell) your products without categorizing your products.

But should you do that? No. Google product categorization offers a plethora of benefits for businesses. Let’s discuss some of them.

### More sales and conversions

Every business loves high-intent shoppers. 

They know exactly what they want and they’re willing to buy it ASAP. The more specific your Google product category is, the more high-intent shoppers you’ll attract. This results in higher sales and conversions.

### Better return on ad spend

The average CTR of Google Shopping Ads is .[86](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2019/04/01/shopping-ads-benchmarks)%, which means spending dollars on Google shopping ads is great for traffic and conversions. 

Sam Baldwin, Founder of KeyCommerce, [explains](https://lunio.ai/blog/paid-search/google-shopping-feed-best-practices/), *“The way that Shopping ads are designed, a customer clicking on it has a pretty good idea of what the product is, and exactly how much it costs, which means there’s a higher chance they’re going to buy it. This is why we see that the conversion rates for Google Shopping campaigns are generally higher than the conversion rates for search campaigns.”*

To get maximum clicks on your ad, you need to optimize your Google product category. Imagine, every time someone searches for badminton rackets, your tennis racquet shows up and nobody clicks on your ad. 

You can target each product category with a different ad campaign. Set different budgets, target audience, and time duration accordingly. This helps to further [optimize your ad spend](https://www.semrush.com/blog/google-shopping-ads/). 

### Correct tax is applied on products

Choosing the right Google categories for your products ensures that the correct tax is applied to your product.

Even within the same category, some products may have lower taxes than others and some products are even exempted from tax in some US states. Similarly, other countries have different tax laws depending on products. 

## How to set up Google Product Category?

There are three ways to set up your Google Product category.

- Automatic Categorization

- Manual Categorization

- Smart Categorization

### Automatic Google categorization

Since filling the Google category section is optional, you can simply let Google automatically assign your product the right category it assumes based on the product data you provide.

Sounds easy, right?

But, you can't always trust that Google will choose the correct category for your product or be as specific as you like.

For example, if you’re selling ‘vet-authorized cat food’, Google may assign your product to **Animals & Pet Supplies > Pet Supplies > Cat Supplies > Cat Food**. 

But you can manually further specify it and add it to **Animals & Pet Supplies > Pet Supplies > Cat Supplies > Cat Food > Prescription Cat Food. **

Incorrect classification of your product can lead to,

- miscalculation of taxes if you’re selling in the US. 

- Extra fields enforced (especially in Apparel & Accessories, Mobile Phones, or Software categories).

- Less control over your Google ads campaign.

### Manual categorization

You can override Google’s automatic product category placement by assigning the right category to your products manually.

The process is simple. Download Google’s Product taxonomy, add it to Excel, use the CTRL+f function to quickly find the correct category for your product, and add it to your google_product_category field in your data feed.

Manually categorizing 100s of products is a time-consuming process and can easily result in human errors.

### Smart categorization

The #1 organic Google search result is [10x more likely to get a click](https://backlinko.com/google-ctr-stats) and gets 27.6% of all clicks.

So the more optimized your Google product listing is, the more clicks and conversions you’ll get. This is where smart categorization comes in.

With a 98% accuracy rate, AI feed management tools like [Channable automatically](https://www.channable.com/blog/smart-categorization-google-shopping) categorize hundreds of products with precision. Thanks to a powerful machine learning algorithm, tools like Channable match your products on your Google Shopping feed to the most likely product category.

This not only helps you maintain a consistently updated product feed, but also improves your search rankings and gets higher conversions and traffic. 
And the learning curve?

Almost zero. It’s easy to use and categorizes hundreds of products within minutes. 
When you create your export feed for a channel, a smart suggestion will directly pop up for each of your products in order to place them in the most logical category.

This is how it looks in Channable:

![Smart product categorization on Channable](https://media.graphassets.com/FYjhtUu4Te9FLa1A0jYA)

## 4 ways to optimize Google product categories to increase conversions
As a business owner, your number 1 goal is more sales and conversions.

Optimizing your Google product categories can get you more interest, more traffic, and ultimately more sales and conversions, too.

Let’s take a look at 4 simple ways you can optimize your Google product categories.
 
### Go through all your product categories before hitting publish
Whether Google automatically assigns product categories, or you manually assign them to your products, make sure you review all the product categories once before hitting publish.

With hundreds and even thousands of products, there are high chances of human and Google errors.

For example, if you’re selling cooking pots on Google Shopping, your product should be classified as Home & Garden > Kitchen and Dining> Cookware and show up to people looking for cooking pots.

If your cooking pots are wrongly classified and come up instead when people search for gardening pots, your sales will massively decrease and your ad dollars will have a low ROAS (return on ad spend).

So give your product categories a thorough check before listing them on your Google feed.

### Choose the best, most specific, and latest category for your products

This optimization tip is straight from Google.

Google recommends,
Choose the product category that best fits your product’s main function. For example, while a mobile phone has multiple functions (works as a device to use internet on, an alarm clock, and so on) it’s main function is as a mobile phone so choose the following taxonomy { Electronics / Communications / Telephony / Mobile Phones ID: 267}.

Choosing the most specific category. For example, if you’re selling an unlocked mobile phone or a prepaid mobile phone, add a further level in the product hierarchy and choose the following taxonomy { Electronics / Communications / Telephony / Mobile Phones / Unlocked Mobile Phones}.

Choose the latest category. Google translates out-of-date categories to the latest versions, especially when you’re using Google Ads. So when choosing the product category, make sure you’re using the latest category list to match your products to. 

### Test different product categories

Let’s suppose you’re selling dog food. 
You can either assign it to {Dog Food} or {Dog Treats}. Both would work in this case. 
But which one would get you higher conversions and more traffic? 
Test and find out. Compare the results and use the product category that your audience responds to the most.

### Match your product details to your landing page

Your target audience searches for a product on Google, and your product shows up. Intrigued, they look at all the product details provided and click on your website. 
They’re all primed and ready to convert.

Your job is to provide them with a seamless shopping experience as soon as they land on your landing page.

**How do you do that?**

The first thing you need to do is make sure your landing page and Google Shopping product details are in sync - from product name, description and price to product category, everything should be the same at both places.

Next, match the product hierarchy on your website’s navigation menu to your Google Shopping Feed. If they’re searching for Dog Food, it should be classified in the menu similar to how it’s classified on Google. This improves their shopping experience, which is a must for increasing conversions.  

Lastly, make sure your category pages are mobile friendly. Optimize them for speed, user experience, and responsiveness. 

### Want to optimize your Google product categories?

Save your time and energy, and start categorizing your Google product categories with Channable.

Channable helps you organize and optimize your Google product data to better identify top-performing products and categories. Simplify your product feed workflows with Channable so you can boost sales and conversions, get higher ROAS, and keep all your product data up-to-date.

Our solution is unique because we use a tiered process to ensure all categorizations are carried out efficiently and effectively.

 It's accurate, takes a few minutes to categorize everything, and helps you manage your Google shopping feed with ease. If you’d like to start optimizing your Google product categories today, [request a demo now!](https://www.channable.com/demo)

How to Use Google Product Category To Optimize Sales and Conversions in 2024?

This is the second installment for the Channable and Google blogs, to help Channable users master the Google Merchant Center. In the <a href="/blog/create-quality-google-shopping-feeds">first installment</a>, you can read about what information is mandatory in order to create good quality feeds for Google Shopping. Next, the top 10 errors Channable users experience when connecting to Google Shopping will be uncovered.

The following list of errors are the most common errors experienced by Channable users when [connecting to the Google Merchant Center](https://www.channable.com/integrations/google-shopping-feed). Common pitfalls like the wrong categories and incorrect availability format were easily solved with Channable’s<a href="/blog/smart-categorization-google-shopping"> smart categorization </a>and rules. Channable supports two forms of connections to Google Shopping, [a feed that you upload or an API](https://www.channable.com/integrations/google-shopping-integration) that provides a direct connection. The API connection will communicate the errors immediately in Channable. Whereas any errors from a feed will only be found in the Google Merchant Center. Some errors require extra effort from the user but Channable can help identify and solve many issues experienced.
<h3>1. Invalid GTIN</h3>
If you experience <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6239381?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this error</a> with your Google Shopping connection, you can still send products with valid GTINs with Channable’s <a href="https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015280559-Rule-Invalid-GTIN-or-EAN">GTIN check rule</a>. The tool can identify which GTINs are valid and then, with the same rule, you can choose to exclude any invalid GTINs. You could also choose to remove the invalid value and use the tip below to ensure your products are sent successfully. This way any items with invalid GTINs won’t be sent to Google and the import will be approved. Once you input the right GTINs and rerun your feed or API, the rule will make sure the valid GTIN items are sent.
<h3>2. Insufficient product identifiers: missing two out of the three attributes (GTIN, brand, and MPN)</h3>
Channable’s support team often gets queries concerning this error. Whilst the fields GTIN and MPN are labeled as recommended in the finalize stage in Channable, you will need one of them. There is a nifty way to circumvent the problem within Channable. It involves setting the field ‘product identifier’ as ‘false’. You’ll need to create a new field and then a simple rule to set the new field as FALSE, if GTIN or MPN is missing. Further instructions can be found in <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827285-Useful-rules-for-Google-Shopping" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">our help center article</a>.
<h3>3. Item requires a GTIN</h3>
Don’t be flummoxed by this rule having seen the two above. This rule will appear if you have submitted a GTIN but it doesn’t seem to be in the <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6239388?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">correct format</a>. Channable can help you quickly identify which items these are, with that handy <a href="https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015280559-Rule-Invalid-GTIN-or-EAN">GTIN check rule</a>. From there you can take the necessary action to make sure your feed is error free.
<h3>4. Temporary item disapprovals due to incorrect prices</h3>
It’s incredibly important to send Google the same price that is displayed on your website and, unsurprisingly, Google is very scrupulous about it. Otherwise, customers would be confused if they arrive on your landing page only to find a different price. So it's important not to create any Channable rules that’ll modify your price for a Google Shopping connection.

This error can happen if your website updates before your import feed into Channable has had a chance to rerun. So, it’s important you make sure that your scheduling isn’t too long after your website is refreshed. If your prices update frequently throughout a day, Channable can offer to run your feed more often at an additional cost. If you’d like extra runs, please just <a href="mailto:support@channable.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">get in contact</a>.
<h3>5. Missing images</h3>
Having a visual accompaniment with your product ads for Google Shopping is a no-brainer. Make sure you’re not sending any products without an image. Channable made a specific rule to help you identify and potentially exclude the item.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-10984" src="https://media.graphcms.com/NrlWwzHoQHy1NGG7UwWr" alt="Channable missing image rule" width="1416" height="489" />
<h3>6. Images too small</h3>
To advertise on Google Shopping, you need to supply Google with an image link. Prepared as you may be, Google found that many of Channable’s users are sending images that are considered too small.

Usually:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Images need to be 100 x 100 pixels and no larger than 64 megapixels.</li>
 	<li>Images cannot be larger than 16MB.</li>
 	<li>The visual in the image needs to take up 75-90% of the image.</li>
</ul>
For more information about how to fix this issue, you can refer to <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6205396?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google’s Merchant Center page</a> to find the right dimensions for the images.
<h3>7. Generic images</h3>
Google considers generic images as images that are logos or use the text “no image available”. Within Channable you can see a thumbnail of the images in the item overview section but this error is best avoided by altogether having images in your feed that correctly depict what you sell. Further advice can be found in Google's help page about<a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6098288?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> generic images</a>.
<h3>**8. Product pages cannot be accessed from a mobile device**</h3>
This error will result in your ad for that product not being displayed on both desktop and mobile devices. Essentially, the link cannot be accessed by Google. Google states that you can find the reason why they couldn’t access your URL in the column ‘crawl error’. More information on fixing it can be found on <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6098296?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google’s Merchant Center help page.</a>
<h3>9. Product pages cannot be accessed (desktop)</h3>
Similarly to above, the link to your product cannot be located by Google and so they’ll disable the ad for that product. Common errors for inaccessible URL pages include ‘Page not found (404)’, ‘Too many redirects’, ‘Could not connect / HTTP 5xx response’, and ‘Hostname not resolvable’. Ways to fix this error are nicely explained on the<a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6098155?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> product pages cannot be accessed</a> page.
<h3>10. Automatic item disapprovals due to a policy violation</h3>
Unfortunately, Channable hasn’t yet been able to develop to the extent that it can identify what items violate Google’s policies. So you’ll have to read through their <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6149970" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">policy guidelines</a> to see why your item was disapproved. Naturally, once it's been identified you can always use Channable rules to exclude that particular EAN code or product group.

Hopefully, now your connection to Google Shopping will be even better. If you want to connect to Google Shopping with Channable but don’t already have an account, just sign up for free <a href="/signup" rel="noopener">here</a>. Build your connection to Google Shopping to perfection in your own time and only choose a subscription when you’re ready to go live. If you experience any Google Merchant Center errors that aren’t mentioned above, you’re always welcome to <a href="mailto:support@channable.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">contact </a>Channable’s technical support team.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UJFpE24MiFI" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
**<em>Channable and Store Growers discussed these points in a knowledge session and shared even further insight into how important it is to solve disapproved items. You can <a href="/videos" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">watch the knowledge session here</a>.</em>**

10 most common errors Channable users have with connecting to Google Shopping

Channable is a tool that can convert your <a href="/integrations/xml-converter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">XML</a> to <a href="/integrations/csv-converter">CSV</a> (or even your Google Spreadsheet or TXT file), but the tool can be used for much more than just converting a file. This data feed management tool is perfect for managing, editing and working on your data. It will give you all the freedom to tweak your data in the easiest way possible and convert from many different types of files to a custom CSV or other. Channable can be THE solution for these issues: you face problems such as modifying data in hundreds of different Excel files, you have to combine data from different files with a different format, or you are facing difficulties editing fields in your file with the Excel formulas, etc.
<h2>On the import level</h2>
You can easily import your XML to convert it into a CSV later on. This is not the only supported format: XML, CSV, TXT or Google Spreadsheet are also accepted. The big advantage of Channable is that you can import more than one file and all of them can be with a totally different format. This is very useful if your data is spread across many files that are in different formats. Simply, import, combine or merge your XML, CSV, TXT or Google Spreadsheet.

<img class="size-full wp-image-12545 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/yKRP7GKTSIOGU2T1lvDa" alt="With Channable convert any file to create a new custom CSV" width="945" height="170" />
<em>Have a look at a short instruction here:</em>
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kb6YMUa7XtI" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<h2>Edit and adapt all your data</h2>
One of the best features in Channable is the rule section. In that section, you can easily manage your data. This can be done with our IF-THEN statements, which are extremely powerful and yet so easy to use.
<h3>A non exhaustive list of what you can do with these rules:</h3>
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Set up actions which allow you to filter on data</li>
 	<li>Exclude data you don’t want to include in the CSV</li>
 	<li>Enrich your data by appending values such as an optimized description or brand name in any field</li>
 	<li>Limit a field to a certain amount of characters</li>
 	<li>Enrich your data by adding columns (fields) and filling them as desired</li>
</ul>
<img class="size-full wp-image-12550 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/ebgLsKPKQImaASL1REwx" alt="Combine values with Channable rules" width="1327" height="496" />

This is one idea on how to use the rules within Channable but the possibilities are endless and it is way more user-friendly than Excel. If you want more ideas on what can be done, check out <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/categories/115000535005-Rules" target="_blank" rel="noopener">our guides</a>.
<h2>Export your custom CSV</h2>
Once you’ve modified the data within the rules section, you can either export all the fields or select which ones you want to export to your new CSV. This way, you’ll avoid having too many useless fields in your newly made custom CSV file. Furthermore, decide in which order you want your data or what will be the names of the columns.

There are more conversion options in Channable than just XML to CSV; you can also create a TXT file, another XML file (also a unescaped XML file), a JSON file or even a RSS feed.

<img class="size-full wp-image-12548 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/2qUJDIKzQAK81VzzNL4Y" alt="Convert XML to csv with Channable" width="1174" height="136" />

Want to use Channable to manage your data? Then <a href="/pricing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">check which plan would suit you best</a> and <a href="/signup" target="_blank" rel="noopener">get started now</a>!

Convert any file to create a new custom CSV

Google’s expanded ad template was introduced mid-2018. An <a href="https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7056544?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">expanded Google ad</a> allows advertisers to write three headlines, as opposed to two, and an additional description of 90 characters. The ability to expand ads was <a href="https://www.iprospect.com/en/us/our-blog/googles-expanded-text-ads-are-now-bigger-and-better/#" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">warmly welcomed</a> by the marketing commuting and Channable saw to implement the expanded text ads structure immediately. The additional headline and description are optional but give marketers an extra 120 characters to communicate more information.

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-12963 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/M8kWlwFnS82xHKXtv5k0" alt="" width="1500" height="561" />

This option to share more information is great news. Especially if your ad headlines currently only contain vital information and you feel limited for creativity. For example, you currently advertise on the brand name and your own USP but have little room for much else. This third headline gives you the option to add a second USP such as free shipping, a call to action, or temporary information such as seasonal promotional messages. With Channable’s dynamic template, automating expanded text ads and modifying a third headline is simplified. Notably as you can communicate dynamic information such as price or availability without pausing ads.
<h1>Sitelinks are also here!</h1>
To further improve your ad and click through rate, use sitelinks. They are also available in Channable’s ad templates. Sitelinks appear as additional URLs in a search ad and can provide users with immediate access to e.g. your phone number, your opening hours, special offers. You can have up to six sitelinks, and a minimum of two.

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-12964 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/ZMjfY0vUQ36qbjJFE9OQ" alt="" width="1500" height="997" />

Sitelinks are great as you can edit them without creating new ads or losing performance data of your ads. Sitelinks also help you get a better understanding of your clicks and what information your potential customers want the most.

Improve and automate your Google ads with Channable’s dynamic expanded ad template. Then, watch your ad performance and click through rate boom. For a demo of the SEA tool, just <a href="/demo">fill out our demo form</a> and a Channable expert will be in contact asap.

Channable’s new and improved ad template: Google expanded ads and sitelinks

<h2>What’s new?</h2>
If you’ve activated <a href="/products/marketplace-integrator" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Channable’s Order Connections</a>, you’ll already be benefiting from the synchronisation i.e. of order information, stock levels, track and trace status, from a marketplace such as Amazon or Bol.com straight into the backend of your online store.

The order information that Channable processes can now be downloaded as a CSV file.
<h2>Why would I want orders in a CSV?</h2>
Whilst an overview within Channable is very nice, many of you requested whether you could easily extract the information for your own information processing.

Having the CSV can be useful for your own documentation, reportage and record keeping.
<h2>How do I do it?</h2>
There’s a handy “Download as CSV” button in the bottom right corner of the order overview page within Channable. You can set a specific date range for the download, as otherwise the default is the previous month.

<img class="size-full wp-image-12541 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/vqzlfGPQSWEP1BQ8KLNh" alt=" Download Orders as CSV within Channable" width="1320" height="705" />
<h2>More Information?</h2>
For a screenshot and some more information about finding the order connection in Channable you can take a look at <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013185094-Download-orders-and-order-returns-as-CSV" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the help centre article</a>.

New Feature: Download Orders as a CSV

As an online marketeer, you know the struggle of selling online. You have your own website, but that is not enough. You want to advertise on price comparison websites, marketplaces, affiliates and have lots of SEA campaigns running. To do so, you need a data feed - ideally one that is linked to your website and your actual shop system. This data feed can be used for your export platforms. But because the data feed requirements vary per platform, it is necessary to adjust your feed according to the standards of the platform.

For this task many people use feed management tools, like Channable. In a tool, like Channable, you are able to edit your feed with rules that are based on IF-THEN statements. <em>IF your price is empty, THEN exclude the product from the data feed.</em> Some rules will be specific to certain channels because they have specific requirements. Other rules might be needed for all exports in general, so it can be a real time saver to put them into the newly implemented master rule groups.

Master rule groups is a feature that Channable recently introduced. Normally, you would create rules for the export channel you have chosen. Whereas with master rule groups, you can create several groups and execute them for multiple exports. These rules are very convenient if you want to apply changes that are needed for multiple channels. Per export, you can select which master rules you want to apply. Below we’ll show a couple of examples of how you could use this new feature.
<ol>
 	<li>**Exclude seasonal products**
It’s winter, there is snow outside and your data feed contains winter coats but also beachwear, swimming suits and other summer fashion. At this time of year, you only want to advertise products that are relevant for this cold weather and exclude anything that is related to summer. With master rules you can easily do that for your entire product feed and won’t have to worry about it per channel.<img class="aligncenter wp-image-13271" src="https://media.graphcms.com/4p7Ff5RRCByWA1yWZllA" alt="" width="1200" height="558" /></li>
 	<li>**Exclude unwanted**
Does your feed contain HTML or textual discrepancies (e.g. unwanted capitals)? Do some items lack information like images, price etc.? These are issues in your feed that you certainly want to eliminate for any export. Use the master rules and you’ll save even more time!</li>
 	<li>**Exclude blacklisted products**
Some brands or categories are not meant to be advertised, so you usually blacklist them. Even if you work in travel, you might want to exclude certain destinations. Create a master rule group for the items you want to blacklist and be done with it forever!</li>
 	<li>**Exclude parent items**
Parent items or configurable products can be excluded in advance, so it’s easier for you to advertise only on the products on that you want to advertise.</li>
</ol>
In our <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015726134-What-are-master-rule-groups-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">help center</a>, we explain how to implement master rules in even more detail.

One master rule to rule them all

Feed-based marketing is becoming more accessible to marketers thanks for product feed management tools. <a href="/blog/find-the-perfect-feed-management-tool">Product feed management tools</a> enable data feed optimization that enables optimized advertising on your chosen online marketing channels. Channable offers a <a href="/products/product-feed-management-tool">product feed manager</a> and therefore knows all about feed-based marketing. Channable's international expertise in the field of digital marketing and its product feed management tool is used by many industries for a lot of different marketing purposes.

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-13083 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/RNkFvZ4YTZqqXewtOcFg" alt="product feed Channable" width="600" height="1800" />

If you want to know more about how feed-based marketing can be useful for your business, <a href="mailto:support@channable.com">don't hesitate to contact us</a> for more info or <a href="/demo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">for a demo</a>!

And if you like this infographic, feel free to share it on social media!

What is a product feed in marketing? [infographic]

It was time to make the health check section a bit more user-friendly. Therefore, it has been renamed from "health check" to "quality check" and of course it has had a little upgrade at the same time.
<h3>What has changed</h3>
The quality check functionality is more extensive. You can now click on the items affected by the issue. Once you click, the tool will show you all the items that lack the specific information.

As examples speak better than words, let’s say that 39 items lack a description in your Google Shopping feed. With Channable’s quality check, you can now see exactly which ones, and you can even use the search bar to flick through them. The next step is still yours to make and would be to go to add this missing information by using the rules section to make your feed better and more complete.

<img class="size-full wp-image-13469 alignnone" src="https://media.graphcms.com/botDK95gRuHyREQMZRpu" alt="New channable functionnality: quality check" width="1902" height="770" />
<h3>Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger</h3>
Not only is it easier for you to check the errors in your feed, but this functionality is even faster! Test it with your feeds to see how fast it is and start using it to improve the data in your export feeds.

New Channable feed quality check will give you more insights

<h2>Why is there a new Fnac API?</h2>
The Fnac **Products** API is the new API and it allows you to send unknown products (EAN and other important information) to Fnac. No more “product not found” errors! It only needs to be used once so that Fnac can add the product to its database. Fnac will receive and upload the item(s) and all its accompanying information into the Fnac system.

The other Fnac API (the one that has been in Channable a long time) has been renamed Fnac **Offers** API. It is used for creating, updating or deleting product listings/offers on Fnac. You can optimize product information, control flow, sync stock levels and provide Fnac with all the vital information they need in order to sell your products e.g. shipping costs. If you wish to use <a href="/products/marketplace-integrator">Channable’s order connection</a> for Fnac, a feature that synchronizes order information from Fnac to your online shop, then a Fnac Offers API is necessary.
<h2>How do I do it?</h2>
You will first need to create a Mirakl account. You can then create the new Fnac Products API in Channable and complete the attribute builder stage with all the required attributes. Then you just have to click “Run now” in the API overview and Channable will send the new products and their information (EANs, title etc.) to Fnac.

Once this has happened, the Fnac Products API can be paused. Simply because the new products will be in the system. There is no need to send them again and it will help keep the Channable tool running smoothly.

You will then need to create a <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004172333" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fnac Offers API</a> to control and modify the products offers you want on Fnac.
<h2>More information?</h2>
For a more visual and detailed guide on how to use the new Fnac Products API, check out the <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360019296454-How-do-I-add-unknown-EANs-to-Fnac-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">help center article</a> we’ve written. There is also a <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004172333" target="_blank" rel="noopener">help center article</a> for creating product listings for Fnac.

Send new products to Fnac with Channable’s Fnac Products API

*Note this article was first published in December 2020 and should be used as a reference. In April 2024 Channable launched it's own [CSS connection](https://documents.channable.com/css/) to consider as a partner to showcase your products effectively.*

As of 2017, vendors can also appear in the Google Shopping search results by registering at a comparison site that is approved as a Google CSS Partner. The Google CSS Partner program is especially for Comparison Shopping Services (comparison sites) and vendors that work with such comparison sites.

On the internet, you’re overwhelmed by blogs and articles when searching for the Google CSS Partner program. These search results include a lot of stories about why Google invented this program and why you should start with it “RIGHT NOW”, or blogs that are written by companies who are a Google CSS Partner themselves. At Channable, we’re striving to be neutral in this matter, so read on if you’re just interested in the Google CSS Partner program and want to know how to get started.
<h2>Why should I work with a Google CSS Partner?</h2>
Working with a Google CSS Partner comes with a few benefits:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>There will be no visual change to your ads. They will still be shown in the general search results pages of Google Shopping, in between the ‘regular’ Google Shopping ads.</li>
 	<li>Working with a Google CSS Partner can also be more profitable. When advertisers offer €1 per click via Google, only 80 cents goes to the auction. With a Google CSS partner who doesn't charge a percentage commission, 100% enters the auction. This leads to a natural bid increase of 20% without having to actually change the bids!</li>
<li>After switching to a CSS Partner, the smart bidding algorithm will have an easier time in the ad auction. With a higher possible CPC it can buy more expensive clicks increasing the overall traffic of the campaigns. And with more traffic there will be more conversions leading to a higher overall converted value. This means that the shopping campaign will deliver more revenue for the business without changes in ROAS.</li>

</ul>
<h2>What does it look like?</h2>
Advertisements delivered by a Google CSS Partner are shown the same as all other Google Shopping ads. However, instead of ‘By Google’ under the advertisement, you’ll now see ‘By + the name of the Google CSS Partner”. A more detailed overview of the ad can be found under the ‘Shopping’ tab in Google.
<h2>How do I choose the right Google CSS Partner?</h2>
The most important thing is that you work with <a href="https://comparisonshoppingpartners.withgoogle.com/find_a_partner?page=0&amp;seed=5785641" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an official partner</a> that fits your marketing goals and is specialized in the products (e.g. apparel or electronics) you want to advertise. Next to that, make sure you know if the Google CSS Partner supports all your products, and if they charge an additional CPC and/or CPS.

It is important to know the pricing and terms can differ between the several Google CSS Partners you can choose from. For instance, some work with a flat fee per month while others charge on a performance basis. Producthero chose their pricing model because “It is a Google policy that all of a vendor’s products are advertised on the website of the CSS Partner. With Channable, it is possible to optimize feeds for CSS channels by optimizing the product catalogue that is advertised. Leaving out any products on the CSS website, which are in fact advertised in Google with this CSS Partner, would be a violation of this policy. Therefore, when developing our CSS, we saw that a fixed or performance-based fee to place all products on the CSS website works better for most advertisers than a CPC based model.”

In addition to business models and pricing, there can be many differences between Google CSS Partners including (cancellation) terms, active countries and additional agency services as many CSS Partners are part of a marketing agency.
<h2>How do I start advertising on Google Shopping with a Google CSS Partner?</h2>
Once you have chosen a CSS Partner that fits you, starting is quite easy. You just need to confirm in your Merchant Center that it can change its association from Google to the CSS Partner of your choice and then Google will do the rest.

Channable already supports connections to a few Google CSS Partners in the tool, and setting up the feed works the same as setting up a [Google Shopping feed.](https://www.channable.com/integrations/google-shopping-feed) Please <a href="/contact" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">contact us</a> if you need more information or need help with setting up a feed.

Everything you need to know about Google CSS Partners

As the largest search engine in the world, Google’s paid advertising attracts business of many sizes. However, to an untrained-eye, Google Ads can feel impossible to navigate through and decipher. To make life easier, Channable compiled an infographic to help you get your head around the most common Google Ads terminology.

[![Infographic](https://media.graphcms.com/r2SYgURo6O0W3hrgtAfZ)](https://media.graphcms.com/r2SYgURo6O0W3hrgtAfZ)

Feel free to share this Google Ads cheat sheet infographic on the social media network of your choice. If you’re wanting to save time and generate your Google Ads, take a look at [Channable’s SEA Tool](/products/ppc-tool). With a built-in template, you can generate hundreds of ads for Google and Bing from the information in a data feed and they’re even automatically updated!

Channable’s handy Google Ads cheat sheet [infographic]

Whilst there are multiple differences between both marketplaces and comparison sites, Channable identifies that both can bring you great benefits to your online sales.

<img class="wp-image-15450 size-full aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/XxFFscdZSjOwsK0I7nkg" alt="marketplaces vs comparison sites" width="800" height="1905" />

Feel free to share this infographic on the social media network of your choice.

Channable offers connections to more than a thousand marketplaces and comparison websites around the world. Take a look at the <a href="/integrations">different possibilities</a> that you have in Channable and choose the ones that fit best with your online sales strategy.

Marketplaces VS Comparison Websites [infographic]

Search advertising marketing automation tools were introduced to reduce the time and effort spent on tasks that could be done by anybody. They are there to enable the optimization of processes, costs, and efforts. Naturally, there will be certain processes that businesses will prefer to be handled by a real marketer. By identifying what those are, you can start to draw up a list of what you expect from a marketing automation tool, the essentials, and what would be nice for it to do. Not all tools are perfect, but knowing what aches and pains it can soothe are worth knowing.

Automating the generation of search ads is one method of marketing automation for search advertising. Whilst the functionalities of each search ad generation tool differ, they all aim to save time, lower CPA, and increase ROAS/ROI. Channable’s PPC tool is no exception and focuses on being a marketing automation tool for** feed-based automation** for both search and shopping campaign creation. But what does that actually mean? And how is it different from other tools?

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15188" src="https://media.graphcms.com/gnKmvF1pR96iL5eDifFj" alt="" width="1070" height="515" />
<h2>What can you do with the Channable PPC tool?</h2>
As the Channable PPC tool is a feed-based generation tool, you can use it for aspects of search advertising that can be generated from item attributes imported via a data feed, plugin or API. These aspects include:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Campaigns</li>
 	<li>Ad groups: medium and/or long tail</li>
 	<li>Ad copy</li>
 	<li>Shopping Campaigns</li>
 	<li>Keywords</li>
 	<li>Negative keywords</li>
 	<li>Basic targeting</li>
 	<li>A default CPC</li>
 	<li>Sitelinks</li>
</ul>
Using an ad generation tool is useful if you need to generate a large number of ads that are still unique for the right audience. Managing ads for thousands of items can be time-consuming. Not only when it comes to creating the ads but also having to keep them up to date and pausing irrelevant ones.

Channable’s tool ensures that your ads are up-to-date and relevant as you can use dynamic information in your feed to create the above-mentioned list.

For example, if you wanted a campaign for each subcategory or destination you offer, simply use the field ‘subcategory’ when building the campaign template in Channable. There is also a template for ad copy, so you can create unique ads from one template because of the dynamic information contained in your feed.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15186" src="https://media.graphcms.com/4aK3vBMYTT6ibH5oPXV7" alt="" width="1070" height="489" />
<h2>What will I still have to do?</h2>
Bid Management, budget, and advanced targeting are not included in the Channable PPC tool. Although Channable can be used to set a default CPC or targeting, we recommend you finetune this in your Google or Bing ads manager. Do not worry, adjusting CPC and targeting will not result in any errors in Channable.

Furthermore, if Channable is unable to help you create certain campaigns, ad groups or keywords you can still manually create them in your ads manager. As these manually added ads will not be linked to Channable, they will not be affected by Channable and will remain in your ad account intact.

Finally, campaigns and ad groups that are created in Channable, **cannot** then be edited in Google/Bing. This is because the synchronization between Channable and your ad manager will be lost. Therefore, ads will not be refreshed as they will no longer be recognized by Channable. This will ultimately result in an error in Channable.

When choosing a tool, you need to think about what it is you want it to assist you with, what’s necessary and what is nice to have. If you’re looking for a solution to help you manage and create the right ads, with relevant keywords, and a clear and comprehensible structure in campaigns and ad groups, then Channable’s PPC tool could be the best option.

The dynamic nature of the PPC tool means that the campaigns, ad groups, ads, and keywords are always cohesive with your site and relevant. So long as you’re aware that there will be certain aspects like bid management, budget and targeting that you will still have to do manually. Furthermore, remember a tool is there to compliment and help you but you will still have full control and can revert to manual when necessary.


Why use a marketing automation tool to automate search ads?

Product categorization - creating virtual aisles for your online customers on your e-commerce marketplace. Most consumers coming to your websites have their expectations set by leading marketplaces like Amazon and eBay.

Even with 1.9 billion businesses on Amazon, [customers complete 28% of Amazon purchases in three minutes or less](https://sell.amazon.com/blog/amazon-stats#:~:text=Amazon.com%20statistics&text=Amazon%20has%20over%20300%20million,billion%20in%20global%20annualized%20sales.). One of the major reasons?

[Their product category tree](https://www.sellerapp.com/blog/amazon-product-categories-tree/). Amazon has listed their primary, secondary, and tertiary categories in the form of a tree, branching them according to their specificity.

![Amazon’s product categorization tree to aid customers.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/96egQZjJTla6Y3G8ftIP)

This results in easier navigation for customers, which in turn boosts sales and conversions.

However, research suggests that [90% of ecommerce businesses](https://baymard.com/ux-benchmark) don’t actively address proper product categorization. If that’s you, read on.

In this article we’ll discuss what exactly is product categorization and how you can improve it. Let’s dive in.

## What is product categorization?

Product categorization, also known as product taxonomy, is organizing products into specific, hierarchical categories. 

Just like you walk in a physical store and browse through different aisles in search of a specific product, product categorization allows online marketplaces to create virtual aisles to help customers find what they’re looking for.

The better your product categories, the easier (and faster) it is for potential customers to find what they’re looking for and put it in the cart.

[Dr Jart+](https://www.drjart.com/shop-all), for example, knows their customers inside out and that has helped them create a highly targeted menu. They’ve categorized their products in 3 distinct ways to help customers find their desired products with ease.

## 4 reasons why product categorization is essential for your marketplace

A customer is searching for the right pair of court shoes. They land on your website and click on 'Shoes' in the navigation menu. Under shoes, there’s only one option, ‘Women Shoes’, so they click on that and scroll through pages full of different types of shoes in search of court shoes.

Unable to find what they’re looking for, they click the x button before you can scream ‘Stop’.

This is one of the reasons why the traffic you’re driving to your website isn’t converting.

Along with higher conversion rates, there are several other benefits of categorizing your products on your marketplace.

### Improves user experience

Your online marketplace is where customers come to shop. The better their experience, the more they’ll shop from you and the longer time they’ll stay on your website and social feeds.

Studies show that if you’re not making it easy for customers to navigate your website, you’re missing out on [35% of your sales](https://s3.amazonaws.com/coach-courses-us/public/theuxschool/uploads/The_Trillion_Dollar_UX_Problem.pdf). Correctly categorizing your products into distinct categories improves your marketplace’s overall UX, increases your sales, and boosts customer retention. 

![Macys-_All-categories.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/k7A8U6fcQX65StSUOE0J)

Notice how has not only neatly added all sub-categories in their menu, but under each category the first sub-category is ‘All Kitchen’, ‘All Bath’, etc. If users don’t find what they’re looking for in the sub-category, they have the option to click on ‘All products’, too.

### Increases search engine rankings

Your number 1 goal? 
Higher search rankings for your online web shop. Because the higher you rank on Google, the more traffic (and conversions) you get.

This is where product categorization comes in. It allows Google to crawl your site and index pages faster.

As Tank’s Senior User Experience Designer, Hilary Basch, [explains](https://www.forbes.com/sites/dangingiss/2018/09/27/new-research-shows-website-navigation-may-be-losing-you-customers/?sh=567b3dab36cd),* “Being specific in your navigation encourages Google to route searches to your website.”*

[Having multiple distinct product category pages also helps you rank for long-tail and short-tail keywords which aids SEO](https://ahrefs.com/blog/seo-ecommerce-category-pages/).

### Allows you to make data-driven decisions

Categorizing products gives you an insight on what’s working and what isn’t.

- Which products are making more sales and which ones are tanking?

- What percentage of users go from Category page to Checkout? 

- How many of them do not navigate beyond the first page of product search results?

- Which categories are performing well and which ones aren’t getting clicked on?

Armed with this data, you can test for small issues in your website that are tanking sales. You can,

- Test website architecture such as placement of categories and subcategories on your website, 

- Switch up the Sort and Filter list on your Products page from New Arrivals to Best Sellers or Relevance,

- Experiment with an infinite scroll and see if that helps to increase conversion rates.

### Improves your operational procedures

From helping your teams quickly answer customer queries to managing and streamlining inventory distribution across your marketplace, product categorization can massively improve your operational processes.

## 5 Easy ways to improve ecommerce product categorization for the marketplace

Product categorization can be challenging. While one product may fall into multiple categories, some super-specific products may fall into no category. Manually categorizing ecommerce products on different sales channels is also a time-consuming process. 

So how do you improve and optimize this process? 

### Work on your product attributes

Start off this process by listing down the product attributes (tangible and intangible, both) of all your products. Some examples include,

- Brown faux leather jacket

- Large square rattan dining table

- Organic plant-based protein almond milk

This makes it easier for you to correctly categorize your products and helps customers to [shop from your online marketplace effortlessly.](https://www.channable.com/blog/optimize-marketplace-sales)

Once you’ve listed them all, start categorizing your products accordingly. Some tips to keep in mind:

- If you have more than 12 main categories, rethink your hierarchical structure and reduce them to 8 to 10. The more categories you have in your main menu, the more confusing it may get for your customers.

- Avoid duplicating your product attributes, categories, and sub-categories. For example, skin-care and face products are both the same.

- When working on your website’s product menu, don’t forget to create a visually appealing interface to ensure a smooth customer experience.

- Avoid over-categorization of your products by being too specific about their attributes.

### Steal from competitors and leading marketplaces in your niche

Next, take a look at your competitors and popular marketplaces in your industry and observe how they categorize their products. Chances are they've done their research and know exactly which categories to list and where in the menu.

![Sephora-categorization.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/YCL6HOUqTFecFTb5u0rO)

For example, if you’re in the beauty industry, look at how [Sephora](https://www.sephora.fr/) has added multiple sub-categories under their Gifts category.

Adding a price sub-category under Gifts shows that their customers look for differently priced gifts on this website. You can emulate this on your own marketplace, too.

### Prioritize mobile optimization

Your product categories will not increase your marketplace conversions if they’re not optimized for mobile devices. 

With mobile shopping sales forecasted to reach over 700 billion dollars by 2025, creating the best mobile experience for your customers is critical. So make sure your navigation menu, your product hierarchy, and different product categories are fully optimized for mobile.

### Regularly update and expand your product categories according to user behavior

Take a look at your customer’s behaviors. 

- Are certain products not getting clicked on despite being well in demand? 
- Are people searching for categories and subcategories on Google that don’t exist on your website yet? 
- Can you fit your existing products into trending product categories?

Keep a close eye on evolving trends in your industry and user intent. Add new product categories, update products into more specific or trending sub-categories, and create seasonal categories to highlight holiday seasons.

### Test and optimize
How do you find out if your current product categorization system is getting you maximum conversions and sales? By testing it.

Evaluate the performance of your product categorization system and find out areas you can improve.

Analyze the following metrics to get a deeper understanding of which product category is most popular, and which ones aren’t getting clicked on.

- Click-through-rate
- Time spent on each category page
- Bounce rate 
- Category Traffic

Once you’ve identified categories that aren’t performing as well as others, test the following,

- Different placements in the navigation menu, 
- Product category name
- Amount of products in each category
- Amount of sub-categories in each category
- Loading time of category pages

### Use smart categorization to automatically categorize all your products

Instead of manually categorizing all your products (even the thought feels exhausting), use a platform like Channable that [automatically categorizes thousands of products](https://www.channable.com/blog/smart-categorization-digital-marketing) on all your different sales channels within a couple of minutes.

A feed management tool like Channable guarantees that your products will appear in the right category of each export channel you are using to sell online. You can see the number of products that are included in each category and you can even check which products, in particular, have been included. 

The best part?

Best customer support team ever. All queries (whether tiny or massive) will be solved within seconds to ensure you have a smooth experience with categorizing your products and keeping your feeds up-to-date!

## Ecommerce product categorization is critical for marketplaces

You want more sales. Your potential customer wants to buy from you. Both things can only happen if you provide a frictionless online shopping experience for your customer.

Correctly categorizing your products allows you to do that. It helps customers find exactly what they’re looking for immediately, which increases not only sales but also the time they spend on your website.

To make the product categorization process easier for you, use Channable and automatically categorize all your products in minutes.

Channable allows you to create and manage all your product feeds in one place. You can choose from over 2,500 feed templates and build powerful data feeds to reach more customers. It also automatically updates product data like changing prices and stock information, so you can relax knowing your product feed is up-to-date. 

The best part?
Channable boasts [97% accuracy](https://www.channable.com/products/product-feed-management-tool) rate for product categorization!

Want to start optimizing your product categories today? [Request a demo now!](https://www.channable.com/demo)

What is product categorization in the marketplace and how can we improve it?

More and more brands are jumping into paid social advertising. Compared to more traditional marketing channels, such as television, social media is accessible for all types of budgets. Indeed, social media advertising is a must if you want to quickly reach a new target audience. These marketing channels are incredibly profitable and versatile. <a href="/products/ppc-tool" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">In a similar way to search engine advertising</a>, social media gives advertisers the ability to create marketing campaigns by selecting performance targets at relatively low costs.
<h3>Consider your target audience</h3>
It's important to know that all major social media offer advertising options, but that doesn't mean you should use them all. For example, <a href="/integrations/instagram" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Instagram</a>, <a href="/integrations/facebook-product-feed" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Facebook</a>, <a href="/integrations/snapchat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Snapchat</a> and Pinterest are appropriate for companies that are B2C, compared to Linkedin which would be more appropriate for B2B.
<blockquote>**Tips for choosing which social media to place your ads on:** When you think about where to advertise on social media, look at which ones work well organically for your brand. Organic would be publications that you don't pay for. Social networks where your content naturally touches fans’ heartstrings are an obvious choice for your first social advertising campaigns.</blockquote>
<h3>Define the goals of your campaigns</h3>
There are different marketing goals for your social media promoted campaigns depending on what you want to accomplish. With your social advertising campaigns, you can do the following:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Increase brand awareness (and increase your customers/followers engagement)</li>
 	<li>Send traffic to your website and generate leads</li>
 	<li>Convert internet users interested in your products (with the retargeting option)</li>
</ul>
<h3>What kind of budgets?</h3>
The advantage of advertising on social media is that you can create a campaign for any budget. Unlike a marketplace, there is no fixed amount to pay per month. On most social networks, you bid for your ads to be shown. You can specify a budget to get a certain result like an amount of clicks or to maximise your daily budget. When you create your ad, the social media ads manager provides you with a recommended bid based on your business objectives.
<blockquote>**What influences the bid recommended by the social media ad manager?** The costs of your ads for social media advertising is based on a mix of different aspects such as the quality of your ad, your objectives, the target audience, the country where you want to advertise, or even the day or period selected.</blockquote>
<h3>Which social networks to choose?</h3>
When choosing where to place your ads, **it is also useful to know which social media networks are most popular with your target audience**. Below, you can read about different social media networks including their audiences and properties.
<h4>Facebook the giant</h4>
As the network with the largest user base, Facebook is the number one social media in the world. It is therefore difficult to skip it in your strategy. Facebook is an excellent platform to start social advertising on. In addition to having enormous audience potential, Facebook has the advantage of being visual and offering multiple audience segmentation options. For example, with the pixel system, you can reach internet users who have already visited your website and/or application via retargeting. Above all, you can target audiences according to their interests, affinities, location, etc.
If you have already implemented <a href="/integrations/facebook-product-feed" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Facebook Dynamic Ads</a> and want to improve the performance of your campaign, a feed management tool like Channable could help you. This will ensure that your Facebook ads are always up to date, you can pause products ads with no stock, and you can check the quality of your feed before sending it to the Facebook business manager.
<h4>Instagram is not only for influencers</h4>
Instagram is an extremely visual social network, where users ‘like’ a vast number of images. An advantage of using Instagram is that it belongs to Facebook. Therefore, to advertise there you can use the same feed as the one prepared for Facebook. This social network is very popular among new generations between the ages of 12 and 35.
<h4>Snapchat shows that your brand is on top of industry trends!</h4>
Snapchat is relatively new compared to Facebook or Instagram. Its audience is very young and eager for technology. Nearly three-quarters of young people aged between 18 and 24 use the application. The tone on Snapchat is rather relaxed, fun, and informal.
<h4>Pinterest is not only an inspiring site</h4>
Think of Pinterest as a product search engine where you can do visual advertising, a bit similar to [Google Shopping](https://www.channable.com/integrations/google-shopping-feed). The particularity of Pinterest means that users might not directly buy your product and the conversion time is longer than on other marketing channels. On Pinterest, users are looking for inspiration and ideas. They can therefore "pin" an image that interests them. Your ad will appear right between the pinned posts.

Bear in mind that the majority of Pinterest users are women between 25 and 50. Pinterest is the place to be if you are an advertiser in an industry that relates directly or indirectly to marriage, cooking or fashion.
<h3>A concrete guide for creating ads for social media</h3>
Most of these platforms have an ad manager for creating, organizing and managing your campaigns on social networks. Create ads by sending your product information in a product data feed. <a href="/fr/blog/infographic-flux-produit-marketing-digital" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">For those who are not familiar with this term</a>, it is simply a file that contains all your product information. Often the format of the file is an XML.

<img class="size-full wp-image-14706 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/575MiNSXiEEpELmGugv1" alt="Create XML for Facebook business manager with Channable" width="567" height="106" />

However, by using this type of "manual" method, it makes managing ads very difficult and tedious. Imagine that every time your product catalog or product information changes (e.g. a new collection or pricing during sales), some products are out of stock or you want to create campaigns for only a part of your catalog, you will have to create a new feed and reset your campaigns each time.

This is where data feed management tools come in.
<h3>Why use Channable to advertise on social networks?</h3>
Product feed management tools simplify the integration and management of your catalog on multiple platforms. With Channable, you can import your product information to enable advertising on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or Pinterest.

<img class="size-full wp-image-14705 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/qyz7LWhSUWs3ZZQvzeDa" alt="social advertising with Channable" width="1587" height="450" />

Not only are all your social media feeds prepared and optimized in the same interface, but they can also be directly synced with your online shop. Simply import your product data into Channable and create new feeds for the social media network of your choice. Then, your feeds will be updated (with the information available on your online shop) every day in Channable to ensure you always have the most up-to-date ads!
<blockquote>In summary, you centralize all your product information in a single interface so that it is updated every day on all platforms where you advertise! Channable contains all the information about the data and formats you need to submit to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or Pinterest!</blockquote>
So, what are you waiting for? If you would like more information, do not hesitate to email to us at <a href="mailto:support@channable.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">support@channable.com</a>.

Why integrate social media into your marketing strategy?

The rules within Channable work hierarchically. With every rule you create, you exclude, filter or modify items. Per rule, you can check which items are selected. These selected items are not only manipulated by the rule you are in at that moment but by any rule that is above the rule you are working in. This hierarchy is important to keep in mind if you download the CSV list of selected items.

Here are some ideas of what you could do with the download:
<ol>
 	<li>**Optimize your website**
Imagine you want to see which items are missing a certain field (image, description, etc.). This is an easy way to export all “faulty” products and optimize them right away.</li>
 	<li>**Share insights with other departments**
If you want to share certain values, missing fields, images or in general data of certain items with other departments, this is the perfect way to collect the data, download it, and share it. As a result, every colleague can use the data without needing to access Channable.</li>
</ol>
Did you know that you can also download CSVs in the master rules step? Read more about our <a href="/blog/blog-master-rules" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">master rules</a> and <a href="/signup" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">start using</a> them today!


Download sections of your items as CSV

In order to be “where your buyers are” marketers are investing more and more in the growing list of online channels to advertise on. From marketplaces and comparison sites to affiliate networks and social media platforms, the struggle today is creating unique ads for all these channels and keeping them up to date.

Pinterest is a social media network that has seen exponential growth in recent years and has begun to offer advertorial space for brands. Users, or aptly named “Pinners”, use Pinterest to search for inspiration, information, and entertainment. As an advertiser, your first goal should be to be discovered. Once you’ve accomplished that, you’ll want to convert pinners to buyers. Looking into advertising on Pinterest could be the next step to achieving that.
<h2>Why use Pinterest?</h2>
Pinterest is no longer a social network, it’s a search engine. Pinterest’s never-ending boards encourage visual discoveries and personalize the results based on a user’s interests. This engrossing way to entice users into spending hours scrolling and building their own pinboards introduces them to new brands every second. Pinterest is a great way to build brand awareness, boost favorability, shift perceptions, and get people to buy. One brand, gofeminin.de, recorded an impressive 20% of traffic coming from Pinterest, compared to only 2% from other social media platforms. Albeit, the conversion funnel may be longer with Pinterest, but awareness is the first step. Using Pinterest’s advertising option can further help improve your chances of conversion.
<h2>Why advertise on Pinterest?</h2>
There are many benefits to advertising on social media platforms. Namely, because social media is a fast and effective way to be in front of your target audience. At the time of writing, there were over 250 million Pinners worldwide. However, if Pinterest’s vast audience isn’t enough to persuade you to advertise on Pinterest, there are many other appealing factors depending on your target audience and goals.

If your target market is women between 25-50, advertising on Pinterest will most definitely be interesting for you. Brands such as IKEA, Boursin, and Hunter have found value in advertising on Pinterest. Their Pinterest ads helped to increase intent to purchase, heighten visibility during high sales seasons, increasing offline sales, and more.

By advertising on Pinterest, you are able to pay to promote your images (pins) to appear higher, and more frequently, on Pinterest boards. Your advertisement/promoted pin appears as an image with a short description and a link to the product on your website. A user is able to save this pin and it will be seen in other people’s boards too. Further increasing visibility and engagement.
<h2>How to get started with advertising on Pinterest?</h2>
The first step is to upload your products into Pinterest via Pinterest Shopping. Pinterest Shopping, aka Catalogs, allows “Pinners” to discover, save, and eventually buy your products via Pinterest. In order to list your products on Pinterest for shopping, you need to supply Pinterest with your product catalog/product feed. You can then generate hundreds of product pins.

To advertise on Pinterest, you will have to choose to promote a pin to a shopping ad. Simply choose which pins/products you would like as Shopping Ads through the Pinterest Ads Manager. These pins then become “promoted pins”. Pinterest uses a pay per click model, so you will only pay when a user clicks on your pin. The Pinterest Ads Manager works similarly to other ad managers, you will need to set a campaign, ad group, budget, time frame, etc.
<blockquote><em>Good to know! Advertising on Pinterest will mean your pins promoted status will come to an end. However, the pin will remain on Pinterest forever. Meaning your products will always be on display, generating only more views and clicks.</em></blockquote>
Converting your existing product feed into a Pinterest compatible one is really simple if you use a tool like Channable. It's merely a matter of uploading your product feed into Channable, choosing Pinterest as a feed, completing the steps to ensure Channable completes the Pinterest feed with the correct data from your original product feed, and then voila - you will be provided with a new feed URL that is Pinterest ready. This will save you a lot more time in becoming listed so you can start advertising on Pinterest faster.

Remember, Pinterest is visual. For every image you supply in your product feed a separate pin will be made. You can have multiple images for one product. Simply include them in your Pinterest product feed as additional images. If you have a separate feed with images you can easily combine it with your master product feed in Channable. You can use any pin to advertise on Pinterest.
<h2>Our tips for advertising on Pinterest</h2>
<h3>Create Pinterest titles and descriptions</h3>
Most likely the content in your pins will match what is listed on your site. To make your Pinterest advertising more relevant, consider adapting titles and descriptions. Write ad copy specific for Pinterest and consider excluding any overly generic images that wouldn’t generate as much attention as your fancier ones. These modifications can be simply done in the rules section of Channable.
<h3>Use keywords</h3>
It’s possible to use your Google keywords to improve your discoverability and advertising on Pinterest. You can pop them in your titles, descriptions, and even the image itself. Alternatively, experiment with Pinterest’s own search bar and see what the auto-completion suggests. If you use Channable, you can modify titles and descriptions for Pinterest without having to change your master feed.
<h3>Clickbait</h3>
Being found on Pinterest is just the first step, you also need to ensure that your pin gets clicked and saved. Anything that stands out is sure to give you the upper hand. Consider the following:
<ol>
 	<li>Big text in the image</li>
 	<li>Colors that POP</li>
 	<li>Text blocks in images</li>
 	<li>Keywords in images</li>
</ol>
<h3>Less isn’t always more</h3>
The Pinterest inventory seems unlimited. Therefore, ensuring that you have a sufficient reach will require you to post frequently. Some marketers recommend 20-30 pins a day. It may seem a lot, but reposting is also acceptable.
<p style="text-align: center;"> <img class="alignnone wp-image-15365" src="https://media.graphcms.com/qrlkgMmcR72xBLSxHzXs" alt="Pinterest advertising tips channable" width="176" height="329" /> <img class="alignnone wp-image-15364" src="https://media.graphcms.com/zBAwJROmQeKyYhUuiaY7" alt="pinterest advertising channable" width="176" height="327" /><img class="alignnone wp-image-15363" src="https://media.graphcms.com/er1fEhBcQOSQFDJN9Q82" alt="pinterest ads channable" width="98" height="330" /></p>
By making relevant ads for Pinterest you will also increase the value of using it as an online marketing channel. Pinterest advertising can be sped up with Channable. Save yourself time and use Channable to manage your online marketing channels so you can easily scale and spend more time on making ads more relevant.



Get the most out of Pinterest advertising

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Some examples of when a data feed is used in online marketing for travel include:</span>
<ul markdown>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="/blog/blog-why-integrate-social-media-into-your-marketing-strategy">Using social media</a>, like Facebook or Instagram, for retargeting and prospecting</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Advertising with affiliate platforms such as Criteo and TradeDoubler</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">PPC campaigns for Google Ads and/or Microsoft advertising</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Retargeting campaigns with Google display</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Many of Channable’s clients operating in the European travel industry, such as <a href="/success-stories/norwegians-innovative-automation-based-on-channable-feeds">Norwegian Air Shuttle</a>, Pierre et Vacances/Center Parcs, and RIU hotels, are using Channable to perfect their complex data feeds. Channable has now become an integral part of their digital marketing strategies. Whilst their strategies differ, Channable has proven to be the perfect solution for a large portion of their online marketing activities. Their uses of Channable will be covered in this blog to provide other travel industry players with the possibilities feed management can open and problems it can solve. </span>
<h2>Create specific accommodation ads for each social media audience</h2>
Social networks, such as [Facebook](https://www.channable.com/integrations/facebook-product-feed), Instagram, Pinterest, or Snapchat, allow companies to reach their target audiences in a more specific and profitable way, compared to traditional channels. Many travel sector brands supply the social media networks with a manually created Excel or CSV files containing their offerings to benefit from the platforms advertising opportunities. However, each platform serves a different audience, and a travel company will need to ensure the right message is sent per audience. Therefore, it is necessary to tailor the file to the different audiences, but it is no easy feat.

By using a tool like Channable to easily restructure a feed and select which information is necessary for each social media channel, digital marketers in travel can properly make use of the potential social media platforms have to offer. In Channable, travel companies can even create separate projects to create feeds from information in different languages or for different countries.

Once the information is well structured, creating a travel data feed for each social media channel is simple. Channable has two tips that can help in creating personalized feeds for a travel company’s social media strategy:
<ul markdown>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Group services (hotels, routes, etc.) without making changes to the original feed. This way you can easily promote only certain services.</span></li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Add additional images and information by <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002826285-Can-I-combine-multiple-datafeeds-">combining import</a> feeds. You may have a separate feed with additional images. Instead of modifying your master feed, simply combine it within Channable’s setup step. You can then include a load more information to further personalize your messages. </span></li>
</ul>
<h2>Add UTM tags to measure website traffic easily</h2>
Jasnina, head of measurement and online attribution at RIU Hotels, identified Channable’s ability to add UTM tags as a perfect solution for measuring traffic and results. “<em>The correct measurement of traffic is fundamental, and this is achieved thanks to the possibility of customizing UTM tags. These tags allow you to define the hotels in each feed based on the measurement parameters that we want to indicate. In this way, it is very easy to analyze the traffic that comes from the different marketing channels we use</em>.”

<img class="alignnone wp-image-15701" src="https://media.graphcms.com/pDoTxvpJTlC3C7s1Eo6b" alt="" width="977" height="535" />

<span style="font-weight: 400;">UTM tags provide travel businesses with more exhaustive performance data. They can then adapt marketing strategies based on the results obtained. It is easy to see which hotels and destinations are performing well in the countries that they are advertised in.</span>
<h2>Retarget to lower cart abandonment</h2>
It has been proven that retargeting can help improve sales, as it assists in retrieving website users who showed interest but did not yet purchase. Affiliate networks such as Criteo or TradeDoubler help to remain on those potential customer’s radars. In addition, display actions, like the one offered by Google, can help you achieve this goal. Retargeting is especially valuable for companies in the travel industry, as customers are more likely to be comparing prices and finalizing details before securing reservations.

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Channable has the specifications of over 2500 <a href="/integrations">channels</a> including hundreds of<a href="/integrations?channel=affiliate"> affiliate networks</a>. The built-in platform makes adapting your information to the requirements of the channel easy, so you can utilize more channels, faster. </span>
<h2>Automate Google Ads campaigns to generate more conversions</h2>
Channable’s SEA tool is a travel business’ perfect accompaniment for Google Ads or Microsoft Advertising. As it enables users to generate campaigns, ad groups, ads, and keywords from the information in a product feed. The simple template lets you build each level of your campaigns with dynamic values or static text. For travel companies, this can save heaps of time as hundreds of ads will be generated for every item in the feed. Maximizing each offering’s visibility with minimal effort.

<em>**Group offers/advertise the cheapest prices**</em>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">With Channable, you can group hotels by city or flights by destination. You could even go on to select the cheapest flight in the group and advertise on that price. For example, the headline of your ad could read “Flights to **New York** from **€80**.” As Channable fetches your import feed daily, the price will be updated accordingly. </span>

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15702" src="https://media.graphcms.com/vMxZekdR0OxynUDNNdLG" alt="" width="528" height="483" />

<em>**Ads updated constantly**</em>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">By updating the feed and therefore ads daily, the correct information will always be communicated. In addition, rules can be implemented to ensure that any service that is low in availability or undesirable is suppressed and its ads will be paused.</span>

<em>**Keywords created automatically**</em>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Generating keywords from information in your feed is another common usage of Channable by travel companies. According to Ole Henrik Hasle, global digital media strategist at Norwegian, "<em>by including all possible routes and combinations, we went from 18,000 keywords created manually to 200,000 keywords. Thanks to this we were able to optimize our ads and improve the performance of our marketing budget</em>." Through combining two fields e.g. ‘to’ and ‘from’ cities to create keywords, Norwegian appears in more people’s search results.</span>
<h2>Create custom CSVs/XMLs for segmenting, organizing, and more</h2>
With a large data feed, travel companies often need to further dissect the feed into manageable data. Potentially per region, per KPI, or per price point. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&amp;v=kb6YMUa7XtI">Transforming the data into a simple CSV or XML</a> file is easy in Channable. By applying rules to the data, you can specify which data needs to be in the file and what is excluded, modify any names/descriptions (e.g. modifying the destination name ‘Charles de Gaulle’ to ‘Paris’), translate currencies to symbols, etc. As well as creating custom files for internal use, some travel companies build CSVs for other channels such as TripAdvisor.

Read more about our client’s success on our <a href="/success-stories">success story page</a>. If you work in the travel industry and are itching to get started with Channable’s easy-to-use tool, create a <a href="/signup" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">free trial</a> or just <a href="/contact">get in touch</a>. Channable can help you save time, which can be better spent on optimizing your strategy.

We have also created a special white paper focused on the Travel industry, where you can learn how to optimise for a successful data feed and how to automate your PPC campaigns thanks to Channable's feed management and PPC automation. Download and read all about it here:

<br><br/>
[form id="f9230338-ab7e-406b-a78f-7ddc3f8baa3d"]



Top feed marketing tips for travel companies

Being a Google premier partner often requires you to be on top of the latest Google developments, but you’re also eager to use them. <a href="https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7684791?hl=en-GB" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google’s responsive search ads</a> are the next biggest development in Google Ads, and Channable has ensured that the responsive search ads template is available in its <a href="/products/ppc-tool">SEA tool</a>. Roos Rabenberg from marketing agency <a href="https://www.yellowgrape.nl" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Yellowgrape</a>, a Channable Partner, has already been busy experimenting with responsive search ads in Channable and cared to share the experience so far.
<h2>What are responsive search ads?</h2>
The responsive search ads feature is Google’s AI ad structure that will adapt to the internet user depending on what the technology has evaluated as most effective. Roos shared that “by entering 15 headlines and 4 descriptions, Google Ads will automatically test the combinations and display the best performing ads to the right customer. Responsive search ads maximize the relevance of the ad to the search term of the customer. More relevance means that your advertisement can enter more auctions. More auctions lead to a higher probability of the advertisement to win, which results in an increase in impressions and traffic.”
<h2>Why would someone want to use responsive search ads?</h2>
Google says that responsive search ads allow you to display more relevant messages to your potential customers and may even improve performance. For Roos, “Responsive search ads are of great value to each advertiser out there that wants to maximize the probability of conversions. Before, advertisers needed to decide whether or not an advertisement was relevant or performing well. Now, we let a machine decide which ads are performing best based on a multitude of variables that is impossible to take into account as a simple human being. It not only saves time, but it also leads to better customer experience in Google.”

Functionality wise, responsive search ads can be desirable because you are able to:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Create flexible ads that can adapt to different device sizes</li>
 	<li>Save some time as you provide a set list of headlines and descriptions and Google will optimize the ad</li>
 	<li>Reach more people and increase ad group performance as combinations of your headlines and descriptions can generate more ads to compete in auctions and match more search queries</li>
</ul>
<h2>Why use Channable for responsive search ads?</h2>
Channable can be used to generate responsive search ads with dynamic information that updates the ads automatically. Dynamic fields use the information in your data feed to customize ads. One template can generate hundreds of variations of ads, headlines, and descriptions.

Yellowgrape was one of the first Channable clients to put Channable’s responsive search ads template to the test. Channable’s template was quickly deemed to Roos and the team as a valuable complement to starting with responsive ads as they realized “when using static ads, it can be hard to use up-to-date product information in your advertisements. In order to differentiate your ads from competitors, one must work with a feed management tool such as Channable. Creating advertisements in Channable can be done on different levels, such as brand-, category-, brand + category, and product level. By using keyword-related variables in a responsive search ad allows an advertiser to show relevant and up-to-date ads. This creates realistic expectations for the consumer. **Relevance level: 100%. Disappointment level: 0%.**”

<img class="alignnone wp-image-16656 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/O1ZxcbCyTFOUixU8jVBc" alt="channable responsive search ads" width="652" height="249" />

Channable’s SEA tool has proven to help improve relevancy, personalization, and save time. With the responsive search ads template, Channable has strived to ensure even more efficiency and the means to support even higher quality ads. Please<a href="/contact" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> get in contact</a> if you’re interested in Channable’s SEA tool and using Channable to generate responsive search ads. You can also <a href="/signup" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">open an unlimited free trial account</a> to get started.



Why use Google’s responsive search ads?

Perhaps you discovered Channable in a blog, used it at your previous company, or you’ve met someone from our wonderful team. Whatever the reason, you know that your company can benefit from Channable, but your managers are harder to convince. Let us help you with ways to convince your manager that Channable is a valuable asset that improves performance and saves both time and money. Below you can find a letter template and manager-proof responses to the most common objections.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear ……..........................…………,

**RE: Using Channable as a feed management and SEA solution**

At [company name] we continue to optimize our processes to be more efficient to deliver more for our clients. I am aware that you are always on the outlook for new technologies and trends that can make our processes more efficient whilst saving time and money, so I wanted to bring your awareness to Channable. Channable is an all in one feed management and SEA automation tool that offers feeds and integrations to over 2500 online marketplaces, affiliate networks, and comparison sites, and enables ad generation for Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising.

The Channable tool can be used to:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**Save time** (Channable’s client <a href="/success-stories/cotswold-use-channable-to-merge-maximize-and-rise">Cotswold outdoor</a> were able to advertise on Criteo within an hour),</li>
 	<li>**Save money** (marketing agency <a href="/success-stories/adwise-generating-dynamic-text-ads-channable">Adwise</a> saw an 11% decrease in cost per click for their client Oad), and</li>
 	<li>**Optimize online marketing** (SDIM were able to <a href="/success-stories/automated-google-ads-for-recruitment-campaigns-tmi">generate highly specific keywords and ad copy</a> for recruitment agency client TMI improving relevancy and increase conversion rate).</li>
</ul>
Based on these factors, we will have more time to focus on [performance analysis/acquiring new clientele/optimizations/etc.] because Channable will relieve us from spending hours manually [making optimizations in Excel/asking IT to modify feeds/creating keywords/searching for the channel criteria/etc.]. By using Channable to automate at least 20% of our tasks, we can save a whole day a week.

We can get a demo of the tool when it is most convenient for you, and Channable offers an unlimited free trial of the tool that’ll provide full access to all the functionalities. In terms of pricing, Channable has different sizes of packages that can be easily activated, upgraded, downgraded, or canceled at any time. The Channable technical support team is also at our disposal to clear up any issues that may arise when trialing the tool.

Let me know whether you have any concerns or questions about the points I have raised. Otherwise, we can <a href="/demo">request a demo</a> or directly make <a href="/contact">contact</a> with the Channable team.

Kind regards,

…………………………………………………….

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If the above letter isn’t enough. You can find some compelling arguments to the most common objections below:
<h2>Common objections:</h2>
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**We’re doing fine for now**
The world of marketing is rapidly changing, largely due to the innovation of technologies and AI. It is becoming essential to remain up-to-date and current with such innovations, which will require change. Looking into and adopting new technology like Channable is an investment in the beginning. However, over time Channable’s tool will save you time and money which will make your organization more agile and ready for the future.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>“Google is pushing for automation, everything is becoming automated. If you don’t push forward with these things, you might not see immediate changes now, but if you do it 2 years from now, you’re already too late. You will fall behind in the market.” - Martin Michels, Paid Search Manager at TUI</blockquote>
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**It’s too expensive**
Channable’s monthly subscriptions are determined by the number of SKU’s imported, channels used, and projects created. The subscriptions are flexible with no setup charge, cancellation fee, commission on sales, or hidden costs. By using Channable, users cut down the average time spent on ad and feed management from 22% to 5% a week (based on a 40-hour workweek). Furthermore, Channable’s support team is free for all and available by phone or email during working hours.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>“Real value for money” - Mark M on Capterra</blockquote>
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**We don’t have time right now to start**
Channable’s free trial is unlimited so creating an account takes just seconds and can be revisited whenever is convenient. As a welcome, Channable offers the first feed set up for free. Getting you up and running as fast as possible. Channable’s solution exists to save time. Therefore, if the lack of time your manager perceives is due to other tasks being too time-consuming, Channable could be a solution to that lack of time they’re rebutting with. If your team is wasting time using Excel or another software to manually edit product listings, keywords, ad copy, etc., then Channable is most definitely going to free up time.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>“Previously [using different marketplaces and prices comparison sites for each geographical market] was time-consuming because we did not have the feed adapted to each platform. Now we just need to open an account. It takes 1 minute to adapt the feed thanks to Channable. The feed is no longer a problem.” - Alex Poza, Consultant at ECCO Shoes</blockquote>
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**It’s too confusing and time-consuming to learn to use**
Channable offers an unlimited free trial that allows you to familiarize yourself with the tool and all its functionalities in your own time. The tool has been designed to be as user-friendly as possible, and Channable is often praised for being the most user-friendly tool of its kind. The team is happy to give demos to you to help you get acquainted with all the tool’s features and answer any questions you may have. Channable has found that many of its clients conduct their own in-house training now, so it can only take one person to train the rest.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>“Super-duper user-friendly. I haven't tried yet, but I think I can teach a monkey to use Channable. In a PPC world where the use of feeds gets more and more important, it is of great value that there is a tool like Channable that enables me to manage my feed, without having any programming skills.” - Danny V on Capterra</blockquote>
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**We’re just looking around right now**
Pitching an idea to a manager always requires plenty of evidence and solid reasoning. Snoop out the competitor and determine why in particular Channable is the best solution for you. Is it the user-friendliness? Potential? Affordability? Channable’s sales team has plenty of experience with existing and prospect clients. They are supplied with informative material should you need it for analysis. Together, you can develop a fool-proof strategy to win your manager over and start saving (both time and money) with Channable’s feed management and SEA solution.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>"We have tried many tools for both general feed management and building inventory management campaigns. But Channable is by far the best I have tried." - Christian H. on Capterra</blockquote>
Let us know if this letter proves successful, or whether you have any additions to add. The Channable team is ready to take on any and all managers to ensure that you and the team get access to the best feed management and SEA solution the web has to offer.

How to pitch Channable to your seniors

Adapting the numerical data in your product feed to the specifications of all your chosen online marketing channels can be a challenge. Prices, discounts, promotions, taxes, and fees come in different formats with a variety of different decimal separators. Imagine having to modify all figures to comply with Google Shopping, Criteo, and Amazon’s required format because yours is different.
<h3>How you could do it before?</h3>
Channable has always been able to help you modify your numerical information. You could create a set of rules to ensure the modifications would be applied. Combing rules such as ‘<a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827945-Rule-round-number" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">round number</a>’ and any <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002818089-Rule-calculate-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">‘calculate</a>’ rule can help improve your information in your data feed. Unfortunately, it was not guaranteed that numbers in your data feed with irregular decimal separators would be successfully modified.
<h3>Channable’s awesome new rule</h3>
As the Channable team is made up of perfectionists, it was important to make this experience as efficient as possible. Therefore, what you could previously do in 4 clicks now only takes one. This revolutionary reformat number rule allows you to switch your decimal separator to the format you desire. Here’s how it looks in the tool:

<img class="size-full wp-image-16471 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/m9Mx4yqYQXa7HpbjyEAK" alt="Format number rule in Channable" width="1339" height="518" />

<em>Note: It is important that this rule is always the last numerical rule that you apply. For instance, if you’re wanting to modify the process with a discount percentage then it is most convenient to use the reformat number rule later.</em>

Channable’s rules allow you to make powerful modifications to your data. There is a long list of rules that you can apply to help you to easily improve the data in your product data feed. Modifying descriptions, optimizing titles, and filtering out products with low stock levels are just some examples of the options available. Interested? Feel free to <a href="mailto:support@channable.com">contact the technical support team</a>, who will be happy to advise you on which rules can help you to optimize your feed.



Reformat the numbers in your feed

There is no doubt that Google is the most widely used search engine in the world, which leads many advertisers to use Google services to promote their products. Are you planning to create Shopping campaigns yourself or maybe you want your campaigns to perform better with less effort? Then use these tips to create successful shopping ads!

Before creating Google Shopping Campaigns, you should know that beforehand you’ll need to submit an optimized <a href="/blog/infographic-product-feed-for-online-marketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">data feed</a> within your Merchant Center account. This is a precondition for advertisers to create their Shopping campaigns.
<h2>Shopping ads made with enriched titles and descriptions</h2>
When your Shopping ads in Google Shopping have titles and descriptions that are full of keywords, your ads will have a better visibility in the search results.** The more optimized and detailed your product information is, the more likely your ads will appear. Consequently, the more likely you are to sell your products, because consumers prefer to be well informed before buying.** Channable can be very useful for easily optimizing your titles and improving your feed for Google Shopping. Consult <a href="/blog/create-quality-google-shopping-feeds" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the guide to create a top quality feed for Google Shopping</a> or the solutions to the <a href="/blog/10-common-errors-channable-users-connecting-google-shopping" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">most common mistakes in Google Shopping feeds</a> to help get your feed in top shape.

Once your feed is complete, optimized, and uploaded to the Google Merchant Center, you can begin to create Shopping campaigns in Google Ads. Shopping campaigns allow you to manage and optimize your Shopping ads. You can find <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/2660968?hl=en&amp;ref_topic=3163841" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">how to link your Merchant Center with your Google Ads account</a> in Google’s help center.

To determine which product will be shown, Google uses a real-time auction system, the information contained in your data feed, and the search results. Only items from sellers who have sent their feeds to the Merchant Center and linked their feed to a Shopping campaign in Google Ads are eligible to appear on Google Shopping.
<h2>Align your marketing objectives and bidding strategies</h2>
After creating a good quality product feed, it is necessary to create a relevant campaign structure. Google recommends subdividing ad/product groups to have a campaign structure that ranges your items from the broadest to the most restrictive types. This structure must correspond to the advertiser’s (your) marketing goals and how much they’re willing to bid per type of item. Why is it so important for an advertiser to segment their Shopping campaigns properly? If the advertiser wants to adjust the CPCs for different products or for a product category, it will not be possible if all products are contained within the same campaign.

How do you segment your Shopping campaigns? Like a text ads campaign, there is no one right way to organize your Shopping campaigns. However, if you know in advance which attributes of your feed will mainly determine your CPCs of your ad groups, then it should not be complicated.

<img class="size-full wp-image-16743 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/yTgh9VGRQ4GfmXFIzzXD" alt="Shopping Campaign with Channable" width="1331" height="590" />

Examples of structures:
**A simple structure/all in one:** one unique ad group for all your items and one product group per brand. The disadvantage of this segmentation is that Google will control which products will appear based on the information contained within your feed. You can’t really control the negative keywords on an item level. The advantage here is that it is easy to set up and this could work if your inventory is small with homogeneous type of products.

**More complex structures:** Divide your inventory into product groups and create subsets. For example, one ad group per brand or even per product, and one product group per item (be careful this segmentation will be long and complex to configure manually!). The advantage here is that you can alter bids and block terms on an individual product basis. How does this translate into a structure?
For example:

→ Divide your items by brands vs generic products (based on your margins)
→ Divide your items by category types/product universe
→ Divide your product by performance (e.g. best sellers)

You can already easily segment your products within the Google Merchant Center using custom labels.
<h2>Channable as a way to easily automate your Shopping Campaign creation and create segmentations</h2>
To simplify and avoid manual configuration within your Google Ads account, Channable is an optimal solution. Channable's SEA tool will allow you to easily create a complex structure for your Shopping campaigns. Select the products for a specific campaign and define the level at which the ad group should be generated (e.g. category or brand). You can do this by using dynamic fields from your feed.
<h3>5 reasons to use the Channable SEA tool for your Shopping campaigns:</h3>
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Simplify the creation of complex Shopping campaigns structure.</li>
 	<li>Have total and precise control over your PPCs and negative keywords at a product level without the complexity of manual work.</li>
 	<li>Add negative dynamic or static keywords to eliminate unnecessary costs.</li>
 	<li>Experience the possibility to use the performance of your products to create product groups in your campaigns to optimize CPCs for each product.</li>
 	<li>Benefit from daily updates of your campaign structures and ad information. For example, every time a product is out of stock, the ad is paused, or if you have new products in your inventory, your campaigns will be updated.</li>
</ul>
If some of the issues raised above are familiar to you and think you could benefit from Channable’s SEA tool for Shopping campaigns, do not hesitate to <a href="/contact" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">contact us</a> for a <a href="/demo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">demo</a> or to begin a trial.

Practical tips for successful Shopping campaigns!

But first, what is a feed management tool? A feed management tool sends your product data to selected price comparison sites, marketplaces, and affiliate networks.

It allows you to quickly and easily customize your product data for optimal viewing on numerous export platforms such as Amazon, Google Shopping, or Idealo. These connections are not only relevant to e-commerce platforms/online shops and marketing agencies, but also to airlines, job agencies, and/or real estate agencies.

By using a feed management tool, you can easily add and customize your data. Allowing your products to be optimally presented to reach the largest audience.

But before you jump into the jungle of feed management tools, here are the five tips.
<h3>1. The price</h3>
**Your budget**
From a few euros, a month to thousands - everything is possible. First, ask yourself how much money you want to invest in a feed management tool. Measure now how many sales you make per month, and project what could be made with the different pricing models. The main goal of a feed management tool is to increase your online reach. So, make sure that investing in a platform that will pay off.

**A lot or little - what is best?**
What features does a tool need to offer to meet your needs? Consider if a low-priced feed management tool and its features will meet your expectations. An expensive service is not necessarily better than a cheap one.

**Time and cost saved**
A good feed management tool will save you a lot of time and money. Consider how much time you are currently putting into your feeds, and then calculate the potential time savings with a feed management tool. If the feed management tool greatly reduces the calculated personnel costs, you will have an indication of the tool cost vs work hours.

**Different pricing models**
Most feed management tools offer different pricing models. Think about what's important to you in a tool. Do you want to offer your products on as many marketplaces as possible or do you only have a set amount of export channels in mind? The same applies to contracts and commitments. Some providers only offer annual contracts, others allow you to change your <a href="/pricing?currency=eur">pricing model</a> monthly. With Channable, you can adjust your pricing model to your changing needs every month, keeping you flexible.
<h3>2. User-friendliness</h3>
Who has the time to learn a tool that takes weeks? A program should be easy to use and self-explanatory. Make sure your selected tool meets the following requirements:

**Intuitive interface**
In a good tool, you should find your way right off the bat without having to search for functionalities. The layout should be clearly structured and easy to use.

**Request a demo**
Will a free demo be offered before you choose a tool? Can you test the tool for free to see if it fits your needs? If a trial is offered, you should definitely test it first. With Channable, you can test the tool for as long as you want. Giving you the chance to get acquainted with the functions, without stress.

**Support &amp; Help Center**
Is free support offered? How, and when can they be reached? Do they offer support in your native language? These are all questions that you should ask. Is there a help center? You probably do not want to email or call for every small question. Look at the website of the tool to see whether a <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us">help center</a> or "how-to" article can clarify any issues you may have.
<h3>3. Which export platforms are offered?</h3>
<img class="wp-image-7263 size-full aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/57N5YnFoRL2RRNa7Sm1A" alt="" width="696" height="348" />

You probably already know which <a href="/integrations">export platforms</a> you want to sell on. Make sure your favorite price comparison sites, affiliate networks, and marketplaces are supported by the tool you choose. This information can usually be found on the website of the tool. If your desired export channel is not yet supported, Channable also has the option to create it, just contact us!
<h3>4. Functions</h3>
While some functions are nice-to-have, others are essential to function at 100%. Weigh what you think is important and what is not.

**Setup**
First, you should clarify whether you can easily connect your online shop/e-commerce platform with your chosen feed management tool. Does the tool support a connection to your store provider (Magento, [Shopify](https://www.channable.com/integrations/shopify), Prestashop, etc.)? Or do you have the option to upload your data feed in other formats e.g. CSV or XML? Is it possible to combine different formats from different sources?

**Data feed optimization**
Once you have imported your data, see what features the tool offers, such as:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Automatic item categorization</li>
 	<li>Easy exporting to marketplaces/API connections</li>
 	<li>Ability to personalize your feed</li>
 	<li>Create custom rules e.g. to change values or exclude products that are no longer in stock.</li>
</ul>
**Order synchronization**
Find out if your potential feed management tool offers order connections to the marketplaces you need. With <a href="/products/marketplace-integrator">order connections</a>, your orders are forwarded in real-time from a marketplace (such as Amazon) to your online shop. Saving time and manpower.

**Google Analytics**
Data is an important asset for seeing how your items perform and where you sell the most. Look into whether there is<a href="/blog/blog-analytics-insights-for-better-performance"> Google Analytics</a> connectivity with your feed management tool of choice.

**Google Ads (AdWords) editor tool**
Do not forget the power of Google in your advertising strategy. When you advertise on Google, you increase your reach enormously. Does your feed management tool offer the opportunity to easily advertise with <a href="/products/ppc-tool">Google Ads</a>?
<h3>5. Quality of technical support</h3>
A good quality tool is important, especially if unforeseen errors occur or you are having issues with your data feed. Will the tool you use inform you if an error occurs?

Will you be getting the support you need from a knowledgeable technical team? How often is your data updated? How fast is the loading time? These are all factors that you should include in your selection of a tool and its support.
<h3>What should marketing agencies consider?</h3>
Are you working for a marketing agency and looking for a solution to optimize your clients' online strategy? Ask yourself the following questions, to find out which tool suits you and your customer the best:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Is there a price model specifically for agencies?</li>
 	<li>Is it possible to give your customers access to the feed management tool?</li>
 	<li>Can different customer projects be managed in one account?</li>
</ul>
Many <a href="/partners">marketing agencies</a> already use and trust Channable. By using the Channable tool, agencies can easily improve their customers' feed quality. Saving a tremendous amount of time and resources, by allowing customization from both customers and the agency itself.

If you need more information about Channable’s feed management tool, please feel free to get in contact. The team is always happy to answer a call or email. Or sign up for a free demo and test an account for yourself.

How do I find the perfect feed management tool?

Google is undeniably the current search engine leader. According to <a href="https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">stat counter</a>, 92% of internet searches were made with Google in 2018 worldwide. With such figures, it’s no surprise that advertising on Google is a favorite for online merchants. The success of this type of advertising is not only due to Google Ads, but also the unstoppable growth of Google Shopping.
<h2>What do product ratings in Google look like?</h2>
Product ratings on Google Shopping appear as a star rating. Written reviews can also appear in the organic search results in Google.
<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17038" src="https://media.graphcms.com/X2wrtnSkSUSPlkGxpPBu" alt="" width="1387" height="911" />

The rating is displayed on a scale that ranges from one to five stars. Ratings focus mainly on different aspects such as quality, materials, product features, user satisfaction, etc. Keep in mind, these ratings are for the product specifically not the seller. According to <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6059553?hl=en-GB" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google</a>, the overall rating is compiled from various sources.

By clicking on product ratings, a potential buyer will be brought to the Google Shopping product page where all reviews are displayed. In addition to the ratings, this product page also displays the list of sellers/online shops that stock the item, prices, special offers, shipping information, and seller ratings.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17022" src="https://media.graphcms.com/MNwMId3SlSzFkgj9eXIw" alt="" width="1333" height="446" />
<h2>How do Google Product Ratings work?</h2>
Unlike the seller’s ratings, product ratings are specific to that individual product. Naturally, delivery experience, returns policy, and customer service all factor into a buying experience, Google product ratings are intended for the products themselves and not the sellers.

These product ratings are supplied by third parties, which can be different sellers, marketplaces, review sites, etc. To associate ratings to each product, Google uses unique product identifiers, such as GTIN or other data such as the SKU, the brand, manufacturer number (MPN), and the product URL.

If a search is very generic, for example “red t-shirt”, an overview of different models will be shown. When you click on one of the models, the ratings of the sellers will appear. Whereas, if a search term is more specific, includes the brand name or the specific seller, then only the ratings for this seller will be displayed.
<h2>Advantages of integrating product ratings into Google Shopping</h2>
<em>**Ratings and reviews can help you distinguish yourself from the competition.**</em>
Online shoppers are strongly influenced by the opinions of other consumers. Products with ratings are more distinguishable than those that do not, which improves conversions and therefore sales. If your listing has many positive reviews, it will be easier for you to sell.

<em>**More informed consumers**</em>
Opinions do not just allow one product to stand out against another, it also helps consumers make a decision. In most cases, product descriptions provided by sellers are often impersonal and partial, which makes customers wary. Therefore, customers value and trust the opinions of fellow customers more. Especially, when reviews provide information that is missing from the product description.

<em>**Improve your conversion rate**</em>
Customers who come to your online shop through Google Shopping are more likely to buy.
<h2>Steps to integrate reviews into Google Shopping with a Google Product Ratings feed</h2>
The first question you need to ask is: Do I have enough product reviews? You need to be able to supply <a href="/blog/infographic-product-feed-for-online-marketing">a feed</a> with a minimum of 50 reviews for all products, but where do you get them from? You can gather them from your own online shop, an external review site that you work with, and Google customer reviews.

Once you have enough reviews, follow the steps below:
<ol>
 	<li>First, you need to have a Google Merchant Center account that is linked to your online shop. If you do not yet have an account, you can find instructions on how to set one up in <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/188924" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google’s support center</a>.</li>
 	<li>Before you upload the feed, you need to complete <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/contact/product_ratings_interest_form?hl=en&amp;visit_id=637000781696320879-1333004373&amp;rd=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google’s Product Ratings Interest form</a>.</li>
 	<li>Create the feed containing all the reviews. Google accepts it in an XML file format. Use Channable’s feed management tool to easily create such a file, notably as the required fields are already built into the tool. Meaning you can compile a Google Product Ratings feed in a few minutes.</li>
 	<li>Import the newly created XML/Product Ratings feed into the Merchant Center.</li>
</ol>
<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17027" src="https://media.graphcms.com/Zu2vREKoTDydrlDq1pV2" alt="" width="658" height="518" />

With Channable, you can modify your product data feed to the specifications of many Google products. You can create the perfect feed for Google Shopping, Google Display, Google Product Ratings, and even the Google Manufacturer Center. You can also set up the structure of your Shopping campaigns or create thousands of ads for Google Ads with the dynamic Channable SEA tool that uses information from your product feed. Channable is the most complete tool for managing all your marketing efforts on Google.

How to embed product ratings into Google Shopping?

For anyone still on the fence about Black Friday, Channable has gathered some stats to help you make up your mind. As online sales have grown more than 10% in the last 5 years over the holiday season, joining in is appealing. Even more so, when you see the staggering increase in traffic over Black Friday weekend. <a href="/blog/blog-why-integrate-social-media-into-your-marketing-strategy">Social media</a> has also grown as a particularly good sales channel, alongside the unforgettable marketplace giants, which means joining in is more accessible than ever. Discover why you should be joining in this<a href="/blog/can-get-black-friday-cyber-monday"> Black Friday</a> and get some insights into how below.

![article-image-ckgijx7uw06nd0a51dcntmpm2-8078_SMALL.jpg](https://media.graphcms.com/srYXTlq4RG6tOYBh34kp)

Feel free to share this infographic on the social media network of your choice.

Channable offers connections to thousands of marketplaces and comparison websites around the world. Take a look at the different <a href="/integrations">possibilities</a> that you have in Channable, and choose the ones that best fit your sales strategy this holiday season.

Black Friday and the holiday kickoff: why you should implement them in your marketing strategy [infographic]

They are another important type of marketing platform that can bring you lots of benefits. You can reach new communities and increase your notoriety with affiliate marketing. Here you can find all the key information about affiliate networks in a single infographic.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-17579" src="https://media.graphcms.com/Zwj89WnTe6yCLEs1SbyY" alt="" width="2728" height="7276" />

If you are searching for a tool to create the perfect feed for an affiliate network, Channable is your solution. Channable supports connections to more than <a href="/integrations">2500 affiliate networks, comparison websites, and marketplaces</a>. Control your feeds for all marketing channels, including affiliate networks, from a single place.

Affiliate marketing for eCommerce [infographic]

<a href="https://marketingplatform.google.com/intl/en_uk/about/search-ads-360" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google Search Ads 360</a> (SA360) is the part of the <a href="/integrations/google-marketing-platform" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google Marketing Platform </a>that enables advertisers to plan, measure, bid, and manage search ads on Google, Bing, Yahoo Japan, and Baidu. As it is part of the Google Marketing Platform, users can easily jump to and integrate data from other products in the Google Marketing Platform such as Analytics 360, <a href="https://marketingplatform.google.com/intl/en_uk/about/display-video-360" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Display &amp; Video 360</a>, or Optimize 360. SA360 makes it more efficient to manage PPC in one place, as well as with a familiar interface.

[caption id="attachment_18660" align="aligncenter" width="500"]<img class="size-full wp-image-18660" src="https://media.graphcms.com/J0wUOBMR5aXrpCSfNqAz" alt="channable google marketing platform " width="500" height="352" /> <a href="https://www.blog.google/products/marketingplatform/360/introducing-google-marketing-platform" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Source</a>[/caption]
<h2>What makes SA360 different?</h2>
Advertisers with a significantly bigger budget and larger, dynamic inventory benefit most from SA360’s offering. This is because, in addition to managing ad campaigns for many search engines (multi-platform management), there are a few notable features that make SA360 appealing:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**ADVANCED BID STRATEGIES**
The bid strategy options in SA360 are more advanced and intricate for a more effective ad campaign. Auto bidding is powered by Google’s machine learning technology. There are various options for bid strategies including revenue and conversion options. SA360 also integrates with conversion tracking analytics, which can be used in building a bid strategy. Furthermore, there are advanced targeting options and even formulas to make a customizable bid strategy. In addition, as SA360 is multi-platform, your bids can be unified across all search engines.</li>
</ul>
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**INVENTORY MANAGEMENT**
With inventory management, advertisers are able to distribute ads on an individual inventory level (e.g. per SKU) in inventory campaigns.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>What are inventory campaigns? Search Ads 360’s inventory campaigns are similar to traditional ad campaigns, but they automatically change when your product inventory changes.</blockquote>
To get started with inventory campaigns, you need to supply Google with your inventory. Your inventory needs to be supplied in a feed that meets the standards of Google. <em>BEWARE</em>, often, your feed is not in the right format to be correctly uploaded into Google so using a data feed management tool like Channable is recommended to improve your setup experience.
<h2>Improving SA360 with Channable</h2>
<a href="/success-stories/tui-channable-improve-group-wide-collaboration-save-time-offer-flexibility" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Channable client TUI has had plenty of experience with using Channable</a> to make the most out of SA360’s inventory campaigns. TUI began using SA360 because it could help centralize the whole TUI group’s PPC in one platform. “We use Search Ads 360 in order to be able to advertise all our stock. All our keywords, all our combinations, all our hotels, all our destinations, all that is done in a dynamic way.”

However, the team discovered it had the issue of having non-complementary feeds. Whilst it is possible to manage modifications in SA360, TUI found the SA360 interface and setup was far from ideal. “That’s where Channable came in place because we’re way more flexible doing it, it’s faster, and the UX is way better.” Once TUI was able to build the perfect feed in Channable, it was simply a matter of connecting the feeds in SA360 and then deciding what to send out and where to advertise.

In addition to using Channable to meet SA360’s feed standards, TUI improved their use of SA360 because it is easier to manage what inventory is sent to SA360. “Why should we advertise a certain town on Crete if we only have 5 departure dates available to that specific destination? From a PPC perspective, if you know that something is most likely to occur, you can put it in the feed.” Without Channable, TUI would only be able to react after a sales opportunity ends e.g. stop advertising a flight with only a few seats left.
<h2>Getting started</h2>
To use SA360, you will need to contact <a href="https://marketingplatform.google.com/intl/en_uk/about/contact-us">Google’s sales team</a>. Once you have access, Channable can help you get started with SA360 faster and save you time. TUI has also seen improvement in expenditures by using Channable with SA360. Channable has attributed to a huge number of savings in terms of conversion expense. <a href="https://app.channable.com/login">Sign up to Channable today</a> to begin building the perfect feed for SA360.

If you only like the sound of SA360’s inventory management feature and only want to focus on Google Ads and/or Microsoft advertising or have a lower budget, <a href="/products/ppc-tool" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">try Channable’s PPC tool</a>. With Channable’s PPC tool, you can build campaigns, ad groups, and ad copy with your inventory values. Unlike Google’s custom pricing, Channable’s PPC tool starts from<a href="/pricing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> €99 a month</a>. <a href="/contact">Contact the team</a> for a free demo and exclusive access.

How can you improve your use of Search Ads 360? - TUI & Channable

Amazon is the largest retailer in the world. Yes, you read that right, in the world.

In 2022, Amazon generated a whopping [$220 billion from online store sales](https://www.forrester.com/blogs/amazon-sales-and-profit-analysis-for-2022-top-10-insights/), and third-party sellers account for [more than 60% of Amazon sales](https://sell.amazon.com/blog/amazon-stats). 

Whether you’re an established retailer or a budding entrepreneur selling products out of your apartment, listing your products on Amazon can help you reach millions of customers. 

This guide will cover everything you need to know to get started, including product feed requirements, fees, and charges, as well as tips to optimize your product pages and boost sales. 

Let’s jump right into it. 

## The basics of selling on Amazon

If you want to start selling your products on Amazon, the first thing you need to do is set up your [Amazon seller account](https://sell.amazon.nl/en). We’d recommend doing this as soon as possible as Amazon’s verification process can take a couple of weeks.

### Amazon pricing plans

The next step is choosing your pricing plan. Amazon has two selling plan options: individual or professional. 

![Amazon seller pricing plans](https://media.graphassets.com/lpkbvBR8Q465KsnxhWoq)

Deciding which plan to choose depends on how many items you think you’ll sell per month. If you plan to sell more than 40 items per month and want access to advertising, we recommend signing up for the professional plan. 

### Amazon fulfillment options  

Amazon offers two main fulfillment options for sellers: Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM). Here’s a brief explanation of both:

1. **Fulfillment by Amazon**: Amazon handles the storage, packaging, shipping, and customer service. When you select this option your products will display the “Prime” badge and be eligible for Prime’s one-day delivery.

2. **Fulfillment by Merchant**: You manage the storage, packaging, shipping, and customer support. If you prefer to keep all your eCommerce operations in-house, then this is the best option for you. You can still sell to Prime customers if you can provide 1-to 2-day shipping with [Seller Fulfilled Prime](https://sell.amazon.com/programs/seller-fulfilled-prime).  

### Amazon’s fees

Here are a couple of fees on Amazon that you might need to pay as a seller:

- **Amazon referral fees**: This is the commission you pay for every item you sell. It changes depending on the category, but usually falls between 12% to 40%. For most products, the referral fee is around 15%.

- **FBA fulfillment fees**: If you sell using FBA, you’ll be charged a fee for each product sold to cover the costs of getting the order ready and shipped. The amount you pay depends on the weight and dimensions of your product.

- **FBA storage fees**: Every month you'll be billed for inventory storage. This charge is calculated based on the average amount of space your inventory occupies in Amazon's fulfillment centers.

## How to sell internationally on Amazon

Do you already sell your products in multiple countries? Or fancy maximizing the growth of your Amazon sales by selling internationally? Amazon makes it easy for sellers to sell internationally from one single account. 

### 6 steps to selling internationally on Amazon

![6 steps to selling internationally on Amazon.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/frkwYr2KRmOZqdC0K3PR)

1. **Register for a unified seller account**
Amazon offers a "single sign-on" (SSO) method for sellers. This allows you to use a single seller account to create and manage offers across the international Amazon sites. With SSO, you can handle international shipments and customize your sales strategy across these platforms using a unified login.

2. **Analyze what products you can sell on Amazon**

Each country has different legal and commercial requirements for the sale of products. You should keep these in mind as a seller if you want to expand your business internationally:

- Taxes and tariffs 
- Intellectual property rights
- Export controls
- Brands and label
- Environment and safety

Amazon has a [help page](https://sellercentral.amazon.es/gp/help/external/201468410?language=en_US) where you can learn more about tax and regulatory considerations for selling internationally.

3. **Create international listings**

Managing new listings and keeping product information current on Amazon can be complex, especially with a dynamic product catalogue. A streamlined solution is integrating your online catalogue with Amazon through [marketplace integration tools like Channable](https://www.channable.com/products/marketplace-integrator). 

This enables easy optimization, including adjusting prices, applying discounts, enhancing titles and descriptions, and removing out-of-stock items—ensuring that your product information remains consistently updated.

You can also copy existing listings from one Amazon marketplace to another if you have linked the accounts. Amazon has a tool called ‘translate your products’ in its seller central making it easy to have your listings in a number of different languages.


4. **Create an account for international payments**

There are three options for receiving international payments for the sale of your products:

1. Open a bank account in the country where you plan to sell. 

2. Use the Amazon currency converter to receive payments directly in your main bank account.

3. Use the Hyperwallet service, which allows you to receive payments in the currency of your country or region by linking it with your bank accounts.

Currently, Amazon accepts bank accounts in the U.K., U.S., and all the countries in the Eurozone. Refer to [Amazon’s help center](https://sellercentral.amazon.es/gp/help/external/200497780?language=en_US) to check the types of currencies for each region, and learn how to [set up the Hyperwallet service here](https://sellercentral.amazon.es/help/hub/reference/external/G7S55VWDZ9SQCUEX?locale=en-US).

5. **Define your international sales strategy**

When you're stepping into an international market, it's helpful to think about the ‘4 Ps of Marketing’, which you can use as a starting point for your international marketing and sales strategy.

1. **Product**: [Assess the demand for your top-selling products](https://amzscout.net/blog/high-demand-products/){nofollow}  in the market you intend to expand into. If you're uncertain about demand, consider launching multiple products and see which ones are popular with Amazon’s customer base. 

2. **Price**: Check out how much your competitors are selling the same product for, and then set your price accordingly. Make sure to take the following costs into account: shipping, customer service, currency conversion, translation, taxes and tariffs, etc.

3. **Place**: Optimizing product listings, using Amazon's fulfillment services, and targeting relevant categories can help to improve the visibility of your items, making it easier for potential customers to find and purchase them. There are even[ smart categorization](https://www.channable.com/smart-categorization) features to help you manage large catalogs and work more efficiently.

4. **Promotion**: Increase the incentive to buy your products by using smart promotion techniques such as free shipping, seasonal discounts, 2 for 1 offers, etc. You can also boost the exposure of your items by using [Sponsored Products](https://advertising.amazon.com/solutions/products/sponsored-products), part of Amazon ad's cost-per-click advertising service. 

6. **Manage orders via FBA or a marketplace integrator**

As we mentioned earlier, if you choose FBA, Amazon handles the collection, packaging, and shipment of your products on your behalf, ensuring the safe delivery of your shipments to your customers' doorsteps.

Amazon currently offers its logistics service to vendors in Germany, Canada, China, France, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, the Netherlands, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

![Manage Amazon orders via a marketplace integration tool.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/bthFdcucRCWGVNfP8eSl)

If you prefer to keep your order management in one place, you should consider a [marketplace integration tool](https://www.channable.com/products/marketplace-integrator)—especially if you use PrestaShop, Shopify, Magento, or WooCommerce for your online store.
With a marketplace integrator, you can automatically send all your orders from Amazon directly to your eCommerce platform, where you can manage everything from one place. 

## Choosing the right product(s) to sell on Amazon

Amazon holds great sales potential, but how can you turn a profit? The key is picking the right products to sell. Some items might not do well on Amazon, while others are very popular. So, choosing wisely is crucial. Here are some tips to help you decide what to sell on Amazon:

### Easy to ship products 

Opting to sell small and lightweight products can reduce shipping expenses. For example, if you sell a product that fits in a mailbox package (such as jewelry, small electronic gadgets, or phone cases), your shipping costs will be much lower. 

The shipping cost significantly influences customer purchase decisions: the lower it is, the higher the likelihood of selling the product. Even better if you can absorb the shipping costs and offer free delivery, as [83% of shoppers will be more likely to buy from you](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/retailers-must-deliver-on-fulfillment-to-drive-conversions-a-new-study-by-arvato-reveals-668024593.html). 

### Affordable selling price 

![Amazon product price point.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/r4tGVLoERPGfgJjwfuwJ)

Unless your plan is to sell luxury products at a high price point, we’d recommend selling products in the €20-50 range. This is a good price point for ‘impulse purchases’ which is hugely beneficial when you’re just starting out, as most customers tend to hesitate when buying pricier items from unfamiliar brands.

This price range also gives you the opportunity to achieve a healthy profit margin, even after COGS, Amazon’s seller fees, and advertising costs. Most products in this price range should have fairly low production costs, too. 

### Descriptive product titles and descriptions

It’s much easier to sell a product called "15-inch MacBook Black Laptop Cover" than "Laptop Cover". Why? Although the second title might match various keywords that users search on Amazon, it’s likely to get lost in a sea of results.

Always try to give a complete description of the product, by listing its model, color, size, and so on, so that users already have an entire overview of the item before clicking on it. 

The same goes for product descriptions: write detailed, engaging descriptions that highlight the benefits and features of your products, and include relevant keywords to boost search visibility.

## Are you ready to start selling on Amazon, the world’s largest retailer?

Discover how Channable can help you upload your products in minutes, manage your listings, and automate the ordering and ads process.  

Amazon Ads is part of Channable's end-to-end marketplace solution, making it even easier for advertisers to access the benefits of Amazon PPC adverts. Learn how Channable can optimize and accelerate your Amazon PPC campaigns and how you can manage thousands of ads across marketplaces. [Sign up for a free trial today!] (https://www.channable.com/signup)


A Quick Guide to Selling on Amazon

You’ve no doubt heard of eBay. Alongside Amazon, it is one of the biggest marketplaces in the world, and it’s an attractive sales channel for many retailers. But are you selling on it? That decision is up to you but a few tempting facts include that there are over **182 million buyers (1)** on eBay worldwide, eBay users spend an average of **07.22 minutes per visit (2)**, you can easily [sell variants](https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/creating-managing-listings/creating-listings-variations?id=4150), create detailed listings, and assign different profiles to products within minutes by listing with Channable’s latest eBay integration. 

By choosing to send your products to eBay with Channable, you will be able to upload masses of products with optimized listings in minutes.

## Variants support

Channable supports sending products as a product group with variants. This is a useful function if you have a certain product in many different sizes or colors. Instead of uploading them as separate items, you can set up product groups with Channable. What’s even better about this possibility, is that you will only need to pay the one monthly eBay listing fee for the whole group. [Learn how to set up product listings for eBay with our step-by-step tutorial](https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002829565-How-do-I-create-product-listings-for-eBay-)

## Supply eBay with every single detail

Channable’s [attribute builder](https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360030477513-What-does-the-attribute-builder-do-) is the bread and butter to structuring, building, and sending your information via APIs to channels, such as eBay. Channable offers a complete attribute builder for all of eBay’s categories (and there are many). This gives you the flexibility to optimize your eBay listings by providing the buyer with any and all information they can need. Any retailer will know that today, information is vital in the buyer’s journey. [Read more about how to set up attributes with eBay](https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002829565-How-do-I-create-product-listings-for-eBay-)

## Shipments and stock updates

If you choose to also opt for an eBay [order sync](/products/marketplace-integrator) in Channable, you will see that Channable will send shipment and offer updates between your online store and eBay. Streamlining your order processing. 

**Do you have multiple profiles on eBay?**

Good news, Channable gives you the flexibility to configure different profiles for selling products. This means that you needn’t only link your products to one payment, shipment or return profile - but with any! This feature is a little more fiddly, but nothing Channable’s technical support can’t help you accomplish. 

**Keen to get started?**

If you haven’t already, sign up to Channable in seconds with your email address. Once you’ve [created a project](https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002825365-How-do-I-set-up-a-new-project-) and [imported your items,](https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002825625-How-do-I-import-products-) you can start setting up an eBay connection in the API tab. Full instructions can be found on [the Channable support site](https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002829565). If you’re already using Channable’s eBay connection and want to migrate to our newest version, please contact your customer success manager or our support team via [support@channable.com](mailto:support@channable.com).   

1. [https://www.oberlo.com/blog/ebay-statistics](https://www.oberlo.com/blog/ebay-statistics) 
2. [https://www.similarweb.com/website/ebay.com](https://www.similarweb.com/website/ebay.com)

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vlDgoNVXacg" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
***Callum explains you in this video how to get started with eBay in Channable.***

The most seamless integration to eBay

Google has grown beyond the modest search engine it began as. Whilst the consumer mostly uses it to search for results, images, items, flights, and so forth, businesses are more acquainted with Google’s vast portfolio of products. Many of the Google products accept <a href="/blog/infographic-product-feed-for-online-marketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a data feed</a> of inventory or information to simplify, optimize, and even enable usage. Channable offers many different feeds for Google. It can be tricky to understand the difference between each and where a data feed comes in.

This whitepaper will clarify what each Google product does, who it is for, how you can use it, and how a <a href="/products/product-feed-management-tool" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">feed management tool</a> is used. The following Google products will be covered:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Google Shopping</li>
 	<li>Google Shopping Campaigns</li>
 	<li>Google Display</li>
 	<li>Google Ads</li>
 	<li>Google Search Ads 360</li>
 	<li>Google Analytics</li>
 	<li>Google Manufacturer Center</li>
 	<li>Google Play Books</li>
 	<li>Google Product Ratings</li>
</ul>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Download the Google products whitepaper</h3>
<p style="text-align: center;">Complete the form below to receive the Google Products whitepaper in your inbox.</p>
[form id="be174dcc-6133-4eb1-b71c-72c177cffc8d"]

Use Channable to generate your feeds for all your Google needs and speed up your scaling process. <a href="https://app.channable.com/companies/14426" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Create a free trial accoun</a>t today and ask one of our teams to give you an <a href="/demo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> in-depth demo</a> on how to build the perfect feeds for Google.


Explained: Google’s products for advertisers [whitepaper]

Big data has shown an enormous influence on retail over the past few years, resulting in an increased demand in automation and data management tools. Still, finding the right digital tools and tactics for your eCommerce can be a real challenge. It is not only about identifying the channels that can help you to get the most out of your data, you also have to keep in mind that a clever integration of various channels will boost your performance to the max.

A perfect example and a real savior to improve your online sales is the combination of feed management and analytics. Google Analytics is indispensable for any online shop, but are you aware of the full potential of these data insights? Do you want to learn how coupling analytics and feed management can deliver valuable input to assess your online appearance, the performance of your items per channel, or the behavior of your customers?
Find yourself significantly more informed about data-to-insights and multichannel commerce after reading this blog.
<h2>The advantages of feed management</h2>
A data feed management tool, such as Channable, is an online solution to simplify listing and advertising your products and services on more than 2500 platforms, <a href="/integrations?channel=comparison-website" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">including price comparison websites</a>, <a href="/integrations?channel=affiliate" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">affiliate networks</a>, and <a href="/integrations?channel=marketplace" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">marketplaces</a>. Your items can either be imported directly from your<a href="/integrations" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> eCommerce platform</a> (via plugin, feed, or API) or with the help of an XML or CSV file. Within the feed management tool, the imported product data is optimized, enriched, and filtered by using smart if-then-rules to prep it for the export to a variety of different channels. In addition to <a href="/products/product-feed-management-tool" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">feed management</a>, all-in-one tools offer additional features supporting your <a href="/products/ppc-tool" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">PPC automation</a>, <a href="/products/marketplace-integrator" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">order syncs with marketplaces</a>, or the <a href="/blog/blog-analytics-insights-for-better-performance" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">integration of Google Analytics</a>.
<h2>A perfect team: How does the integration with Google Analytics work?</h2>
The prerequisite to get started with the data duo that will open your eyes is an account in <a href="https://marketingplatform.google.com/about/analytics" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google Analytics</a>. Click <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002816609-How-do-I-connect-with-Google-Analytics-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a> for a clear guide on how to set up your Analytics integration with Channable.
<h3>Evaluate your online performance on different levels</h3>
With the standard version of <a href="https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1037249?hl=en&amp;utm_id=ad" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google Analytics Ecommerce</a> you gain an understanding of your overall product and sales performance, while an extended version (Google Analytics Enhanced Ecommerce/EE) offers even more granular data as well as more digital marketing insights. In Google Analytics EE, Shopping Behaviour and Checkout Behavior describe your shoppers’ actions in terms of product views and stages within the purchase journey. These analytics offer you valuable action points for comparisons between markets or the analyses of pre-purchase drop-off points.
<blockquote>“Further reading: more detailed information on Google Analytics EE &amp; <a href="https://www.maxlead.com/en/blog/what-is-enhanced-ecommerce-and-why-do-you-need-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">whether you need it</a> for your online shop.“</blockquote>
The analytics display within your feed management account adds to this smart decision making process for your future channel selection, product listings, and ad creation. You can view how the items from your feed perform on different levels, such as channel, product category, brand, or even product.

By understanding how your items perform, you can identify exactly which products work for which platform, and then for which customer target group.

A nice example of performance data on a specific level is the revenue per channel. Within a feed management tool interface, graphs visualize the revenue you have generated per sales channel, and usually the time frame can be adjusted based on which insights you are interested in.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21029" src="https://media.graphcms.com/lLQP8Wb9SAiCj8eeQcFb" alt="" width="1732" height="538" />
<h3>Identify your high and low performers</h3>
You can easily determine which products are your best or worst performers with analytics. Google Analytics offers a conversion tab with detailed eCommerce reports, such as the product performance and a variety of other stats and information about your product catalog.

[caption id="attachment_21024" align="aligncenter" width="1600"]<img class="wp-image-21024 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/SHdc19FpQMydUvxfQSeX" alt="" width="1600" height="870" /> 

A feed management tool can provide you with a cleaner overview. At a glance, you get user sessions, transactions, conversion rate, bounce rate, and revenue per item. For example, this is how the item-level performance is visualized within Channable:

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21044" src="https://media.graphcms.com/0Eh5Y2OkQKyNhXHJ1pM6" alt="" width="1747" height="625" />

High and low performers can be identified by cross referencing these analytics. For example, a high bounce rate doesn’t necessarily mean the product is a low performer. Coupled with a low conversion rate, gives you a better insight.

In addition, each channel can have different high or low performers. A comparison site that is used more by people between 15 - 30 will have different buyer preferences to marketplaces specifically for +60 year olds. But everyone needs i.e. sun cream, just a different SPF.
<h3>Data-to-insights becomes insights-to-action</h3>
Due to the fact that the item performance is expressed by a variety of values in a feed management tool, you maintain a 360 degree understanding of your items. To interpret the online behavior of your customers, stats concerning user sessions per item can, for instance, be considered based on duration. Find out how much time your audience spends on your product pages before completing a purchase, and optimize your eCommerce strategy.

Moreover, data from analytics can be added to your data feed and the <a href="/blog/tips-to-using-google-analytics-in-rules" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">creation of rules and labels</a>. You can, for example, automate the exclusion of low performers from product ads or push your high performers even further. The following rule is a nice example of how to take advantage of your newly gained insights:

<img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-21049" src="https://media.graphcms.com/YJl7kCiFTm2Ynl3r64Zd" alt="" width="1173" height="538" />
Custom labels can help you to structure and adjust your bidding and budgets for Google or Microsoft Ads. You can create custom labels based on analytics data to help you refine your bidding strategy. The screenshot below illustrates this possibility with an example of a custom label based on conversion rate:

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21034" src="https://media.graphcms.com/o5VXDsYTTCe8jurqH68v" alt="" width="1173" height="538" />
With the help of rules based on analytics insights, even broad and dynamic product catalogs can be maintained and managed based on item performance. Enabling you to take cross-channel optimization to new levels and actively align your business activities with your data insights!
<h2>Future forecast: What are the next steps in omnichannel commerce?</h2>
Up until now, there are a few limitations that withhold the full power of an integration of analytics and feed management. For instance, time frames cannot be customized per channel within a feed management tool, but only for the general overview of all active channels.

But good news is ahead: Channable Insights is coming! Based on customer feedback, such as the time frames per channel and a demand for imports of external insights like cost data. Channable Insights will combine various kinds of performance data from revenue and over orders to production costs, to provide an overview for ROAS and profit stats.
<a href="/blog" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Stay tuned</a> for more news about the Insights release.

Are you curious about the possibilities of omnichannel integration? Then <a href="/signup" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">create a Channable account</a> or use your existing one to connect it with your Google Analytics. Feel free to <a href="/contact" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">contact us</a> for further information or to discuss your options!

How optimization across channels improves data-driven performance

Google Ads offers many extensions to make your ads stand out even more. Price extensions and sitelinks are two possibilities. With these extensions, your ads will stand out even more and enrich your ad copy. Potential customers are more inclined to click on your ads and therefore the click-through rate will be generally higher!
<h2>What are price extensions?</h2>
Price extensions allow you to highlight some of your products and/or services. They are displayed under your ad as a kind of menu, and the price will be shown too. See it as a showcase of the items you want to put in the spotlight! For example, products that are on sale, or relevant for a certain season or holiday. Users can browse through that menu and click on a product or service that interests them. They will then be taken directly to the page of that specific item.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21605" src="https://media.graphcms.com/arLy0koPS4ej6LEAWgV8" alt="" width="771" height="395" />A working example is imagine you’re selling electronics, including laptops. You could set price extensions for any type/brand of laptop, such as Apple, Asus, or Toshiba, with a "starting from" price. If you have a couple of laptops on sale, then you could set price extensions for each laptop and its promotional price. You can make it as specific as you want!

**Advantages of price extensions**
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Price extensions display well on computers and mobile devices. Make sure that the pages to which the price extensions lead to are also optimized for mobile devices!</li>
 	<li>There are no additional costs. A click on a price extension costs the same as a "normal" click on your ad.</li>
 	<li>It requires less effort to update your ads with new information. You don't have to rewrite your ad copy, you just add price extensions. You will also not lose any performance statistics because of this.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Price extensions in Channable</h2>
Google Ads <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037375474-How-do-I-add-price-extensions-to-Google-ads-">price extensions are available in Channable </a>and can be implemented easily Now you can dynamically highlight your items in your ads. The different elements of a price extension are: "headline", "description" "landing page", and "price". In Channable, these fields are completely dynamic. This means that you can generate many price extensions based on your product feed. Note: In Channable, price extensions are created at ad group level.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21595" src="https://media.graphcms.com/a25NGHQdS9OproncG6rS" alt="" width="1200" height="743" />

Some of our customers already use the Channable price extension feature. Erik, Acquisition Marketing Lead at international online travel company Travix, says "With the price extension feature in Channable we can automatically and widely add relevant price extensions in Google Ads at the ad group level. The feature is easy to set up and with the rules in Channable, we can customize it as desired. "

Travix, uses Google Ads for Cheaptickets.nl, which has a very large and rapidly changing inventory. "We are now using the feature to communicate the prices of other departure airports in our advertisements. We see an improvement in efficiency because the extensions are updated daily, so this saves us manual work. But, we also see a nice performance improvement in which the ads with price extensions achieve a higher CTR than ads without price extensions, "says Erik.

Nick Oltvoort, head of Advertising at digital agency, and <a href="/partners">Channable Gold Partner</a>, Adwise, is also happy creating price extensions with Channable. Especially to keep the prices up to date, something that is not yet easy to set manually through Google. He says, "we think it is a top feature, which allows us to keep the prices in the price extensions up-to-date with feed-based campaigns. Google has not yet made it easy to automate this quickly, so you often see in accounts that prices are no longer up-to-date after a while. This takes extra time to manually check and periodically track, which is a waste of time that you prefer to put into strategic work."

In short, deploying price extensions through Channable will save you a lot of time in keeping everything up to date. In addition to price extensions, it is also possible to use another Google extension with Channable: sitelinks!
<h2>What are sitelinks?</h2>
Sitelinks <a href="https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011084639-Adding-Sitelinks">are additional links</a> that are shown under an ad in the search results, and can lead people to specific pages on your site. They are extremely useful if you want to add extra links to website pages to your ad, for example, to a specific product page or a page with your opening hours. This allows potential customers to get faster to the pages of your website that are relevant to them. In addition, your ad with sitelinks occupies a more prominent place among Google search results, pushing other ads down. Your visibility is therefore also increased!

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21635" src="https://media.graphcms.com/BPkl6wXwQXmg91hBDa9Q" alt="" width="1500" height="997" />

**Advantages of sitelinks **
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Sitelinks display well on computers and on mobile devices. Your ad can show up to six sitelinks on a computer and up to eight on a mobile device. The minimum number of sitelinks is two.</li>
 	<li>There are no additional costs. A click on a sitelink is billed as a "normal" click on your ad.</li>
 	<li>It requires less effort to update your ads with new information. You don't have to rewrite ad copy, you just add sitelinks. You will also not lose any performance statistics because of this.</li>
 	<li>You gain insight into the specific clicks and you, therefore, know what your potential customers find most interesting.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Sitelinks in Channable</h2>
Add dynamic sitelinks <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360010996874-How-do-I-add-sitelinks-to-Google-ads-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">to your ads using Channable</a>. All fields from a sitelink, the "link text", "link URL", and the two descriptions can be built entirely with dynamic fields. This means that you can generate many sitelinks based on your product feed. Note that in Channable, sitelinks are created at the ad group level.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21600" src="https://media.graphcms.com/NxlVfGHQmy5mriDvuIR3" alt="" width="1654" height="1024" />

Do you want to significantly increase your CTR? Are you ready to automate your ads and campaigns with <a href="/products/ppc-tool" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Channable's PPC tool</a>? Create your own free account <a href="/signup" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a> and / or <a href="/contact" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">contact one</a> of our Channable's sales teams for more information.

Increase the CTR of your ads with price extensions and sitelinks

For many, the <a href="https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/140351?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Quality Score</a> can still be quite enigmatic. But there are a few ways that you can improve your Quality Score to help climb the ad rank, but also lower your Ad Rank threshold. <a href="https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7634668" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ad Rank thresholds</a> determine a minimum cost for showing your ad. The threshold is influenced by ad quality. Hence why having high-quality ads can further improve your Ad Rank as your threshold can be lowered - so you pay less!

In addition to the vital points that are covered below, your ad rank is also influenced by account hygiene (your historical ad performance), bid, and more. It’s <a href="/blog/blog-channables-handy-google-ads-cheat-sheet" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">good to research what else influences Ad Rank</a> to strengthen your chances.

## 1. Use the right landing page
From an internet user’s perspective, this is a no brainer. If you click on an ad you want to be brought to the page most relevant to your keywords.

As the advertiser, be sure to determine whether the keyword is specific and therefore requires a product level landing page, or more general and therefore a keystone landing page will suffice. For example, a real estate agency wants to use the price of the cheapest flat in an area in an ad. But it would like to use a landing page that includes all the flats available in that area, not only the cheapest one.

[tip]**TIP:**
Channable has a few rules that can help you extract more general URLs from your product URLs. Enabling a higher funnel landing page. In the example above, the estate agent purely needs to identify the URL pattern and implement a rule to modify it accordingly. They are:
1.  [Split text](https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827785-Rule-split-text)
2.  [Modify text](https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827845-Rule-modify-text)
3.  [Replace value](https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002817869-Rule-replace-value)
[/tip]
In addition to being relevant to the keyword, the landing page can be improved with customer testimonials, a clear call-to-action, the benefits as well as features, ensure the page is both mobile and desktop friendly, and a fast load time.

## 2. Use a data feed to increase ad relevancy
You can quickly improve the relevancy of your ad copy if you have a <a href="/blog/blog-what-is-feed-management-and-why-do-you-need-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">data feed</a> at hand. The logic behind this is simple. By using the information in a data feed to create text for ads, the ad will directly contain information from the landing page and thus increase relevancy.

[Channable’s PPC tool ](/products/ppc-tool)allows you to generate ads using data feeds, increasing your ad relevancy and saving you time from manually typing each ad. Clients such as <a href="/success-stories/rituals-google-ads-campaign-focus-channable" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rituals</a>, <a href="/success-stories/automated-google-ads-for-recruitment-campaigns-tmi" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TMI</a>, and <a href="/success-stories/komplett-effectively-easily-bringing-automation-in-house" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Komplett</a> have recorded significant improvements since using Channable to generate ads.

Some high converting data to include in ad copy can be gender, size, colors, brands, dates, destinations, price, and even availability, which are fields in your data feed. These fields can be added or combined in a template to produce dynamic ad copy, instantly generating thousands of ads. That will be instantly updated when the information does!

## 3. Increase your (good) keywords
In addition to Google's own keyword planner, there are hundreds of tools out there today that can help you identify search terms similar to your existing keywords. For instance, <a href="https://keywordtool.io" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">keywordtool.io</a> can help you find keywords, but also questions and long-tail search terms, without an account.

Another great, available source of keywords is your data feed. By combining fields in your data feed, you have instantly created potentially hundreds of new high-quality keywords. Combining keywords is super easy in Channable’s rules step. Channable’s PPC tool will then directly send all freshly created keywords to Google Ads with a click. <a href="/success-stories/norwegians-innovative-automation-based-on-channable-feeds" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Norwegian</a> was able to go from creating 18,000 keywords manually to 200,000 after implementing Channable.

In terms of match type, quality score is only influenced when the query matches the keywords i.e. exact match. This makes sense if you think that a person specifically looking for blue summer hats clicks on your ad with the keyword blue summer hat - indicates your ad is of high quality. You can specify whether a keyword ought to be modified broad, broad, phrase, and/or exact in Channable!

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-21694" src="https://media.graphcms.com/UzProTEwSuebGThWQ5rA" alt="" width="1022" height="169" />

## 4. Bear in mind the diversity of devices
The device (desktop, mobile, or tablet) that the potential customer is using is considered when your Quality Score is calculated. Therefore, don’t overlook the importance of making your site compatible.

## Extra tip?

**Set up ad extensions**
Unless you only have one page on your site, what’s your excuse to not use <a href="/blog/blog-increase-ctr-ads-with-price-extensions-and-sitelinks" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ad extensions and sitelinks</a>? Sitelinks are a fantastic way to provide a better customer experience for customers searching the web for your offering. Sitelinks enable you to include additional hyperlinks to key pages on your website. Ad extensions also make your ad more prominent, stand out from your competitors.

As mentioned before, whilst improving the Quality Score can help with estimating ad rank, it’s only one indicator. Trial-and-error is the way to go and just keep testing and optimizing based on the performance you measure. But you can most certainly use Quality Scores to guide optimizations and experience better performance.

4 ways to improve your ads Quality Score

Consumers are increasingly listening to the feedback from other buyers before purchasing a product. As a result, products with few or no review are penalized. Many consumers do not trust buying products with few reviews and, for this reason, do not end up buying.

The different online marketplaces are aware of this predicament. On Amazon, for example, customer ratings can make the difference between not selling any product or selling hundreds of them. If you want to sell on online marketplaces, you’ll have to take your customers' reviews and ratings very seriously.
<h2>Verified Purchase Reviews on Amazon</h2>
On Amazon, reviews are not only important for convincing other customers to purchase from you but improve your position on Amazon. One of the variables that Amazon uses to position products in its search engine is the quality of the reviews. People can leave reviews without having even bought the product. However, the most valued reviews by Amazon are those that are from real buyers of the product. They are known as ¨Amazon Verified Purchase Reviews¨:

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-21858" src="https://media.graphcms.com/2bZ219BJQAyfgwIkSQPQ" alt="Verified Purchase" width="437" height="163" />

In fact, the reviews submitted by customers whose purchases are not verified by Amazon are not taken into account when calculating the average star score. They are only taken into consideration when the customer adds additional information about the product, such as photos or videos, confirming the accuracy of the review. More information<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GQUXAMY73JFRVJHE" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> on how the star ratings of a product are calculated within Amazon</a> can be found on Amazon's website.
<h2>Amazon now allows sellers to ask for customer feedback</h2>
Given the importance that Amazon gives to these verified reviews, Amazon has now decided to add a “Request a Review” button in the order details overview in the seller central. So, you can request individual reviews from each customer that purchased a product from you on Amazon.

This request can only be made through Amazon and can only be sent once. This way the client’s privacy is protected, and unwanted emails are avoided. At the same time, it allows sellers to gain useful information about the products and services they provide.
<h2>How to improve your reviews on Amazon?</h2>
If you want to have good reviews on Amazon, first and foremost, you have to be able to provide buyers with a satisfying purchasing experience. It is no longer enough to offer high quality products. The overall buying experience must also be positive. In fact, many negative reviews are related to shipping problems. Delays in deliveries are no longer acceptable. In addition, a compassionate return policy is expected.

If a consumer purchases a product with a specific specification intent, they will be more likely to leave a good review when they receive the product. If there is a discrepancy between the description and the photos of the actual product, buyers will be left disappointed.

Some pointers that will help you improve the buyer’s experience on Amazon are:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>Make sure products are accurately categorized</li>
 	<li>Ensure product listing information on Amazon is updated as frequently as possible</li>
 	<li>Offer products with complete and relevant information. A product cannot be disappointing if the information communicated is true to life</li>
</ul>
All these points can be controlled with a feed management tool like Channable. Channable has an [instant API connection to Amazon](https://www.channable.com/integrations/amazon-api-integration). It enables easy categorization of products, offers a simple and fast method to list products with complete information, and everything is updated automatically instantly.

Another point worth considering is price management. It’s good to monitor how your competitors are pricing products and, should you feel it appropriate, adapt your pricing as necessary. The reason being, if a consumer discovers that an item they just bought is available at a cheaper price it may prompt them to leave a negative review.

Logistically, improving the shipping experience can be difficult to influence. One solution lies in <a href="https://services.amazon.co.uk?ref=as_eu_fr_header_ukflag&amp;ld=ASITFBADirect" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amazon’s logistics service</a> that it offers to Amazon sellers. It comes with variable costs, so It’s up to you to weigh the pros and cons.

Another solution offered by order management system companies like Qapla allows orders received from marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Privalia, Carrefour, Spartoo, Manomano or Cdiscount, to be managed from one place. A seller can track the shipment better and provide a more positive user experience, thus avoiding negative comments.

Although Amazon is mostly covered in this blog, you can’t ignore reviews coming from other online marketplaces or other platforms, such as Google Shopping. There are additional benefits to adding <a href="/blog/blog-how-to-embed-product-ratings-into-google-shopping" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google Products Reviews to Google Shopping</a> as Google Shopping can pool together reviews from many sources.

Reviews will continue to play an important role in the decision-making process of buyers, so be sure to leverage the opportunities that are available to you as a seller.

How to improve your verified reviews on Amazon

“We will focus on this ad group in our next campaign.” Do these words sound familiar? For many of us, the terms “ad group” and “ad campaign” are thrown around without really knowing their definitions. 

Some other familiar words we often hear at Channable come in the form of a question: “How do I structure my ad account?” 

Answering this correctly will go a long way to ensuring your ads are triggered by searches relevant to your audience, your quality scores are higher, and you have greater control over where your ads appear. 

We’ve put together the below guide on PPC advertising to break down ad account terms, explaining what each one means and how they function. Plus, we’ve included some inspiring quotes and expert insights so the focus of your next campaign is laser-sharp.

## Campaign hierarchy: Who is the king?

“Ignoring online marketing is like opening a business but not telling anyone,” explains KB Marketing Agency. 

Similarly, ignoring the importance of your ad campaign hierarchy is like recognizing the value of online marketing but having no structure to support it. 

Your ad account hierarchy provides this structure and is always the same in terms of order and influence. The level above always influences the one below. 

For example, whatever is included at the campaign level influences your ad groups. Ranking the hierarchy of an ad account’s structure is as follows:

![Artboard 7.png](https://media.graphassets.com/BNA8GNZRLKPz88gpT06w)

## Ads account hierarchy: The difference between ad campaigns vs ad groups
 
Now we have visualized an ad account structure, let's break down the structure of campaigns and ad groups further.

Your account’s campaigns consist of one or more ad groups. An ad group contains one or more ads, which share a set target of keywords and bids. The biggest difference is that ad groups are one level below campaigns in the account hierarchy. 

Campaigns directly control the goal and budget, while ad groups oversee the bids/CPC, audience/targeting, placement, and delivery options chosen to capture the audience.

- **Ad campaigns = strategies, goals, budget**

- **Ad groups = bids, targeting, placement**

![Ad campaigns vs groups.png](https://media.graphassets.com/FAr8KxNRNJjWby3nuEPA)

## Ad campaigns

To understand what sort of journey you want to take your customers on, you first need to create a definition for the campaigns in your account. 

“At its very core, marketing is storytelling,” explains Melinda Partin, senior director of marketing and digital strategy at UW Medicine. 

> “The best advertising campaigns take us on an emotional journey.” Most companies want to start this journey with a search campaign, so let’s use that as an example. 

Search campaigns can potentially create the most awareness, but display campaigns are also widely used. 

Alternatively, perhaps a call-only campaign creates the business you need. Whatever you choose, the goal is to be found via all relevant searches directing individuals to your website and converting them into a sale/customer.

All campaigns are created with a goal - to sell something, boost web traffic, increase brand awareness, etc. 

The campaign sets the budget, location, and targeting of that goal, so you can focus on achieving results. 

Other settings that are affected under the campaign hierarchy are the set of ad groups, ads, keywords, and bids to reach your goal.

In the US, Forbes Magazine demonstrated the power of an effective PPC campaign, boosting subscriber numbers, introducing two new ad channels, and [increasing PPC traffic](https://adventureppc.com/case-study/20-increase-in-subscribers-for-forbes-magazine){nofollow} by 102%. 

Video content was a major part of Forbes’ increased appeal, as was a focus on a broader age range for the magazine’s target audience. Collectively, Forbes was able to leverage the benefits of PPC optimization to enhance its subscription figures.

Your account can have one or multiple campaigns running at the same time. For instance, you can create separate ad campaigns to run similar ads but in multiple locations using different budgets.

![Artboard 6.png](https://media.graphassets.com/T6JWNemTVes2VVYqhRIb)

**Tip**: Once a strategy and a goal are chosen for your campaign, it is time to think about the settings

- Target location
- Target language
- Budget
- Bid strategy - automatic (AI learning) or manual 

## What is an ad group?
Ad groups may contain one or more ads that have a similar target. It’s your decision how you organize an account but often within ad groups, a separate ad is defined and created by the different types of services or products that are offered.

“Ad groups are an essential component of pay-per-click marketing,” reads a [recent blog post](https://www.wordstream.com/ad-groups){nofollow} by marketing company WordStream. “Creating effective ad groups can help you to drive more traffic and leads at lower costs, while increasing the number of conversions on your site.”

Ad groups contain and control the following functions:

- The structure of each campaign
- Separate and organize each theme or product
- Control keyword/ad association

*How big should my ad group be?*

There is, of course, no set limit but a few guidelines are:

- Six to 10 ad groups per campaign
- +/- 20 keywords per ad group
- Around two or three ads per ad group

## Ads, keywords, and negative keywords

At this level you have your actual ad, targeting potential customers with your chosen keywords.

As a company that functions in six languages, [Channable](https://www.channable.com/products/ppc-tool) knows the importance of search volume and choosing the right keywords. Make sure your research confirms that the keywords you are choosing have search volume! 

> “With the right focus, keyword research will help you create content that reaches the widest possible audience, generates more traffic, and converts better,” says Stoney deGeyter, CEO of Pole Position Marketing. 

> “All it takes is looking at your keywords, not merely as search words but as information about the searcher.”

Here in the hierarchy, the information/keywords provided are connected directly to your [product data feed](https://www.channable.com/products/product-feed-management-tool). 

Target potential clients by using keywords with intent. In general, broad terms have low intent, e.g. sport shoes, and do not have a high click-through rate. Focused and specific words, also called long-tail keywords, usually have higher intent because the buyer knows more about what they want, e.g. Nike air max 270.

## Keyword match types

This may be preaching to the choir, but (search types) or match types are the ways keywords and phrases can be configured to match up to searches within your campaigns. 

There are four query match types recognized by [Google] (https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7478529?hl=en) and [Microsoft Advertising](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en-us/resources/training/keyword-match-options&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1660138852645995&usg=AOvVaw3eMpV51Sxb-5ZCH5qeGJxF) 

- **Broad match**: As the name suggests, this is the broadest term your ad can be matched against, including synonyms for your keywords. An example would be if you used 'discount running shoes' as a broad keyword. In this case, your ad may be displayed when a potential customer uses the search term 'sports shoe sale'.

- **Modified broad match +**: This is a bit more restrictive and the ads will only activate on the keywords you have set, but they can be in any order. An example would be a search for ‘sale sport shoes’ when your keyword is ‘sports shoe sale’.


- **Phrase match “ ”**: A phrase match must include keyword terms you are bidding on in the same unbroken order. There can, however, be words before or after the keyword.


- **Exact match [ ]**: An exact match will only trigger when the exact keyword is searched for.
A little side note: Google has begun restructuring what it considers an exact match. This now means that word order and function words like “the”, “for”, and “to” will be ignored, along with plurals and close variants of the chosen word.

*What does this change mean to your account strategy?*
![Artboard 1.png](https://media.graphassets.com/chY27F3ER968uOsV5YHw)

Google’s exact match modifications have meant that modified broad match has become the most popular choice for most campaigns. This is because it's strict enough to stay relevant, yet still offers enough flexibility to catch interested buyers.

> “Using the right keyword match type ensures the money you spend on Google Ad campaigns helps you bring in the right type of traffic, which makes you more likely to attract a new customer, drive a sale, and maximize ROI,” notes Flori Needle at Hubspot.

## What are negative keywords?

[An effective PPC strategy](https://www.channable.com/blog/more-roi-for-your-ads-choosing-the-right-bidding-strategy) depends on constantly refining your keyword matches. 

It also brings negative keywords into play. Negative keywords allow you to exclude certain search terms from your campaigns, ensuring that your ads are only shown in response to the most relevant search queries. 

“Also known as a negative match, negative keywords make sure that certain words or phrases don't trigger an ad being shown on a SERP search engine results page or website,” a recent blog post from [HubSpot](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/negative-keywords&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1660138881887347&usg=AOvVaw0tbByxB5hVfk-r1WpqYKYt){nofollow} explains. 

“This improves targeting: When you prevent keywords from being associated with an ad, you can be more certain that it will be shown to the right audiences.”

Let’s say you are trying to advertise those Nike air max 270 shoes we mentioned earlier, but they are part of a new campaign that is specifically targeting women. 

Using negative keywords you can prevent your ads from appearing in less relevant searches for terms like “men’s trainers,” or “kid’s shoes,” ensuring that your campaigns are more targeted to your desired audience.  

In choosing your keyword strategy, it is useful to create two to three long-tail keywords and try to avoid single-term keywords. That being said, your campaign goals are always your own and a different strategy might yield better results to meet your needs.

## What are you willing to pay per click?

Let’s talk about bids and choosing a max CPC (cost per click), starting with your quality score. Your [quality score](https://www.channable.com/blog/blog-4-ways-improve-quality-score) is made up of keywords, landing page quality, and relevant content. Quality scores, along with your max CPC, help determine your ad rank. 

More specifically, your maximum CPC bid multiplied by your quality score helps determine your position and therefore, cost per click, bringing everything together.

There are two options when choosing your bidding strategy: **manual** or **automatic**.

- **Manual bidding** - Manual bidding gives you complete control. When starting a new campaign it might be a good idea to look at Google's “Page #1 CPC”, and “Top of Page CPC” metrics to give you a good idea of what your max bid should be. These two metrics are both estimates Google creates for each keyword.

- **Automatic bidding **- This gives Google control to play around with your ad spend, using Google's AI to find the optimal price for you to be bidding on. This strategy can be helpful when starting a new campaign and if you don't have an idea of what a reasonable price would be for your ads. One potential option would be to play around with the ‘Maximize Clicks’ feature within Google AdWords. 

![Screenshot.png](https://media.graphassets.com/gPrxOyZqQ9m89EIqpQJT)

Google will then try to get as many clicks as possible with your ad spend. An important note on using this feature is to set a Max CPC bid limit so that Google does not exceed your limits or budget. 

However, this strategy may not be ideal in the long run and should be checked after a few weeks to determine a good price per click vs conversion. 

Plus, it’s not the only strategy available to you. Maximize Conversions and Enhanced CPC represent just a couple of the other potential automated bidding strategies. Selecting the right one for your campaign depends on your goals. 

As Avinash Kaushik, a digital marketing evangelist, says, “Never let ads write checks your website can’t cash.” 

## Automating your ads

With all this information, you should be ready to tackle optimizing your ads account structure and get those ads rolling. If handling all these campaigns and ad groups now sounds like a daunting task, there are [data feed management](https://www.channable.com/products/product-feed-management-tool) and [PPC tools](https://www.channable.com/products/ppc-tool) to help manage your workflow. 

Channable is a platform that can combine your data feed directly with your text ads, making automation and campaign management easy. 

How about some final words of advice from someone that has done more than most to change the face of online advertising, Mark Zuckerberg: “Advertising works most effectively when it's in line with what people are already trying to do.” You don’t have to change your goals; just use Channable to make sure you achieve them.

[![CTA (1).png](https://media.graphassets.com/iUARtEO9QnNv5CTzLfLj)](https://www.channable.com/signup)

The difference between ad campaigns and ad groups in PPC advertising

On 28th April 2020, the <a href="https://docs.magento.com/m2/ee/user_guide/sales-channels/google-ads/google-eol.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google Shopping ads Channel will be disabled and removed from the Magento Marketplace</a>. If you had been using the Google Shopping ads Channel extension, **Magento has recommended searching for alternative extensions** in the<a href="https://marketplace.magento.com?_ga=2.47602919.1536390789.1587384265-1906944811.1586434258" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Magento Marketplace</a> that meet your needs, and/or migrating your catalog manually to the Google Merchant Center and Google Ads.

If you’re a Magento retailer who was using the Google Shopping ads Channel,** your product data will not be sent to the Google Merchant Center** and **your Shopping Campaigns will no longer be synced**. The ads will continue to run as they were set up, but they will not be updated.

You can easily send your product data to the Google Merchant Center if you have a Google Shopping feed at hand. You may need to create one to fit Google’s requirements, or even <a href="/blog/create-quality-google-shopping-feeds" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">optimize it to ensure you’ll be creating high-quality ads</a>.

However, it is highly recommended by Magento to explore alternative extensions to minimize disruption to your Google Shopping campaigns. Channable’s PPC tool is one such alternative that can be set up within a day and gives you <a href="https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011005320-How-do-I-create-shopping-campaigns-from-Channable-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">supreme control on your Shopping ads</a>.
<h2>How can Channable help?</h2>
<a href="/products/ppc-tool" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Channable’s PPC tool</a> can be used in a similar way to the Google Shopping ads Channel and even offers additional benefits such as back up templates, keywords generation, <a href="/blog/google-expanded-ads-with-channable" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">sitelinks, and price extensions</a>. Channable can be found in the Magento marketplace and offers a seamless integration thanks to its <a href="/integrations/magento" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Magento plugin</a>.

Users can create ad groups per product for Google Shopping campaigns and ads in mass. The Channable PPC tool provides you with the power to advertise at a product level, enabling more control over which products are advertised in Shopping Campaigns, the bid for each product, and negative keywords per item.

Having full control lowers ad spend on products with a low ROAS, improving campaign performance. In addition, any new products added to the product feed will be automatically added to the Google Shopping Campaigns. Channable’s Shopping Campaigns can help you utilize Google Shopping Campaigns to its fullest potential without the need for a dedicated team or an advanced online advertising background.

If you’re a Magento retailer that has been affected by the discontinuation of Google Shopping ads Channel, Channable would like to offer the first month of Shopping ads created by Channable for FREE. Just use the promo code** MAGENTOGSC _2020** when you create an account in Channable. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">This promo code will be valid until 15th June 2020</span>. For more information, <a href="/contact" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">please get in contact with a member of our sales team</a>.

Channable’s offering for all those affected by the end of Magento’s Google Shopping ads extension

<h2>What does this mean for your business?</h2>
Google Shopping has been part of Google’s search engine for almost 20 years. However, since 2012 Google Shopping’s business model has been paid ads for item placement. This meant that many merchants choose only their top sellers because of listing costs or others to only use standard Google Search Ads instead of Google Shopping. With this change, the majority of space given to the Google Shopping tab will be free. Making Google Shopping more accessible for all businesses and allows merchants to list their full inventories to be found by Google’s search engine without ad placement costs. Top paid listings will still appear in the ad slots and the free listings will apply to the Google Shopping tab. But, this shift makes Google Shopping a more preferable alternative than competitors like <a href="/integrations/amazon-product-feed">Amazon</a> or <a href="/integrations/ebay">eBay</a> for many merchants.

[caption id="attachment_22576" align="aligncenter" width="597"]<img class="size-full wp-image-22576" src="https://media.graphcms.com/lISVl5TNThiHQqIBxe40" alt="Google Shopping example" width="597" height="173" /> Google Shopping layouts example[/caption]
<h2>How to take advantage</h2>
Google states that anyone who manages a website or an online store platform, such as <a href="/integrations/shopify">Shopify</a> or <a href="/integrations/magento">Magento</a>, may advertise items. To opt-in, select “Growth” and then “Manage programs” in your <a href="https://www.google.com/intl/en_us/retail/get-started?product=merchant-center&amp;&amp;fmp=1&amp;utm_id=bkws&amp;mcsubid=us-en-ha-g-mc-bkws&amp;subid=us-en-ha-Sh-bk-c-mcd!o3~EAIaIQobChMI8YrYzZv46AIVuR6tBh3yEw8bEAAYASAAEgJ0hPD_BwE~%7Badgroup%7D~kwd-296470545763~8700813765~408243301570&amp;gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8YrYzZv46AIVuR6tBh3yEw8bEAAYASAAEgJ0hPD_BwE">Google Merchant Center</a>, in the left navigation menu and select the “surfaces across Google” program card. You can also add products to your product feed, to make even more products discoverable in these free listings. Meaning existing customers with a Google Merchant Center account can now list their full inventories, and new users can apply through the Google Merchant Center to be featured on Google Shopping.

To help make the process smoother, Google has partnered with PayPal. Allowing customers to link existing accounts for faster online payment.
<h2>How to get going using feed management</h2>
With many businesses around the world forced to close their physical doors, online sales offer a lifeline! Whether you are just starting out in the world of eCommerce or juggling 4 marketplace connections plus the rest of your business, feed management can save you time and money. What is feed management you may ask? Exactly what it sounds like, a way to handle all of the data coming from your online shop.

Why use a <a href="/blog/10-common-errors-channable-users-connecting-google-shopping">feed management tool</a>? Unlike Google Ads which rests mostly on keywords, Google Shopping is based on all the product data found on an online shop. A feed management tool allows you to organize your product data in order to match the <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002826965-Generate-categories">categories</a> for Google Shopping and <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/7052112?hl=en&amp;ref_topic=6324338">product specifications</a>. For some of the most popular advertising platforms, including Google Shopping, you can instantly generate categories by utilizing <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015991674-How-to-work-with-smart-categories">smart categorization</a>. This process can significantly speed up the set up of a new connection, maximize your visibility, and increase your reach. If you choose to handle this process manually via a spreadsheet, some of your products may be disapproved by Google. It will then be trial and error until you have fixed all the requirements by Google and are able to advertise again.

[caption id="attachment_22582" align="alignnone" width="1899"]<img class="size-full wp-image-22582" src="https://media.graphcms.com/aqbFcF9tQRyEuY4QJkTf" alt="Google shopping example listing"/> Google shopping example listing[/caption]
<h2>Handling Google Shopping campaigns</h2>
As stated above, Google Shopping ads are based on a lot more than just keywords. All of the product data is taken into account when Google assesses the quality of the ad. With Google Shopping ads being free to list, it is now more important than ever to have a truly optimized and complete item listing. Fields like image, product title, price, name of retailer, shipping, reviews, and all other relevant information are used by Google to acknowledge your listing as credible and create the ad.

Introducing Channable, the data feed management solution that can handle and automate your entire Google Merchant Center catalog. Channable creates an integrated connection to your online shop, optimizing both your <a href="/products/ppc-tool">Google Ads</a> and <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002828885-How-do-I-advertise-on-Google-Shopping-">Google Shopping campaigns</a>. With Channable’s Google Shopping API connection, an immediate real-time link will be made with your Google Merchant Center and your product feed. Any products you have listed on your online shop will be automatically updated in your Google Merchant Center and may be advertised. We have only talked about Google Shopping here, but with this same connection, your online shop can connect to over 2,500 other price comparison websites, affiliate platforms, and marketplaces as well.

Increase your online exposure and get your business back where it needs to be, in front of your customers!

Start your <a href="/signup">free trial today</a>.  Your first connection setup is free, as part of our service to get you up and running smoothly.

Google Shopping ads shift to free: What you need to know about this change in eCommerce

Online sales play an increasingly significant role in retail. In 2021, e-commerce accounted for nearly 20 percent of [ retail sales ](https://www.statista.com/statistics/534123/e-commerce-share-of-retail-sales-worldwide/){nofollow} worldwide. Forecasts show that by 2025, the online segment will make up close to a quarter of total global retail sales. As a result, marketers must use every trick in the book to create exposure and deliver sales across multiple platforms. 

But advertising across channels can quickly become impossible to manage manually effectively. The more products you sell, the bigger the problem.

**The solution? Introducing feed management into your digital marketing strategy.**

## What is feed management?

Feed management or product feed management is the process of filtering, enriching, and optimizing product data to sell products on multiple platforms in a seamless way. 

Feed management enables you to add additional data to your descriptions so, you can enrich product information and use a rule-based system to filter content easily. You may have heard of feed management described in several ways, including product, shopping, or product feed management. To avoid confusion, they're all the same and do precisely the same thing.

As a result, you benefit from better visibility for your brand, business, products, and services. At the bottom line, it’ll boost your ROI and improve your ROAS.

Feed management is a transformative tool to help you achieve your eCommerce goals. Integrating into your overall approach can prove a valuable source of competitive advantage in an increasingly challenging environment. 

This in-depth guide explains what feed management is, how to use it, and why it's critical to reach your customers this way. You’ll learn how to optimize your digital marketing with feed management.

## Feed management beyond the data

Digital marketing is, on paper, a simple process: a user searches for a product or service, sees your ad or product listing, clicks on it, and becomes a customer.

That's the theory, but it doesn’t always work out like that in practice. 

> "When you dig into the data and start running experiments, you quickly learn that effects of online ads are not what you might expect.," says Sinan Aral in the [Harvard Business Review](https://hbr.org/2021/02/what-digital-advertising-gets-wrong){nofollow} 

We're becoming conditioned to hate ads, warns Tiffany Hsu in the [New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/28/business/media/advertising-industry-research.html){nofollow} It's not because we don't want to buy more stuff. We do. It's because some ads are poorly targeted, full of inaccurate information, incorrectly formatted, or just plain bad.

Every marketer must spend time ensuring each ad is as effective as possible. But when advertising on multiple channels, this can be a huge challenge.

“I see a lot of brands running standard campaigns without much thought and usually with a limited budget on each channel, reducing the reach and impact they can have,” says digital marketing expert Kevin Wiles. “They’re often working with a limited budget on each channel, reducing the reach and impact they can have.” This principle is also true for non-PPC product listings. 

That's just the start. If you don't follow the strict rules set out by channel owners, such as Google, they'll pull your ads – creating a huge amount of work to get things right.

> “It’s worth spending the time going through your merchant feed to fix any violations, any warnings (such as missing GTINs), or anything holding your traffic back,” says ​​Tom Jenane, a digital marketer at ethical start-up [Natures Health Box](https://www.natureshealthbox.co.uk/){nofollow} 

That’s not all. If your ads are deemed misleading or fraudulent, you could face legal action. Sure, if you’ve got a big enough team (and the budget to match) you can manage this yourself. But surely there must be a simpler way?

The solution is feed management – and here’s why.

## Feed management basics

![WHat looks vs what you see.png](https://media.graphassets.com/Ud86YGNS4yeLrmbcpswM)

When you start advertising through third parties, such as price comparison sites, marketplaces, or affiliate networks, they'll ask for product information in a specific format.

Let’s go back to basics and list some of the essential parts of any digital ad:

- **Title**: Product name
- **Description**: What the product or service is and what it does
- **Price**: How much does it cost
- **Category**: The department or category of the product
- **Availability**: Whether it's in stock or not
- **Quantity**: How many you'll get with each order
- **Extra information in bullet points**: Any key features or selling points for the product or service
- **Other key attributes**: Material, size, color, EAN/GTIN number, and basically any information you want to communicate to the customer about the product

*A product feed* or *data feed* is a digital file containing an overview of the products or items you want to advertise online. If you already manage an online shop built on an eCommerce platform like Shopify, Magento, or WooCommerce, it's easy to extract this data file as an XML, CSV, or text file.

In an ideal world, you'd just copy the data across channels. However, in most cases, your product feed won't precisely match what the channel provider wants.

So what do you do?  You can manually export your product catalog to various channels, but you'll soon find this becomes impossible to manage. The task gets bigger and more complex the more channels you have.

> “Staying true to your brand, maintaining its authority, and keeping your messaging consistent while developing channel-specific creatives that tap into the conventions that drive performance in each channel is a challenge,”  says Samuli Pehkonen, co-founder of ethical clothing brand [New Standard.](https://wearenewstandard.com/) “It takes deep knowledge of each channel and a lot of resources for creative development to drive cross-channel performance.”

## Managing multiple ad networks

![Why use product feed for online marketing.png](https://media.graphassets.com/Ogk318bSQtmXokgnKw8S)

When preparing your ads for different channels, you'll see that each channel (Google Shopping, Facebook, TikTok, etc.) has unique requirements for product feed information.

“Managing large amounts of products over several advertising channels is a huge challenge,” says digital marketing expert Ian Spencer. Working with healthcare disruptor [Stronger Bones](https://strongerbones.co.uk/){nofollow}, he’s faced with difficult decisions on optimizing ads to compete with some of the UK’s largest spenders. “I’m always searching for solutions like feed management that can save time and money while improving ROI and ROAS.” 

Don't worry; you've already done the hard work when creating your product descriptions and store listings. The key here is to optimize the product information to ensure it meets each channel's precise requirements.

Why? Firstly, doing so will ensure your store listing is displayed correctly and doesn't break any rules. Secondly, the better your product listing, the more likely you will get a click – impacting your CTR.

### Three different types of fields for each product feed listing:

1.** Required fields **– These are the mandatory fields you'll need to complete for every listing
2. **Optional fields** – Additional information that can help your customers understand your product better, including things like product type, price, or delivery information
3. **Custom fields**  – Some channels enable you to add custom data fields to provide extra information on your product

Here are some quick links to popular advertising channels. You’ll find details on the ad specs they need. Dig into the detail and you’ll see that there’s little commonality among them. 

- [Facebook advertising specs](https://www.facebook.com/business/ads-guide?content_id=qK97OWPJtloXrEj&ref=sem_smb&utm_source=GOOGLE&utm_medium=fbsmbsem&utm_campaign=PFX_SEM_G_BusinessAds_UK_EN_Brand_Exact_Desktop&utm_content=Ads-Format_Evaluating&kenid=_k_CjwKCAjwtIaVBhBkEiwAsr7-cxajqdO-bDtrrU-oirx0UUGYJ74e-Bvv0LbEj-D7IsL4co3x3yIB5RoCSWMQAvD_BwE_k_&utm_term=facebook%20ad%20specs&utm_ct=EVG&gclid=CjwKCAjwtIaVBhBkEiwAsr7-cxajqdO-bDtrrU-oirx0UUGYJ74e-Bvv0LbEj-D7IsL4co3x3yIB5RoCSWMQAvD_BwE){nofollow} 
- [Google display ad specs](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/1722096?hl=en-GB){nofollow} 
- [TikTok Video ad specs](https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article?aid=9626){nofollow} 
- [Twitter ad specs](https://business.twitter.com/en/help/campaign-setup/creative-ad-specifications.html){nofollow} 
- [Microsoft ad specs](https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en-gb/h/a/microsoft-advertising?&ef_id=CjwKCAjwtIaVBhBkEiwAsr7-czxirKPCC9wFwC7VOAlI9rm2tUxTT6naP4c4D53Dwo4cbycNdg-BbBoCyH0QAvD_BwE:G:s&OCID=AID2200059_SEM_CjwKCAjwtIaVBhBkEiwAsr7-czxirKPCC9wFwC7VOAlI9rm2tUxTT6naP4c4D53Dwo4cbycNdg-BbBoCyH0QAvD_BwE:G:s&s_cid=UK-ACQ-PPC-src_GGL-sub_prosp-cat_Brand_mt_b&gclid=CjwKCAjwtIaVBhBkEiwAsr7-czxirKPCC9wFwC7VOAlI9rm2tUxTT6naP4c4D53Dwo4cbycNdg-BbBoCyH0QAvD_BwE){nofollow} 

Can you see how confusing it is to manage the complexity?

## What is a feed management tool, and how can it help me optimize my product feed?

Feed management tools are online software that takes all the hard work out of optimizing your product data and its listing. 

The software is available in the cloud, and it’s super simple to use. You just upload your original data file, and it optimizes descriptions to meet the requirements of each channel.  

But it’s not just about filling a box.

A crucial part of any solution is [feed optimization](https://www.channable.com/blog/product-feed-optimization). The more data you provide, the better the channel can understand what you're selling and match your products with visitors' search queries.

> “When the number of SKUs is going up, I see a clear need to be able to optimize and administer our product feeds,” says Pehkonen. “I'm especially interested in solutions with great data optimization potential when we get there.”

Feed management tools enable you to add additional data to your descriptions, enrich product information, and use a rule-based system to filter content easily.

You may have heard of feed management described in several ways, including product, shopping, or product feed management. To avoid confusion, they're all the same and do precisely the same thing.

## Do I really need a feed management tool?

If you're happy to manually manage, edit and update every product listing you have to meet the requirements of advertisers, then no. For everyone else, especially retailers with a significant amount of SKUs, the answer is yes.

> “Usually, different campaigns are put together and rolled out across various channels without a proper strategy,” warns Princely Bibi, Senior PPC Specialist at Coast Digital. “Customers usually don't have the right kind of assets required across various channels.” 

Feed management can fill this gap. The software automates one of the most boring and time-consuming parts of digital marketing. It also reduces manual errors, ensuring that each product listing is active immediately.

Selling online is big business, so many eCommerce companies can have huge numbers of products advertised over multiple channels. Feed management can automate and optimize this process, making it faster and better.

## 5 reasons why you need feed management

![Manage product feeds.png](https://media.graphassets.com/XYlfdDTwKti0iCiusnSw)

If you’re still managing digital ads on each channel individually, here are five issues you could be facing. Are any of these familiar to you?

**1. Failing with formats:** Every channel has its requirements and policies, and you must meet them all to sell or list your products. If you use your product data feed, listings could be poorly formatted, badly displayed, and inaccurate.

**2. Time and money troubles**: Without an automated system, you'll have to list your products one by one, which can take a massive amount of time and resources. Do you have the staff or the budget?

**3. Stock availability struggles**: If your inventory isn't accurately displayed on each channel, you could oversell products. This can lead to disappointed customers and damaging reviews.

**4. Problems with portals:** You'll need to log in to several seller portals, which can take significant time. The bigger your business and the more products you sell, the greater the resource requirement

**5. Data disasters**: Manual mistakes in raw data can lead to product listings being rejected, resulting in no sales

## Can Channable help me overcome these challenges?

Yes! Channable is designed to make feed management simple, leaving you to focus on the fundamentals of your business.

Thousands of customers use Channable to increase the quality of their data feed, meet the exact needs of all channels and automatically update all product information. The result is a more efficient, effective, and focused organization that enables it to deliver an exceptional customer experience.

There are five key areas in a feed management tool that can optimize your feed management:

1. Product listing and categorization
2. Product feed optimization
3. Data synchronization
4. Order management
5. Data governance

Let's look at each in order:

### Easy product listing and categorization

Feed management tools enable you to [organize your products](https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011190699-Generate-categories), matching the categories of the various export channels.

Channable can even generate these categories instantly using the built-in [smart categorization](https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011189619-How-to-work-with-smart-categories) functionality. It can help save enormous amounts of time spent setting up new feeds and can maximize your visibility on a channel allowing you to reach more customers.

### Powerful feed optimization

Unless you're confident with code, if you want to update your product feed you'll typically need to work with a developer. But not anymore. Feed management tools contain simple "if-then" rules allowing you to control product listings. These will be automatically applied to any new added to your online shop.

This way you can precisely control the flow of products to each export channel and modify all the information at the same time. You should also receive instant feedback after each rule is applied to your product catalog.

### Top-quality data feeds

Exporting a high-quality, consistent data feed will increase your online visibility. How? By ensuring the fields you provide are those that are required.

Feed management tools can ensure your listings meet all specifications for channels. The feed management tool stays up-to-date with any changes, refreshing and re-supplying your listings to ensure there's no downtime.

### Feeds & APIs

Manually managing stock levels can be time-consuming and tricky, which is why automating it with API connections is a simple solution.  APIs provide an automatic and continuous exchange of information between the marketplace and your online shop.

If you're using a feed, you can [schedule](https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360010932720-What-are-the-schedule-settings-) when you want stock data to be updated. With APIs, you don't need to schedule anything – your product data is synchronized in real-time. Every channel and customer can see what's in stock and what's not, maximizing your sales.

## Optimize your feed (or your competitors will)

The automation of online marketing is critical to optimizing productivity. Feed management tools can help businesses of every size – from single stores to those with several warehouses – to manage product catalogs and sales channels.

Even if you’re not ready to take the step, your competitors are  – and they’ll experience the benefits for their businesses.

Channable can help you optimize your product feeds for your targeted channels – enhancing your relationships with customers and improving conversion rates. 

Want to know more? Learn how to select a suitable feed management tool with our guide covering [How to find the perfect product feed management tool](https://www.channable.com/blog/find-the-perfect-feed-management-tool).

[![CTA (1).png](https://media.graphassets.com/Dmp2hl0lRdaAG74LYRw9)](https://www.channable.com/signup)


Feed management: what is it and why you need it in your eCommerce strategy

With highstreets slowly opening up again and with consumers ready to shop offline, now is the time to respond. Using local inventory ads, online shoppers know exactly which of your products are in stock in every offline store.
<h2>What are Local Inventory Ads?</h2>
There are many ways to promote your products online. You can <a href="/integrations">show them on different channels like Amazon or eBay</a>. You can advertise with search ads via <a href="/products/ppc-tool">Google Ads or Bing Ads</a>. But have you considered promoting your offline store’s inventory online? Whether you have a special offer or a huge sale. Or, if your product is sold out online but you still have some in your offline stores. In many situations, it’s a no-brainer.

Google developed local inventory ads exactly for this purpose. These ads become visible when a potential consumer is close (within 50km) to one of your offline stores. They can see whether the product they are looking for is still in stock and in precisely which store they can get it. This way you can perfectly combine your online shop with your offline stores.

[caption id="attachment_24622" align="alignnone" width="960"]<img class="wp-image-24622 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/f4Ub6DftTTKYn5x32rO6" alt="" width="960" height="400" /> This is how local inventory ads appear on Google Shopping.[/caption]
<h2>What are the advantages of local inventory ads?</h2>
<ol>
 	<li>**Combine your online shop and offline stores** Consumers often plan their shopping online. Therefore, they check what time the stores open and close, if there’s a sale, and which products are in stock. Use local inventory ads, take advantage of this shopping behavior. Show live stock updates of popular products and encourage consumers to visit your store.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
 	<li value="2">**Promoting shop inventory = more sales** Is one of your products sold out online but available in store? If so, grab the attention of consumers by mentioning this in your ads. This will increase your store visits which means more sales and more upselling opportunities.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
 	<li value="3">**Set up your Google Analytics** Keep track of the impact local inventory ads have on your sales in each particular offline store and customize your ads accordingly.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
 	<li value="4">**No additional costs** Local inventory ads are within your Google Shopping budget.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
 	<li value="5">**Easy to set up using data feeds** Using <a href="/products/product-feed-management-tool">Channable’s data feed management tool</a> you can quickly and easily create fully optimized feeds for creating local inventory ads.</li>
</ol>
<h2>How do I create local inventory ads with Channable?</h2>
<ol>
 	<li>As well as a Channable account, you’ll need three other accounts. A Merchant Center account, a Google My Business (GMB) Locations account, and a Google Ads account.</li>
 	<li>You need to link these three accounts with one another. If they aren’t linked, <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/3425157?hl=en">follow these steps from the Google Help Center</a> to link these accounts and exchange data.</li>
 	<li>Next, create two separate data feeds in Channable. A general feed with all the products you sell in your stores and a feed with the local product stock. These feeds must meet certain requirements that Google has set up. With [Channable’s data feed management tool](https://www.channable.com/integrations/google-shopping-feed), you can ensure these requirements are met in no time.</li>
 	<li>Is everything uploaded? Then <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/7022488">request the inventory verification from Google</a>. A specific contact person for stock verification is responsible for this. This contact person is the only person who receives information about setting up and processing the stock verification. This check is necessary for Google to ensure that the stock information matches what is actually in your stores.</li>
 	<li>Have you completed step 4? If yes, you are ready to <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/7024611?hl=en&amp;ref_topic=7023401">activate your Google Shopping campaigns</a>.</li>
</ol>
<h2>Gall &amp; Gall: what if you’d like to have a special bottle of wine for the barbecue tonight?</h2>
[Gall & Gall](https://www.gall.nl), the most popular liquor store chain in the Netherlands and one of our clients, faced a dilemma. The company was founded in 1884 and today has around 600 physical stores across the Netherlands. These stores are hugely important to Gall &amp; Gall’s success. However, buying drinks online is becoming more common. And in recent years, their online marketing has focused mainly on online sales. But how do you combine online and offline the right way? Plus, how do you measure the effectiveness of online marketing on offline sales?

Jan-Willem den Dunnen, an online marketer at Gall &amp; Gall explains, “When Google introduced local inventory ads in the Netherlands, we were one of the first to try it out. We are an omnichannel retailer and know better than anyone that online advertising is an important driver to stores. We'd like to increase this effect. So we set up local inventory ads mainly for our customers. If you want a bottle of Bacardi today but when you check online it says it can’t be delivered until tomorrow, you won’t order it online. Local inventory ads provide a solution. We see an increase in the number of clicks on Fridays and Saturdays. People would like to pick up drinks for that evening. With the help of local inventory ads, we offer them the chance to find if what they want is in stock, in the shop around the corner!”

Gall &amp; Gall first started last year with a test in Amsterdam. They saw that their local inventory ad campaigns resulted in a significant increase in physical store visits. As a result, Gall &amp; Gall rolled it out across the Netherlands.

Are you looking to combine your online and offline stores using local inventory ads? Make a start by <a href="https://app.channable.com/login">using your Channable account</a> and creating optimized feeds for Google Shopping. You can also <a href="/contact">contact our sales team</a> for more information.

Local Inventory Ads: Show your physical store stock on Google

## Tips for advertising your products on Amazon

We jump in to explain step by step the recommendations to sell on Amazon:

### 1\. Sell products on Amazon that will make you a profit

You must first track whether the products you want to sell on Amazon have enough demand. To do this you can check the list of the best-selling products in your category. If your product typology is among the [best sellers](https://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers) it will be a good sign. 

We also advise you to avoid selling products that directly compete with Amazon Retail. You would be competing against Amazon itself, so don't expect very high sales. If you have a list of these products, you will be able to remove them from your [Amazon listing](https://www.channable.com/integrations/amazon-product-feed) using the ID, ASIN, EAN, or any other field that you have in your catalog. This can be managed very simply by applying a filter rule in Channable. 

Products can also be filtered using values ​​such as price. You may not be interested in selling products with a price lower than X on Amazon because the profit margin is minimal. Especially considering the [commissions that Amazon applies](https://services.amazon.co.uk?ref=as_eu_fr_header_ukflag&ld=ASESSOADirect). In this case, you would be interested in using the following rule, where products worth less than 10 euros are excluded from the listing: 

![](https://media.graphcms.com/fBggsd67SbaP49USKM5V) 

If you want to take this advice to a more advanced level, use metrics that allow tracking for the performance of your products. Data such as conversion rate, CTR, revenue/cost, or ROAS can be extremely useful in deciding which products to publish or what prices to use. For this, we need to integrate with [Analytics data](/blog/blog-analytics-insights-for-better-performance). In the following rule, we are applying a 50% discount to products that have a conversion rate of less than 30%. This is very useful if you want to get rid of the products that you are not interested in having in stock. 

![](https://media.graphcms.com/ylX2PWR7SXuoDjYXbV2g) 

If you sell clothing, you may want to exclude from the Amazon listing the products that are least likely to be sold. This usually happens with sizes XS or XL. In the following example, items that are only in stock in sizes XS or XL will be excluded: 

![](https://media.graphcms.com/MRtgSvIR7Cejfd4jYRMM)

### 2\. Improve the verified opinions of your products

It has been shown that the opinions of other clients help potential clients to trust your webshop, thus increasing sales. It is estimated that between 2% - 5% of customers will leave an opinion. Here the quantity of opinions matters but also the quality, the more stars our product has, the better. The reviews most valued by Amazon are the '[Amazon Verified Purchase Reviews](/blog/blog-improve-opinions-amazon)', that is, those given by users as actual buyers of the product. Now Amazon offers the option of directly requesting reviews from your buyers. Within your Amazon Seller Central account, in the Orders section, you must click on the name of one of the buyers. So you can send a direct message to the buyer requesting a review. It is important that in the Subject of the message you indicate that it is a «Request for evaluation». One recommendation is to look at your competitors' reviews and pay special attention to negative comments. You may be able to find the competitive advantage of your product, highlighting the differential value that your product can offer compared to the competition.

### 3\. Reach the Buy Box

It is very likely that you are not the only seller of a product on Amazon. However, only one seller appears linked to the buy button or Buy Box. [Appearing in the Buy Box](https://www.channable.com/blog/win-amazon-buy-box-increase-sales) can make the difference between selling on Amazon or not. In theory, any seller can opt for the Buy Box, but it is Amazon's algorithm that determines which seller deserves it. Deciphering this algorithm is very complicated since Amazon is modifying it constantly. What is clear is that Amazon prioritizes sellers with more authority, and for this several factors are taken into account:

*   Amazon logistics. Amazon prefers to be responsible for the management, so it prioritizes sellers who work with Fulfillment by Amazon.
*   Shipping times. The faster the better. These are the sections that Amazon offers: 0-2 days, 3-7 days, 8-13 days, and more than 14 days. Try to work with the first section.
*   Defective orders. Amazon calculates this based on negative reviews, claims, and returns. Try to avoid them.
*   Perfect Order Percentage (POP): It is an indicator where Amazon takes into account factors related to orders: delays, cancellations, and negative reviews. Try to make the % as small as possible, stating that most of the orders they serve are "perfect."
*   Positive reviews. As we have previously mentioned, you have to stimulate your customers to leave opinions about the product.
*   Response time: You will be penalized if you do not answer your customers in less than 24 hours.
Amazon listing optimization - This is what our Amazon repricer 
### 4\. Give your products a little push with Amazon Pay Per Click

Ideal to advertise your products on Amazon from the beginning. If you see that your products have not achieved initial sales, you may want to consider this option. Amazon advertising can allow you to get more initial sales in a short time, this being a signal that Amazon will use to give your products more organic visibility. With an initial investment in advertising, it will be easier to get the first sales, the first product reviews, and a better organic position in the results of customer searches. Amazon Pay Per Click works similar to Adwords, being able to create campaigns based on keywords and bids. Ads are prominently displayed to customers and you will only pay when a potential buyer clicks on your product. If your bid is higher than the competition for a certain keyword, the ads for your products will be shown. We suggest you investigate more on this subject, so you can create a campaign that allows you to successfully advertise your products on Amazon.

### 5\. Use a competitive price for your products

This is a very delicate point since it is directly related to the success and profit that your products can have on Amazon. It is important that you do not reference the prices you use in your online store. On Amazon, the price war is more evident when directly showing the prices of similar products. You will have to take into account the following equation to know what your profit margin will be:

*   Costs: Raw materials, manufacturing, packaging, shipping, Amazon commission ... You can't miss a thing.
*   Competitor prices: You have to do a good analysis of the competitor prices. Tools like Unicorn Smasher or Seller Metrix can help you get this type of information. Can you offer similar prices to your competitor?

If your costs are too high and the competitor´s prices are too low, you may not be interested in selling on Amazon. It will be difficult to find buyers who are willing to buy your products having similar offerings at a lower price. To know exactly the costs and commissions of selling your product on Amazon, you can [use this tool](https://sellercentral.amazon.com/fba/profitabilitycalculator/index?lang=en_US), which will also help you calculate logistics costs on Amazon (so you can see if you are interested in using that option). * Keep in mind that payments in full are managed by Amazon. You just have to worry about adding your bank account. However, you will not receive the income instantly, Amazon will pay you two weeks after the sale. Therefore, if you have claims, Amazon will not give you the money until it has been resolved.

### 6\. Create attractive titles for your products

To sell on Amazon, users have to find your products attractive. A good way to do this is to include keywords in the headings. This will help to better position your products in the Amazon search engine. A very simple way to search for these keywords is to use the suggestions offered by Amazon's own search engine. These suggestions are the most searched words by Amazon users, so they can help you to find inspiration. You can also use the [Keyword Tool](https://keywordtool.io/amazon), in the Amazon tab. In addition, you must place these keywords at the beginning of the title, to give them a higher priority. Another way to optimize the titles of your products on Amazon is by including relevant attributes such as the brand, product type, material, color, size, and number of units that the package contains. Other details to consider:

*   Amazon allows a maximum of 250 characters (for desktop searches), but we recommend the titles not exceed 200 characters
*   Capitalize the first letter of each word
*   Write numerals (2 instead of two)
*   Don't use symbols like ! * $?
*   Do not include promotional messages such as discounts or free shipping

Below we find the example of an optimized title, where attributes such as brand, material, product type, color, and available sizes have been added: 

![Sin-título.png](https://media.graphcms.com/DvfuE1LJRjiHY8PBvrip)

A very easy way to optimize the titles of your products for Amazon is using a feed management tool like Channable. You just need to create a couple of rules that will allow you to modify all the titles at once. In the following example, you can see how to add attributes like brand, product type, color, and size to all the products in your catalog: 

![](https://media.graphcms.com/m5WBGzGMRW6QVwTnsriP) 

And you can do way more! You can also remove symbols, capitalize the first letter of each word, shorten titles that exceed 250 characters, and much anything you can think of.

### 7\. Share the URL of your products generated by Amazon

When you click on one of the products, Amazon adds a series of parameters to the URL of that product. This way Amazon knows the users who have shown interest in this product within Amazon. One of the metrics that Amazon takes into account to improve the positioning of products in search results is the CTR of the products. If you use the URL generated by Amazon to share it on social media, you will be sending traffic to Amazon, making your CTR higher and therefore, improving the position of your products within this marketplace.

### 8\. Improve the quality of your product photos

If you want to sell successfully on Amazon, it is important that you take care of the aesthetics. Amazon has [general requirements for product images](https://sellercentral.amazon.es/gp/help/external/1881?language=en_US). However, you will also have to take into account the specific requirements that Amazon sets depending on the product category. You can find these specifications in the [publication guide for each category](https://sellercentral.amazon.es/gp/help/external/G200270100?language=en_US). In fact, the guidelines of the photos in each category prevail over the general ones. Some general advice:

*   Use white backgrounds.
*   Use quality photos so they don't get pixelated when zooming.
*   Use photos of the product from different perspectives.
*   Remove margins so that the product occupies the entire photo.

And be careful with the colors! Returns are very common because the colors in the photos do not correspond to the actual color of the product. Selling on Amazon can be tricky. However, if you implement the tips that we have just offered, it will be easier than you think. With tools like [Channable]() you can create the perfect listing for Amazon, making sure that your product ads meet the requirements we have just covered.

Amazon Ads is part of Channable's end-to-end marketplace solution, making it even easier for advertisers to access the benefits of Amazon PPC adverts. Learn how Channable can optimize and accelerate your Amazon PPC campaigns and how you can manage thousands of ads across marketplaces. [Sign up for a free trial today!] (https://www.channable.com/signup)

Tips for advertising your products on Amazon

<h2>What is Google Shopping?</h2>
[Google Shopping](https://www.channable.com/integrations/google-shopping-feed)  is a product search engine service provided by Google and is not an online shop. Offering customers the opportunity to search, view, and compare items that link to the product pages of the advertised online shop. As a branch of Google Ads, it enables retailers and online businesses to advertise their products across Google’s search network. These ads can appear in the main search results on Google or under the specific ‘Shopping’ tag.

Unlike Google Text Ads which is based on keywords, Google Shopping is built on ‘product feeds.’ Meaning the ads on Google Shopping are generated directly from the information provided in your online shop. This connection allows shoppers to view advertised items you would like to sell directly in their searches and to purchase products directly from your online shop, hence the term ‘**Google Shopping feed**.’
<h2>Advantages of advertising with a Google Shopping feed</h2>
Google Shopping is the largest comparison shopping engine in the world, with an ever-expanding <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/7448571?hl=en">list</a> of supported countries. Advertisements on Google Shopping include a photo, title, price, and the name of your online shop. More product relevant information is displayed at the top or right side of the Google search results – above the normal text ads and organic search results.

<img class=" wp-image-26287 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/aeWWCkvQwC3AOhVPqLMy" alt="google shopping feed" width="975" height="620" />
Why is Google Shopping such a high **conversion driving marketing channel?** Below are just some of the advantages of advertising with a Google Shopping feed, along with how they are relevant to your strategy:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**Multiple touchpoints** - Advertising on Google Shopping allows your products to be found in multiple places on Google’s Search Engine. If your online shop is search engine optimized, your products could be found in multiple ways such as traditional search, <a href="/products/ppc-tool">PPC text ads</a>, and [Google Shopping ads](https://www.channable.com/integrations/google-shopping-feed).</li>
 	<li>**Visual appeal** - Customers like to see what they are buying and visual content has proven to have a major impact on sale conversions and customers’ decisions compared to text-only ads. In fact, Google Shopping Ads can have up to a <a href="https://www.marketingcharts.com/digital/paid-search-79142">30% higher</a> conversion rate than Text Ads.</li>
 	<li>**Higher qualified leads** - As a retailer on Google Shopping, you have the opportunity to reach more of the lower-funnel customers who have a high intent to buy, leading them straight to the POS via their search terms. With product information connected directly to your ad via your data feed, Google Shopping ads are very informative and result in a higher conversion rate from prospective buyers.</li>
</ul>
<h2>What type of advertiser is a Google Shopping feed most suited for?</h2>
Google Shopping is a platform focused on fast and easy conversions. Not so much on creating awareness for a product or brand. Meaning Google Shopping should not be the only channel a brand or company focuses on. Rather a complementary channel to facilitate quick conversions from customers with a high intent to buy.
<h2>Successfully setting up your data feed for Google Shopping</h2>
To start advertising on Google Shopping you will need to set up your <a href="https://www.google.com/retail/solutions/merchant-center">Google Merchant Center</a> account, upload your products using a data feed (online shop), and set up your <a href="https://ads.google.com/intl/en_us/getstarted">Google Ads shopping campaigns.</a>

Now to successfully advertise on [Google Shopping](https://www.channable.com/integrations/google-shopping-feed), you need to ensure you send certain Google approved mandatory fields. You can send this product information to Google Shopping using an automation tool like Channable in two ways: via a live <a href="/products/marketplace-integrator">API</a> connection or with a <a href="/products/product-feed-management-tool">feed</a>:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>**API** APIs allow for real-time updating: Data can be sent at any time. When something is wrong with the data that is being sent to Google Shopping, the export channel (Google Shopping) can instantly send feedback to the exporting system (Channable). This information can then be given to the user, allowing them to make the changes.</li>
 	<li>**Data feed** The advantages of a feed-based system are that it is easy to implement and does not require the sender or the receiver to use special tools or advanced API formats. Meaning even a simple spreadsheet with your product data can be used. The downsides of this system are that there is no good way to continuously update the receiving party about changes.</li>
</ul>
Further differences between the two types of connections can be read in our <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002818909-Marketplaces-data-feeds-vs-APIs">help center article</a>. To send the right information, you can easily get an overview of the mandatory fields within Channable under either ‘Finalize’ (for Google Shopping feeds) or ‘Build &gt; Item’ (for Google Shopping APIs).

Providing your product information to Google properly is critical and must be in the right format to be accepted. Certain information can only be processed by a Google shopping feed in a specific way. The following section breaks down what you’ll need to send, to successfully advertise on Google Shopping.
<h2>Tips for every mandatory field you need to successfully advertise on Google Shopping</h2>
**Pro tip**: The chart below contains all of the mandatory fields that Google requires for you to successfully advertise on Google Shopping. Organizing this information in the correct format can be very time-consuming if done manually. Using a data feed management tool can show you where errors occur and pinpoint the missing data fields. Not only that, but Channable has the capability of fixing those errors for you, using an if-then rule system. Whether or not a data feed automation tool is used, this chart will give you everything needed to create a clean product feed.
<table markdown>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">**Necessary info**</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">**What exactly?**</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Image Link</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Images are very important for Google Shopping and selling online generally. We recommend you create a filter rule when you first start making rules, to exclude any items that do not have an image. For more information about specific dimensions and picture quality accepted by Google, read about it in their <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324350?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">help center</a>.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Availability</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">This mandatory field needs to be sent to Google Shopping in the form of either: ‘in stock’, ‘out of stock’, or ‘preorder’. You don’t need to send actual stock levels but the value you set must match the value on your website. To include this information into your feed, simply use Channable’s <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827565-Rule-set-to-value" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">‘set to value’ rule</a> and set a newly created field to one of the three options depending on the actual stock level.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">*GTIN/EAN
<em>* You’ll need at least one of these, as Google requires you have 2 of the 3 pieces of info: Brand, GTIN or MPN.</em> There is still hope if you don’t, please check this <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827285-Useful-rules-for-Google-Shopping" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>help center article</em></a><em>. </em></td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">GTIN is the umbrella term for unique identifiers such as EANs, UPCs or ISBNs and is basically the barcode of an item. If you don’t already have this information, you can easily purchase them online or ask your distributor for them. Making them up won’t help, you can’t outsmart Google.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Title</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">This mandatory field ought to be easily found in your feed already. Make sure it describes your item well. You can even include things like the color or size with Channable’s <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827625-Rule-combine-value" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">‘combine value’ rule</a>.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Description</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Similarly to the title, this information should already be easily found in your import. Alternatively, you can always build a new description by combining relevant information from your feed. Make sure your description is free from HTML jargon by using our <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827845-Rule-modify-text">strip HTML </a>rule.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Link</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">This field is the URL of the products. Simple.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Brand</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">This information may already be in your feed, but it is VITAL for becoming Google Shopping approved, in conjunction with either GTIN or MPN. See the other descriptions below.
If the brand doesn’t have its own field but can be perhaps located in the description, you can easily search for the ‘value’ (specific brand name) and pop it in a new field.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Condition</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">The condition of a product needs to be listed as either ‘new’, ‘used’, or ‘refurbished’ in Google Shopping. Google will default set all condition's to new if you don't specify, but if in fact, you do sell used or refurbished items you'll have to communicate this to them. If this information isn’t in your feed yet, you can easily implement it with the 'set value' rule. Simply create a new mapping field from the settings and then ‘set value’ to the applicable condition.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Category</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">The second stage of creating a Channable feed/API is categorization (NB: with the API if you send known EANs, Google Shopping will automatically be able to categorize the items). The options from the drop-down menu are the specific categories Google has. So, you simply need to allocate which groups of items belong to which Google product category. When you map the fields (in the finalize stage or build stage in Channable) remember to use ‘**Category (internal)**’. More<a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003090569-Smart-categorization" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> tips on categorization </a>can be found in Channable's help center.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Price</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">This information will be in your feed. Do not try to modify it, as the price shown in Google Shopping should match your website.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Shipping Price</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">You’ll most definitely know what the shipping price is if it isn’t already in your feed. If it’s missing, simply create a new mapping field and set the value. For example, if you offer free shipping for items over a certain price you can make a simple rule to set shipping price to zero. Simply create a rule such as “IF **price ** *is greater or equal to* 50. THEN take **shipping price** and <em>set to value</em>0”. You can always set shipping options within your Google Merchant account, more information can be found in <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6069284?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google's Support article</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">*MPN/SKU
<em>* You’ll need at least one of these, as Google Shopping requires you have 2 of the 3 pieces of info: Brand, GTIN or MPN.</em> There is still hope if you don’t, please check this <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827285-Useful-rules-for-Google-Shopping" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>help center article</em></a><em>. </em></td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">A stock keeping unit (SKU) or a manufacturers number (MPN) is a more internal method of identifying items. If you don’t have this number, but you do have a GTIN you can still advertise with Google. If you have neither, you can still send your items to Google Shopping. To find out how, check out <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827285-Useful-rules-for-Google-Shopping" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">useful rules for Google Shopping </a>help center article.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">**Shipping Country</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">If this information isn’t already in your feed, you should know where your items will be shipping from. As it’ll probably be a fixed country, you can go ahead and make a new mapping field and then just set a country name as the shipping country.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">**Id</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">This information can be any form of number/combination that uniquely identifies each of your items. Note the word, unique.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">***Size</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">For clothing items, it’s important you send the size to Google Shopping. If this value is perhaps at the end of the title, you can simply use Channable’s <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827785-Rule-split-text" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">split text value</a>.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">***Age group</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">The age group is only applicable if you want to advertise clothing items with Google Shopping. The specific groups they accept are: ‘newborn’, ‘infant’, ‘toddler’, ‘kids’, and ‘adult’. With this list in mind, you could use a rule such as <a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002827725-Rule-search-for-value" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">search for value</a> (search for specific sizes) and then use the replacement value option. So, any clothing item with the size 0 - 9 months can be assigned to the age group ‘newborn’ by searching for it and replacing the value with ‘newborn’.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">***Color</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">The color of an item is only applicable for fashion items. Luckily Google Shopping doesn’t specify color names, so feel free to use the values you have in your feed. If you don’t have them in a specific field, simply create a new field and search for the value.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">***Gender</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">This information is only needed for sending fashion items to Google Shopping and needs to be either unisex, female or male. If you sell only fashion items for one gender, this field can be easily provided by creating a new field and setting the value to the ‘Google recognized’ gender you sell to.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Currency</td>
<td>This is only necessary for using Channable's API connection with Google Shopping. You can either choose from 'EUR/GBP/USD/CAD/NOK/SEK/DKK/CHF' from Channable's built-in drop-down menu or implement it into the feed with a new field and ‘set to value’ rule. Make sure this value is true to what is displayed in the URL link of the item.</td>
</tr></tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 11px;"><em>** Mandatory for feeds only (because when you create an API connection you already specify in the first step what the unique ID per item is)</em><em>
*** Mandatory only for when fashion is selected as 'Type of market' in feed settings</em><em>
****Mandatory only for Google Shopping API</em></span>

Finally, if you decide to use an automation tool to manage your product feed, it’s recommended you create, what Channable defines as a ‘<a href="https://support.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002817249-How-do-I-filter-items-using-rules-">Filter rule</a>’ first. This rule will simply exclude any items that would otherwise be automatically rejected, or you do not want to sell. For reasons such as a missing image link, or the price is 0. Channable rules work in descending order. So, starting with a filter will ensure that the rules that’ll follow will only be applied to items worth advertising. While this list may seem quite overwhelming or contain a lot of information, using an automation tool can get you up and running in no time.
<h2>Next steps</h2>
Now that you have all the information needed to successfully advertise on Google Shopping the next step is getting started. If you want to [connect to Google Shopping with Channable](https://www.channable.com/integrations/google-shopping-integration) but do not already have an account, <a href="/signup">sign up</a> for free.

Build your connection to Google Shopping in your own time and only choose a subscription when you’re ready to go live. If you experience any Google Merchant Center errors that aren’t mentioned above, you’re always welcome to <a href="/contact">contact</a> Channable’s technical support team to get you going.

How to successfully advertise on Google Shopping

## What are online marketplaces, and what is their role in eCommerce?
An online marketplace is a virtual market where third parties provide products and services, but the marketplace processes the transactions. 
The marketplace acts as an "online department store" with a certain category range but (in the vast majority of situations) does not own the products that are shown and offered. On an eCommerce marketplace, real-time access to information about stock, price, delivery, and any other kind of product information is possible. 
Online marketplaces are a playground of opportunity. 
According to a recent study, [1 in 5 people](https://internetretailing.net/shoppers-now-five-times-more-likely-to-look-for-a-product-on-a-marketplace-than-on-a-brand-website-study-24025/) who look for products online start there. Another study found that [65% of customers](https://www.webretailer.com/everything-else/multichannel-selling-online-marketplaces/) are comfortable purchasing on a marketplace from a brand they have never heard of.
![What are online marketplaces.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/8k6hRgJDSPFUl7bbE1T4)
Therefore, the main challenge for sellers and the platform itself is the seamless and correct integration of product data into the online marketplace.
## Why should I list the top ecommerce marketplaces?
A closer look at the main reasons and motivations for shoppers to use eCommerce marketplaces offers a great starting point to align your online marketing strategy accordingly.
![Why do online shoppers buy on marketplaces?.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/QrXbaTc9QcaWW7LOlERs)
## Benefits of Selling on Online Marketplaces
The expanding number of services and offerings for retailers selling on online marketplaces displays many advantages in addition to the enormous incentive of improved visibility and exposure to the appropriate target groups:
![Benefits of selling on marketplaces.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/7xJCswRRGXB5zoBe4R1w)
## Top 10 Marketplaces to Sell Online in 2023
To help you with your research, here are ten of the top eCommerce marketplaces available. They are all distinctive in their ways. So use this guide to select the online marketplace that will help you stand out and earn like a pro based on your brand requirements, budget, and overall eCommerce goals. 
### 1- Amazon
![Amazon marketplace.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/VEMtoeH0TZKQ8Fo4YfPo)
We can't talk about online markets without discussing the current leader, Amazon. It is, without a doubt, the biggest eCommerce market in the country. After all, Bezos' supremacy is unbeatable. 
Amazon has a staggering 300 million users in its client base. There are a ton of potential clients perusing the online aisles at this time! 
In 2022 alone, Amazon's net sales increased dramatically, reaching an astounding $386 billion. 
Yeah, you heard that right. 
To begin selling on Amazon, simply create an account on Seller Central with your name, address, phone number, tax ID, and other necessary information, and then select the marketplace or marketplaces you wish to sell on. When authorized, your selling journey might begin after seven business days.
So, if you're trying to build a name for yourself in the online selling world, hitching your wagon to the Amazon train might just be the key to your success.
You might also like: How to make awesome listings on Amazon
### 2. eBay
![ebay marketplace.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/2nP1xmu2R1DgEVvNmPbu)
Ah, eBay! It is a legendary online store where auction thrills and the delight of finding a fantastic deal collide. 
Since its first introduction in 1995, eBay has grown from a website that only offers second-hand goods to one of the biggest eCommerce retailers in the world. The vendors who sell new and refurbished goods and are willing to auction them at higher prices do well in this marketplace. 
With eBay, you can join the marketplace without submitting any applications. Create an account by simply creating your first listing. With a whopping 183 million active buyers around the globe, you can bet there's an audience for almost anything you want to sell.

The best thing about eBay is that the eBay Seller Hub will assist you in running your business as easily as ever, even if you're a new seller without a website or setup. For instance, you might print your mailing labels and place ads on eBay.

### 3.Walmart
![walmart marketplace.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/4ikXaOeMT96zUrW1VXJY)
Now, we can't overlook the retail giant: Walmart!

It is one of the most prominent merchants in the world, having entered the eCommerce market in 2000. In 2022, Walmart's eCommerce sales skyrocketed to a whopping $102 billion.
Similar to Amazon, the Walmart marketplace is ideal for owners of small and enterprise-level businesses who wish to take advantage of the enormous traffic generated by these eCommerce giants and present their products to the appropriate market.
To sell at Walmart, you must submit an application. If approved, you can display your products to more than 110 million customers who shop online monthly.
In order to be accepted, you must have quick fulfillment capabilities, a large selection of high-quality products, and aggressive pricing. Remember that you can only sell as a seller or a drop-ship merchant, not both. Additionally, Walmart has its guidelines for drop shippers. As a seller, you can take advantage of this marketplace's massive amount of traffic.
### 4. Etsy
![Etsy marketplace.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/8QZWaOaWQmqo1Y0cNT1x)
Calling all creative souls! 
Etsy is the place to be if you have a talent for handmade, antique, or unique products. It's similar to a virtual artisan market where talented artisans display their products.
Unlike vendors on other marketplaces, Etsy sellers sell items independently of the Etsy brand. Customers need to know that when they purchase from you, they get your products, not those sold by Etsy.
Customers are brought to your unique Etsy storefront when they click on your brand name on product pages. Customers who click on your brand name will be redirected to your storefront, even if you don't have a website. 
This is a great way to establish your brand's identity and attract loyal customers. Etsy can give you an advantage if you're new to the industry and looking to increase awareness of your products and brand.
With 33 million consumers browsing for things like vintage apparel, jewelry, and handmade goods, you will surely find the ideal customers who will relate to your niche.
### 5. Shopify
![shopify marketplace.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/6lO5ewVgQP6Yql8ydHjj)
Do you yearn for the lovely sound of independence? That's what Shopify, a platform enabling vendors to build their online stores, offers.
If you want to create a website to sell goods, Shopify is a popular and highly recommended eCommerce platform. Over half of Shopify store owners receive repeat business annually, and the platform holds a market share of nearly 11%.
Your website, blog, SSL certificates, abandoned shopping cart recovery, and many other benefits are included in the standard Shopify charge that you must pay. Shopify doesn't charge a one-time setup fee or any other unforeseen costs. You can use Shopify's 14-day free trial to sell, ship, and accept international payments.
Shopify is known for its beginner-friendly features, allowing sellers to customize their storefront to look like their website. It also provides a selection of Shopify apps that can be used to personalize your store.
### 6.  Alibaba
![Alibaba marketplace.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/K4ST1xRtQIuhoAcovW2R)
Welcome to the land of opportunity, where the dragon of online commerce, Alibaba, reigns supreme. It is a Chinese global corporation with technology, e-commerce, and retail expertise. It is among the biggest online retailers in the world.
The business operates marketplaces for C2C (Taobao), B2C (Tmall), and B2B (Alibaba.com). Every year on China's Singles' Day, which is the biggest online and offline shopping day globally, Alibaba breaks sales records without fail.
Alibaba is a B2B platform. The best-selling products are typically those that can be mass-produced and sold at wholesale prices to restock inventories for businesses.
### 7.Facebook Marketplace
![Facebook Marketplace.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/C36KokeBRgGz7VbsGdKd)
Let's now explore the thriving Facebook Marketplace, where social media meets e-commerce.
In October 2016, Facebook introduced the Facebook Marketplace to encourage users to participate in its platform and facilitate the buying and selling of goods. Amazingly, Facebook Marketplace provides assistance to small business owners without charging them a listing fee. Anyone can launch a Facebook Marketplace company without any prior e-commerce experience. 
For online sellers to be present on Marketplace, Facebook has also worked with online selling systems like Shopify. There are specific requirements and rules that you must abide by as a seller on Marketplace, but there are no listing costs.
### 8. Newegg
![Newegg marketplace.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/Wa5rmBITOCNoBtBDepX0)
Newegg is a haven for all things electronics, making it a go-to destination for tech-savvy shoppers. It is an excellent fit for seasonal sellers because electronic products are frequently in demand throughout the holiday season, such as around Christmas and Black Friday.
By giving sellers access to marketing and merchandising services, Newegg enables you to attract the most relevant traffic to its site. Over 20 million Newegg customers can see your products through banner advertisements and email marketing campaigns. As a result, this increases your likelihood of growing your sales.
Similar to Amazon FBA, Newegg also established its own fulfillment alternative called Shipped by Newegg (SBN) to streamline your shipping procedure. When there are orders, Newegg will keep your inventory before packing and shipping. This is one of the greatest platforms for merchants who are prepared to expand but lack the financial means to handle drop-shipping right away.
### 9. Rakuten
![Rakuten marketplace.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/hnKx3dASS69KHamkS7M7)
Rakuten is a Japanese e-commerce giant with a global reach. This company is often called the "Amazon of Japan" because it sells a diverse range of products across many different categories. Rakuten stands out for its customer incentive program, Rakuten Super Points, which encourages customers to purchase. 
Here's a statistic that will catch your attention: 
In 2022, Rakuten's marketplace generated astonishing gross product sales, surpassing [five trillion yen](https://rakuten.today/blog/rakuten-five-trillion-yen-gms.html). 
Within the Rakuten ecosystem, there are a lot of transactions happening. Therefore, joining Rakuten's active marketplace could be wise for your company if you're trying to penetrate the Japanese market and increase your international presence.
### 10.  Nextdoor
![Nextdoor marketplace.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/YjBHsAT2QDKFnUXgi90G)
On Nextdoor, you can sell things and share information with your friends and community. It serves as a forum for neighbors to communicate about neighborhood events, from promoting a party to raising concerns about trash collection. 
Nextdoor offers more than just a community forum; it gives users a free online marketplace. Like Facebook Marketplace, there is no listing fee, but you must meet your customer in person to complete the deal.

## Over To You
Selling online is becoming a must rather than a choice. 
Marketplaces are your platform if you want to broaden your exposure, connect with the proper target market and new audiences, and earn money from products and services that make your life as an online retailer easier. 
At the same time, marketing automation makes selling your products on marketplaces simpler than ever. 
Your online sales will increase thanks to Channable's deep integration, direct data exchange, automatic product updates, feed administration, and PPC tool, which also helps you save time that you can use to develop your ultimate eCommerce strategy. 
[Contact us](https://www.channable.com/contact) to learn more about how feed management and PPC tools can be the asset you've been searching for! 
Up until the point at which you are ready to activate your first export feed, you may even test out Channable's features with a free trial account.

- [How to increase sales in the marketplace.](https://www.channable.com/blog/optimize-marketplace-sales)

The top 10 Best online E-Commerce marketplaces in 2024

If you have an online shop, there are more and more events that you have to mark as important on the calendar. Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday, Christmas, summer sales, and for the last few years, Amazon Prime Day. In 2015, <a href="/integrations/amazon-product-feed" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amazon</a> wanted to innovate the sales seasons by offering great deals that were only available for 30 hours. This way the marketplace not only joined the “sales bandwagon” but made Amazon Prime Day a highly anticipated date for their loyal Amazon Prime customers.

<img class="size-full wp-image-26829 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/jVuKzBjQGaYU0jcQr5bv" alt="" width="600" height="787" />
<h2>What is Amazon Prime Day?</h2>
Amazon Prime Day is an annual event that is celebrated in 18 countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and China. For approximately 30 hours, people can buy all kinds of products at very low prices.

In order to enjoy Amazon Prime Day, you must be an Amazon Prime customer. The offers are changed and renewed throughout Amazon Prime Day, so customers have to complete purchases quickly for their desired products. It is estimated that in 2019 approximately **40% of the products came from small/medium businesses** that use Amazon as one of their online sales platforms.

It is possible to find discounts on all kinds of products, although the biggest offers are found on Amazon-brand products, especially those related to the electronics sector. In 2019 the best sellers were Echo Dots, Fire TV Sticks, and Kindles.

Historically, it has always been celebrated during the month of July. However, this year due to the uncertainty experienced by COVID-19, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/02/amazon-delays-prime-day-until-october-due-to-coronavirus.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the date has been postponed several times</a>. With the huge increase in orders that Amazon received during the first half of the year, it was impossible to stage an event as popular as Amazon Prime Day. In the absence of official confirmation, everything indicates that it will be held in October, but we are still waiting for a final date.
<h2>Why should you participate in Amazon Prime Day?</h2>
Amazon Prime Day 2019 was a resounding success, becoming the largest event in Amazon's history; even surpassing Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday 2018. In 2019 more than 1 million offers were available worldwide.

While Amazon never discloses the revenue generated by Amazon Prime Day, there is that suggests its great growth year on year. For example, it’s predicted that over 100 million products were sold in 2018. However, in 2019 the number of products sold is said to have almost doubled reaching 175 million.

This large number of purchases implies a large number of returns. According to Adobe Digital Insights, 30% more products were returned in 2018 than during Amazon Prime Day 2017. This means that sellers must have an incredible logistic service to be able to handle this event with the required guarantees.
<h2>How can you sell your products on Amazon Prime Day?</h2>
First and foremost, if you still don't have your catalog integrated into Amazon, you definitely should in preparation for Amazon Prime Day and in general. In the following video, we explain the 6 steps you should follow to create a quality listing for Amazon in a quick and easy way.
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/k24FayMRioY" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
Once your listing is integrated into Amazon, you need to improve the visibility of your products to make sure you stand out from the competition. Competition is fierce, especially on a day as important as Amazon Prime.

Here are some of our best tips that can help your business succeed on Prime Day:

- Create attractive titles for your products including keywords and relevant attributes such as brand, color, material, and size.
- Use Amazon Pay Per Click to give your products a jump-start.
- Reduce shipping times, response times, and the number of faulty orders to reach the Buy Box.
- <a href="/blog/blog-improve-opinions-amazon" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Improve your verified reviews on Amazon</a>.

Check out our other blog in which we offer you more tips you should implement to help you to <a href="/blog/blog-tips-for-advertising-your-products-on-amazon" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">advertise your products successfully on Amazon</a>. With Channable's feed manager, it’s simple to configure your Amazon listing. You can also manage all your <a href="/products/marketplace-integrator" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amazon orders directly from your eCommerce platform</a>, and even configure the <a href="/integrations" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">listing for other marketplaces</a>. If you have any further questions, <a href="/contact" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">our dedicated team</a> is more than happy to help.

Amazon Prime Day - What to expect and how to profit from it

<blockquote> **UPDATE**: <a href="https://www.amazon.se">Amazon.se</a> is now live! To set you off for a great start, we have summarized the key benefits and how you can prepare for this exciting launch.</blockquote>
<h2>Start setting up your product listings now</h2>
With the news that <a href="https://tamebay.com/2020/09/seller-central-is-now-available-in-sweden.html">Amazon</a> has already released the Seller Central Sweden,<span style="font-weight: 400;"> you can already start preparing your product listings today. At Channable we are pleased to announce that we have finalized a real-time API connection that enables you to create and push your product listings directly to Amazon.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">By utilizing the API connection through Channable, it doesn’t only enable you to push the products. It also enables your product data and stock information to be automatically and instantly updated as soon as a product gets sold either via the Amazon marketplace or via your own webshop. </span>

<img class="size-full wp-image-27047 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/KqhekgzT5GZ4hhQHSepJ" alt="Amazon Sweden Channable" width="830" height="201" />
<br><br/>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">

Seize the opportunity by setting up product listings now. This will give your business a great start.  </span>
<blockquote><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">See also: </span></i><a href="/integrations/amazon-product-feed"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How can I make Amazon product listings with Channable?</span></a></blockquote>
<h2>Use rules to enrich your listings and filter out products</h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Setting up product listings manually on Amazon can usually take up quite a bit of time. Especially if your webshop has a large offering/inventory. By utilizing the integrated API from Channable you can automate a large part of this process to significantly decrease the time spent on creating product listings. For instance, take advantage of the built-in </span><a href="https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011077260-What-does-the-attribute-builder-do-"><span style="font-weight: 400;">attribute builder</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to easily meet attribute requirements. Or, utilize the many </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQGAdEr5TfA&amp;feature=youtu.be">powerful rules</a> that can help enrich your listings as well as filter out products you don't want to list. </span>

<br><br/>
<img class="size-full wp-image-27056 aligncenter" src="https://media.graphcms.com/gNTsSrxFSyao6QJxpRZC" alt="Amazon Sweden Rules" width="464" height="176" />
<br><br/>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">By using rules to automate the creation of product listings, you do not only reduce the time spent but also gain greater control of the flow of products you send to Amazon Sweden. As soon as you set up a rule, the integration will give you immediate feedback which will maximize the impact of your listings as well as minimizing the eventual cost. </span>
<blockquote><span style="font-weight: 400;">See also: </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQGAdEr5TfA&amp;feature=youtu.be"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Video: How do Channable rules function</span></a></blockquote>
<h2>Handle all orders directly in your own webshop</h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Selling products on Amazon usually means you need to handle all orders from the marketplace itself. However, what if we told you that it does not have to be this way? What if we told you that with Channable, we retrieve all your orders and send them directly to your own platform/webshop allowing you to handle everything from there?</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">By adding an </span><a href="/products/marketplace-integrator"><span style="font-weight: 400;">order connection</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to your Amazon Sweden API, your orders will be synchronized to your online shop, meaning you can finally say goodbye to copy-pasting and hello to automatically received order information. Utilizing the option to add an order connection will not only free up time spent on order management but will also help increase the overall efficiency regarding your Amazon efforts.</span>
<blockquote><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We could say that now we don't have to take care of order management. Channable takes care of this task automatically. We only have to take care of our customers and prepare the picking of the order. Channable is also in charge of the tracking, which is more and more important to Amazon” </span></i>

From Wapalli use-case</blockquote>
<h2>Why list your products on Amazon Sweden?</h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Are you new to selling products on Amazon? And, with all the buzz around Amazon Sweden, are you thinking about trying it out? If so, then you are definitely not the only one. Try reading the stats in the illustration further below. Selling products on marketplaces such as Amazon can not only create more visibility for your products, it might also open up a whole new revenue stream for your business. However, before making any quick decisions, it might be a good idea to </span><a href="/blog/increase-sales-marketplaces"><span style="font-weight: 400;">evaluate your marketplace strategy</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span>

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-19873" src="https://media.graphcms.com/0mkOoDqHTfSvq5tlHzvk" alt="" width="1234" height="372" />

<span style="font-weight: 400;">On a global scale, Amazon has about </span><a href="https://www.marketplacepulse.com/amazon/number-of-sellers"><span style="font-weight: 400;">2.3 million active sellers</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> worldwide on its platforms combined. Obviously the American version is still the most popular with more than 461.000 active sellers, but the French and Italian versions are not far behind with 234.000 and 227.000 active sellers.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">At first, this landscape might seem pretty competitive. But as Amazon is continually creating features to optimize the distribution of revenue between sellers, it might be a good idea to consider joining the movement.  </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">What could also be relevant to take into account is the fact that when Amazon enters a new market, many consumers will quickly swarm to the marketplace and create a revolution in the product searches. Usually, when consumers have easy access to Amazon, you will often see them using Amazon as their first touchpoint to discover and potentially make a purchase. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Furthermore, by looking at some of the numbers concerning the launch of Amazon Netherlands, which happened earlier this year, it is quite interesting to see that it is not only consumers who swarm to the marketplace. In fact, since the launch of the Dutch marketplace, Amazon has reported an increase of </span><a href="https://www.marketplacepulse.com/amazon/number-of-sellers"><span style="font-weight: 400;">87.422 active sellers</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> making it the fastest-growing department relative to its marketplace size.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">With all this being said and as a last remark, keep in mind that the consumer is always right. Being present in the channels where your consumers are can be crucial for the success of your business. If Amazon Sweden experience the same growth rates as some of its former market launches, it might be a good reason to look into the possibility to list your products here.</span>
<blockquote><span style="font-weight: 400;">See also: </span><a href="/blog/blog-tips-for-advertising-your-products-on-amazon"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Are you looking for some tips on how to advertise your product on Amazon? </span></a></blockquote>

Amazon is coming to Sweden: Are you prepared?

<h2>AliExpress in the world</h2>
AliExpress belongs to the Alibaba group. Alibaba.com is an eCommerce platform that launched in China in 1999. Unlike AliExpress, it is a B2B marketplace. Essentially, this means it is involved in sales between businesses as well as the purchase of large quantities of merchandise for redistribution. AliExpress however focuses on B2C; where the final purchase is made by the actual customer. AliExpress emerged in 2010 as the solution to cover not only wholesales but also the final buyer.

**After 10 years of operating, it is fair to say that AliExpress is now one of the largest marketplaces in the world**. Currently, AliExpress is active in over 220 countries and regions and is available in 18 languages. It has 38 payment channels and 51 different local currencies. If these figures are impressive, what’s even more impressive is the number of visits and customers. Today, AliExpress has more than 200 million monthly visits worldwide and has more than 150 million active shoppers every month. With these figures, it is clear why AliExpress has earned the nickname of The Chinese Amazon.

The “star event” of AliExpress is Single’s Day. And even this has no need to envy <a href="/blog/blog-amazon-prime-day-what-to-expect-and-how-to-profit-from-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amazon Prime Day</a> or even <a href="/blog/blog-the-2020-black-friday-forecast" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Black Friday &amp; Cyber Monday</a>. On Single’s Day 2019, AliExpress registered sales of 38.4 billion dollars, which represented an increase of 20% compared to 2018’s event - it’s growing rapidly.
<h2>Benefits of selling your products in AliExpress</h2>
The figures mentioned above are reason enough to consider incorporating AliExpress into your multichannel strategy. However, there are many other advantages to selling your products on AliExpress:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>The commission charged per sale is one of the lowest in the market. Depending on the category, the commission varies from 5 to 8%</li>
 	<li>The opening of the store is free. And there are no fixed expenses or monthly payments.</li>
 	<li>From the same platform or interface, you can sell to all available countries.</li>
 	<li>You will compete with other sellers, but not with AliExpress as it does not sell its own products.</li>
 	<li>Fast and secure payment system. You will receive the payment of the order when the customer confirms the reception of the product.</li>
</ul>
<h2>How to start selling your products in AliExpress</h2>
If you are not yet selling on AliExpress, the first step is to register as a seller. By clicking here, you will find the steps to follow. It is important that you take into account the following points before registering:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>At the moment **only companies or sellers from the following countries can register as a seller on AliExpress: China, Russia, Spain, Italy, France, and Turkey**. It is important that you select the country correctly. Once you confirm your choice, you will not be able to modify it.</li>
 	<li>Register with an email that does not match the email you use for your buyer account. It is important because in this email you will receive the verification code, as well as important notifications.</li>
</ul>
The request will be reviewed in a couple of days and if everything is correct, you will receive an email stating that you can start uploading your product catalog to AliExpress. And this is where a <a href="" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">feed management tool like Channable</a> can really make your life easier.
<h2>How to upload your products to AliExpress</h2>
There are multiple ways to upload your products to AliExpress. It can be done manually or through an excel file in the products section of AliExpress. This option may be sufficient if your catalog is very small and does not change much. However, the fastest and safest option, and therefore the most recommended, is to do the integration through an API. And **Channable has developed an API connection with AliExpress so that you can integrate your product catalog with AliExpress very easily**. In a later section, we will explain how you can do this.

However, before integrating your catalog you must take a couple of things into account:
<ul markdown>
 	<li>At the moment **only companies or sellers from the following countries can register as a seller on AliExpress: China, Russia, Spain, Italy, France, and Turkey**. It is important that you select the country correctly. Once you confirm your choice, you will not be able to modify it.</li>
 	<li>If your products are categorized as "Special Category", you must send the corresponding special certificates.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Benefits of using Channable to integrate your catalog with AliExpress</h2>
As we have mentioned before, the most recommended method to upload product information to AliExpress is through an API connection like the one offered by Channable. Especially if you have many products in your catalog and the information is very dynamic i.e. changes frequently. But what are the other benefits of using Channable?
<ul markdown>
 	<li>The **information of your products is updated automatically every day** and it’s possible to <a href="https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011091760-What-are-extra-runs-and-what-are-the-costs-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">update up to 24 times a day</a>. This means that you will not have to make any manual changes to your products. And important values ​​such as stock or prices will be automatically modified in AliExpress as soon as a change is detected in your original catalog.</li>
 	<li>You will be able to modify all the information of your products in a simple way. This means that in a couple of clicks you can change the titles, descriptions, and prices of your products in bulk.</li>
 	<li><a href="/products/marketplace-integrator" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Order synchronization with AliExpress</a> is also available. **Thanks to the order connection, you can receive orders from AliExpress directly on your eCommerce platform**. Also, the shipping information will be updated automatically. This order management is perfect to save time and money avoiding a very repetitive process. And that's not all. You can manage your orders centrally not only for AliExpress but also for Amazon, eBay, and other marketplaces.</li>
 	<li>Channable has <a href="/integrations" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">connections with more than 2500 marketplaces, comparison sites, and affiliate networks</a>. This means that you can not only create the listing for AliExpress, but also for other platforms such as Amazon, eBay, Facebook, and Google Shopping.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Create your listing in AliExpress with Channable´s API</h2>
Here you can find a summary of the steps you have to follow within the tool to configure the AliExpress API. You will need to have a Channable account. If you do not, <a href="/signup" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">you can set one up here</a>):
<ol>
 	<li><a href="https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360010907840-How-do-I-import-products-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Import your product catalog into Channable</a>.</li>
 	<li>Select AliExpress within the tap of APIs. Here it is important to request your API Token to AliExpress in order to establish the connection.</li>
 	<li><a href="https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011190699-How-do-I-generate-categories-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Categorize all your products in minutes</a>.</li>
 	<li>Use intelligent <a href="/success-stories/how-to-easily-manage-amazons-listings-and-orders-in-6-languages" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cause-effect rules</a> to optimize the information in your catalog and adjust it to the specifications indicated by AliExpress.</li>
 	<li>Fill in the information requested by AliExpress for the attributes of the products. In Channable you only need to include the data in a simple table called <a href="https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011077260-What-does-the-attribute-builder-do-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">attribute builder</a>. For this, you can help yourself with the rules.</li>
 	<li>Check which products have been successfully sent to AliExpress and troubleshoot those with errors.</li>
</ol>
After these 6 simple steps, your catalog will be integrated with AliExpress, and you will be ready to start selling in the Asian giant!

If you have doubts about how we can help you to integrate your catalog in AliExpress or any other platform, do not hesitate to <a href="/contact" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">contact us</a>. Our team are happy to help.

How to sell on AliExpress: the marketplace you cannot ignore in your multichannel strategy.

In April 2020 product listings on <a href="/blog/blog-google-shopping-free-ads-what-you-need-to-know-for-ecommerce">Google Shopping have become partially free in the US</a>. This change refers to the Google Shopping tab that you can find on top of your search page. Important to know: The good old paid Shopping ads will continue to exist and the new organic listings will be complementary. Using both free product listings and Shopping ads together is the new recommended practice by Google.

The shift to free search results in the Shopping tab is intended to help merchants connect with more customers. Since the launch in the US, <a href="https://blog.google/around-the-globe/google-europe/powering-economic-recovery-through-retail">Google reports</a> that merchants have seen an average of 50% more clicks and 100% more impressions across free listings and ads on the Shopping tab. Small and medium-sized sellers are said to profit the most from this increase in engagement.

Slowly but surely, this new structure is being rolled out in other parts of the world, including Europe, starting mid-October 2020.
<h2>What will change and how does it affect me as a merchant?</h2>
<ul markdown>
 	<li>
<h3>**Layout and order of the Shopping tab**</h3>
</li>
</ul>
With two types of listings in the Shopping tab, its layout will change. On top of the search results, you will still see the first row with paid Shopping ads, followed by free listings underneath.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-28521" src="https://media.graphcms.com/Zd4K2Ph7Qx6jVzIhY2kp" alt="" width="918" height="768" />
<ul markdown>
 	<li>
<h3>**Merchant Center &amp; surfaces across Google**</h3>
</li>
</ul>
In order to showcase your products for free on Google Shopping (and other shopping-related Google surfaces in the long run), you have to <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/9199328?hl=en&amp;ref_topic=9240261" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">participate in the program for surfaces across Google</a>.

**If you currently have an account in the Google Merchant Center** and your product feed is already integrated, you can simply opt-in to the new ‘surfaces across Google’ infrastructure within your MC.

**If you are new to Google Shopping**, you first need to set up an MC account, <a href="/blog/blog-how-to-successfully-advertize-google-shopping" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">learn here how to successfully get started</a>.

Next to that, you can also opt into the <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/9825611?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">local surfaces across Google program</a> to qualify your items for ‘local listings’, including information about your physical store (such as product availability, store hours, directions, phone number, or approximate distance from the user), letting users know that a product they are searching for is available in a physical store close to them.
<ul markdown>
 	<li>
<h3>**Your product feed must meet even higher standards**</h3>
</li>
</ul>
As always, when something is free of financial charges, we expect an increased demand and more competition among merchants on the Shopping tab. Therefore, it is essential that your product data comes in the best state possible. Since Google Shopping works with a feed format, <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/7052112?hl=en">it requires certain data specifications</a>. In order to meet these specifications and deliver high-quality product data, you need to [optimize your product feed](https://www.channable.com/integrations/google-shopping-feed). The ultimate goal (and strategy to get ahead of the competition) is to deliver all your product information in a format that triggers a match between consumer search queries and your products.
<blockquote>One example is a perfect title structure, including the most relevant keywords at the beginning of each product title. Google uses titles to detect related keywords that match search queries. Channable can help you to optimize your title structures through <a href="https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011018360-Rule-combine-value" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">smart rules, such as the ‘combine value’ rule</a> and to profit from your own dynamic feed information!</blockquote>
<a href="/blog/blog-how-to-successfully-advertize-google-shopping" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Find more useful tips for all mandatory Google Shopping fields in this blog.</a>
<h2>An extra tip from Channable: Constant data updates are key!</h2>
Next to good feed hygiene and maintenance, it is important to update your product data on Google Shopping (and in the MC) on a regular basis. In the Channable tool, the default schedule for data runs of every feed connection is once a day. Especially now, during the busiest eCommerce quarter of the year, combined with increased penetration of the Shopping tab, more frequent data updates on your marketing channels can make a crucial difference.

**Our solution for this is ‘Extra Runs’!** With extra runs, your data is retrieved several times a day (up to the hour) and exported to the channels you selected, among others Google Shopping.

Even better: We are proud to announce that we have recently taken the next step in adapting our infrastructure to facilitate more frequent data updates with less effort and we would like to share this success with you!

We have chosen to replace the current pricing packages (run maximum every 2 hours for an extra 50% of the price of your base subscription, and every hour for an extra 100%). From October 1st, 2020 with a single package: up to 24 runs per day for 50% extra of the price of your base subscription.

Request your extra runs and find more information via this <a href="https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011091760">**help center article**</a> or contact our support team (<a href="mailto:support@channable.com">support@channable.com</a>) with any questions!


Free listings on the Google Shopping tab are coming to Europe: Here is all you need to know

## Defining a product feed
The easiest way to explain this is by breaking it down. A product feed is a file where your product information is stored. For example in an XML or CSV. A product feed contains all product information that would be found on your website or online shop.

## The reality of managing multiple ads with your product feed
When you start advertising through third parties, such as comparison sites and affiliate networks, you will notice that, compared to what you have on your webshop, they require your product information in various formats. You will need to modify your product feed information to match the requirements. However, if you want to make use of several third parties, this requires multiple, different product feed configurations. This can become overwhelming to manage.

## Getting your product feed optimized
Using a [data feed management tool](https://www.channable.com/products/product-feed-management-tool) like Channable, it is possible to upload your data feed and reproduce it multiple times in different ways. You can modify the product information each time to match the requirements of your chosen platform. Using Channable’s powerful ‘if-then,’ rules you can easily configure your product information to the requirements of each connection.

## Giving yourself an edge with extra runs
Channable’s automation tool not only gives you the power to easily configure your product feed, but it also allows you more control over many aspects of your connection.

![article-image-ckhcil9k80pwn0b60rtvwqguo-1953.png](https://media.graphcms.com/1Sili6r7TyCugCZI7pFY)
*Extra runs example set-up*

One very useful option is extra runs. Extra runs refer to how often your product information is updated to third party platforms. With the increase in online competition due to COVID-19, it is important to keep your product information and stock levels up-to-date on all channels. This not only saves you time on managing all your merchant accounts but can also save you money, with less ad spend wasted on advertising products that are out of stock.

Channable offers extra runs up to 24 times a day so that your product information is always up to date. Some of the benefits of updating your product information are:

- Product stock is always up to date across multiple channels.
- Price is advertised correctly with no need to update within each channel’s merchant center.
- Sale prices can be set or switched with ease.
- Up-to-date product information means higher quality scores and more visibility for all listings.

## How to get started with utilizing extra runs 
With Channable, the default number of runs for every account is automatically once per day. However, for many advertisers, the benefits of multiple runs lead them to update their feeds down to every hour. 

[Request your extra runs](https://www.channable.com/extra-runs) and find more information via this [help center article](https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011091760) or contact our [support team](mailto:support@channable.com) with any questions!

[tip]**Ready for the holidays?** Kick off your holiday preparations with feed management and enjoy an unlimited free trial period. [Create trial account](https://www.channable.com/signup)[/tip]


How automated product feed updates to your eCommerce listings can help drive online sales

Facebook Shops is without a doubt a significant extension of Facebook's functionality when it comes to shopping. Previously, the eCommerce function for merchants consisted mainly of advertisements on Instagram in which products are tagged in photos, leading the user directly to an online store. With Facebook Shops, the social network has introduced a new digital storefront on both Facebook and Instagram, enabling social media users to discover relevant items and personalized recommendations within the social network.

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-29278 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/3SNt6WPTIOgrImmGgqbc" alt="facebook-shop-example" width="398" height="746" />

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-29283 size-full" src="https://media.graphcms.com/RLBQs84TdWID0CUOyQ0Q" alt="facebook-shops-instagram" width="396" height="745" />
<h3>Building a feed based platform economy</h3>
The integration of new levels into existing value chains is common in the platform economy. Facebook pursues a similar approach with Shops, which is not a complete store system, but rather a higher-performance front end with close links to <a href="/blog/blog-why-integrate-social-media-into-your-marketing-strategy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Facebook's advertising ecosystem</a>. A checkout function has so far only been rolled out in the US.

Facebook platforms are based on feeds for different purposes. While in the main app the shift from following friends’ activities towards a news and advertising feed has been predominant over the past years; Instagram is the home of one of the most profitable new professions of the past decade: influencers. The shopping potential on Instagram is therefore inherently high. If Facebook Shops can impact the eCommerce world in a similar way, the future of the new shopping option could be a bright one.
<h3>What’s so special about Facebook Shops?</h3>
Aren’t there already plenty of marketplaces and price or product comparison sites out there? Definitely, but Facebook Shops is on a whole new level of personalization.

As a social network, Facebook is able to predict much more accurately what the individual user likes and is likely to purchase. This allows for a more personalized and relevant display of product ads throughout the whole network and an individually composed product feed in the new Facebook Shops environment.

Access to a customer’s needs, wants, and preferences play a major role in today’s eCommerce. Something that is increasingly frequent is that product searches don’t start on Google anymore but rather on [Amazon](https://www.channable.com/integrations/amazon-product-feed) - granting the marketplace a valuable form of customer access. Facebook, on the other hand, profits from another form of consumer insights. Following <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/433871/daily-social-media-usage-worldwide/#:~:text=How%20much%20time%20do%20people,minutes%20in%20the%20previous%20year." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recent statistics</a>, the average user spends 144 minutes per day on social media. That’s more than 2 hours of potential exposure to product displays. In the past, Facebook has used this opportunity mainly by offering advertisements on Facebook and Instagram via Facebook ads.

Although these advertisements drive social commerce as well, the range of offers is limited. In comparison, Amazon is based on a recommendation system, drawing on the full pool of data that a seller provides for his product catalog. Facebook ads can only show one concrete product that is currently being advertised by the retailer. This brought Facebook Shops into play.

Closely tied to the <a href="/integrations/facebook-product-feed" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Facebook ads data feed</a>, Shops are based on enhanced catalogs that improve the possibilities of recommendation and the visibility of products. A catalog is a container that holds detailed information about the items that a merchant wants to advertise or sell across Facebook and Instagram. Category- and market-specific information allows customers to easily discover and consider a broad range of highly relevant products using search and filters in Facebook Shops.
<h3>Which role can Facebook Shops take over in the market?</h3>
Experts do not regard Facebook Shops as a serious competitor for Amazon when it comes to logistics and services. BUT, from a consumer perspective, Amazon is less inspiring than social commerce. The marketplace is ideal for finding and comparing a product you have been purposefully searching for. However, it is not particularly inspired by trends, fashion, or interior design, and it does not trigger the consumer to discover products that fit a certain lifestyle. This is where the strength of Facebook, and especially Instagram, lies.
In their feed, users will typically be exposed to offers from brands that they are already following, so the pre-selection of Shops content will be made by the consumer.
<h3>Who is the target merchant of Facebook Shops?</h3>
Facebook Shops can become a channel that makes simple store solutions with easy customer access available to merchants.

In the <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/05/introducing-facebook-shops" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">official announcement of Facebook Shops</a>, the new ecosystem is primarily presented as an offer for small businesses. However, big brands will also have to take a closer look at how Facebook Shops performs compared (and as an addition) to their own online stores. Especially with regards to data collection through Facebook, it will be interesting for all kinds of brands to see what performance and customer data can be acquired.

The new data management system of Facebook Shops makes it possible to comfortably import even larger data feeds. An easy way to generate the perfect product catalog for Facebook Shops is by using a feed management tool with an <a href="/integrations/facebook-shops" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">integrated Facebook Shops connection</a>. Product data from the backend of a merchant’s online store (such as WooCommerce, [Shopify](https://www.channable.com/integrations/shopify), Magento, Lightspeed, etc.) can be imported into the tool via a plugin and optimized until the ideal export feed for Facebook Shops is created.
<h3>Summary</h3>
<blockquote>Through its seamless integration into social networks and the use of detailed product pages, Facebook Shops offers an ideal setting for influencer products or additional ways to market a product.</blockquote>
The introduction of Facebook Shops brings a long-term opportunity for merchants to focus their offers even more on shopping activities that are fitted into the daily habits of users. Facebook can track the customer journey in an enhanced way and collect the data needed to target paid ads more effectively, which will also have an effect on CPC strategies.
The general trends in eCommerce will give Facebook Shops additional momentum. Customers will buy online and on mobile more often, and brands will want to avoid being too dependent on one big player such as Amazon. There will be room for new and innovative modes of shopping, such as offered by Facebook Shops.

Through its seamless integration into social networks and the use of detailed product pages, Facebook Shops offers an ideal setting for influencer products or additional ways to market a product for brands. Whether you are a small business or a renowned brand, Facebook Shops should not be ignored.

Facebook Shops - What to expect from Facebook's new eCommerce extension

<h2>What is Google Product Category?</h2>
The “google_product_category” attribute is used to classify or categorize products in Google Shopping. The goal of this product categorization is to make it easier for customers to find your items within Google Shopping.

To set up the categories correctly, you have to use the taxonomies listed by Google known as the “Google product taxonomy”. The Google product taxonomy is the list of categories that Google uses to help classify products in the [Google Shopping feed](https://www.channable.com/integrations/google-shopping-feed). There are <strong>more than 6,000 categories</strong>. This is why it’s incredibly important that you categorize your products correctly. <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324436?hl=en-GB" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Here</a> you can find more info regarding Google's product taxonomy.

Another important thing to note is that the categories are not the same in all countries. There are countries such as the United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany, and the Netherlands where the taxonomy is more complete and the product categories have more subdivisions than others.

An example of Google’s Category taxonomy for clothing would be:

Clothing and accessories &gt; Clothing &gt; Warm clothing &gt; Jackets and coats

In turn, each of these product categories is associated with a numerical code.
<h2>How important is the Google Product Category in the Google Shopping feed?</h2>
You should always categorize your products. There are too many benefits you’ll miss out on if you don’t.
<ul>
 	<li>The Google Product Category is decisive when it comes to ensuring users only see products that are really relevant to their search query.</li>
 	<li>The click rate of Google Shopping campaigns will improve because your products will have more precise attributes.</li>
 	<li>Filling in the Google Product Category influences your position in rankings. This allows you to check whether your products appear ahead of your competition.</li>
 	<li>Many other channels such as Criteo or [Facebook Ads](https://www.channable.com/integrations/facebook-product-feed) also use this categorization as a reference. Making it necessary to follow Google’s product taxonomy in order to be successful in multiple, essential channels.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Tips you should take into account when optimizing your Google Product Categories</h2>
<ol>
 	<li>Google occasionally updates its categories, so you need to make sure your data feed is updated with the latest changes.</li>
 	<li>The more information you provide in your Google Shopping feed, the better. That's why it's important to be specific about your categorization. You have to choose the most specific category possible. If you use a more specific Google Product Category, your products will appear in the appropriate search results more often. Therefore your CTR will improve significantly and, by creating more relevant ads, costs will decrease.</li>
 	<li>If your product fits into more than one category, it is important that you choose the most accurate one. It is not possible to choose two categories in Google Shopping.</li>
 	<li>If the article does not match any of the categories marked in the Google taxonomy (which is quite unusual due to a large number of categories available), then you can use the product_type attribute.</li>
 	<li>Remember that each country has a different taxonomy, so you will have to configure the feed and categories based on the country where you want to sell your products. Otherwise, your products will be rejected by Google. This has a close relationship with the taxes marked by each country. For example, if you are going to sell your products in the United States, it is important that the feed is configured for this country so that the tax rate for your products is correct.</li>
</ol>
<h2>Risks with Google's automatic product categorization</h2>
Google offers a new automatic categorization feature to make it easier to categorize products. Therefore, the google_product_category attribute is now not mandatory. However, while this advance is helpful, it also poses a risk.

The automatic assignment that Google makes is based on an algorithm that analyses other attributes of the Google Shopping feed, such as the brand, the GTIN, etc. In many cases, these attributes are not very specific and this means that Google does not assign the correct category or uses a category that is too generic.

To avoid this, we strongly recommend that you fill in the Google Product Category field in the Google Shopping feed yourself.
<h2>How can Channable help me with smart categorization?</h2>
Channable allows you to set up the Google Shopping feed in 5 easy steps. And one of the steps in the configuration of the feed is categorization. With the intention of helping our customers in this process (which can be quite long in multi-product catalogs), in Channable we have developed <a href="/blog/smart-categorization-google-shopping" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">smart categorization</a>.

Thanks to a smart self-learning algorithm, we have managed to make the products you want to export to Google Shopping automatically fit the Google taxonomy. In this way, a category suggestion will appear that matches each of your products. As this is only a suggestion, you will always have the final decision regarding which category is used. This way, you will still have full control of the categorization process.

Would you like to create a fully optimized Google Shopping feed with Channable’s smart categorization? <a href="https://app.channable.com/signup" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Create a FREE account </a>today and set up your Google Shopping feed in no time.

Don't forget to read our blog with tips to <a href="/blog/create-quality-google-shopping-feeds" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">create the perfect feed for Google Shopping</a>.

Tips and solutions when assigning Google Product Categories in your Google Shopping Feed

Using Channable, you have always been able to generate multiple campaigns and ad groups from a [Google text ad generator](/products/ppc-tool). However, ads, keywords, and negative keywords were always coupled with the ad group. Now we are introducing a new feature that allows you to have multiple groups of ad group generators. With this comes a lot of new possibilities, one of which we want to highlight today: using synonyms in ads.

## Using synonyms

When creating a new campaign, you might want to start out with a lot of keywords attached to an ad or allow ‘broad’ matches on a smaller set. As shown: 

![visual_01.png](https://media.graphcms.com/yRu43ISSpShwO3WAVjzX)

After letting the ads run their course, you can see which keywords are performing well and which aren’t. Usually, you would delete all but the well-performing keywords from the ad group to only keep one keyword while also making sure that one keyword shows up in your ad template. As shown: 

![visual_02.png](https://media.graphcms.com/eCajaun3R0OuUpPfBbnC)

But now you’re stuck because, while the other keywords didn’t perform as well as the best, they still contributed to some of the ads’ reach. Both scenarios have downsides and that is why we are now allowing all Channable users to add multiple dynamic ad generators. This opens up the possibility for a setup like this: 

![visual_03.png](https://media.graphcms.com/sWk9GHHiRk2qS5FHUZP5)

An example is when creating ads for perfume with two synonyms: ‘ Fragrance’ and ‘Cologne’. You could create a campaign with three dynamic ad generators like this:

1.  [Brand] - Ads text includes perfume, keyword: perfume
2.  [Brand] - Ads text includes fragrance, keyword: fragrance
3.  [Brand] - Ads text includes cologne, keyword: cologne

It would be easy to set up these ad generators copying the ad templates and other entities (ad extensions, site links, etc.) while modifying the ad and keyword templates manually. It would then be possible to create a main ad group that includes the generic ad templates and keywords while adding specific ad groups if a new keyword becomes highly effective and excluding those products from the main group and including them in the new ad group by using rules per ad group. Several other use-cases would be possible but will not be covered here. All these possibilities can be created because every ad group generator has its own rules. Whereas before you only had one set of rules to work with for the entire campaign.

## What about duplication

When you create multiple ad group generators, it is possible that duplicates are made which are undesirable. That’s why we’ve made sure that ad duplicates, meaning everything is similar from templates to extensions and keywords, will be merged before they are sent to Google (Shopping) Ads. You can see the result in the preview where we’ve also introduced new viewing and sorting options.

## How to get started

Getting started with multiple dynamic ad groups is as simple as going into your Google (Shopping) Ads setup and clicking on the ‘Add dynamic ad group generator button. (Tip: you first need to turn off your existing ad generator). 

![visual_04.png](https://media.graphcms.com/dTMEgel7QhqQn6dXekeH)

You can then set up all the ad groups you want, although there is a max of 20 new dynamic ad group generators created in 1 campaign. You can use this in the preview to filter ads that contain errors to finalize them before sending them to Google. Feel free [to reach out](/contact) to your Channable contact for help on setting up [Google Text ads](/products/ppc-tool) and/or [Shopping Ads](https://www.channable.com/integrations/google-shopping-feed) or for information about this feature.

Using Channable to advertise with synonyms

## What is Smart Shopping?

*Smart Shopping is Google's automated solution that integrates product ads, smart bidding strategies, and remarketing. It's a type of campaign that utilizes machine learning algorithms to optimize your shopping campaigns.*

For far too long, setting up shopping campaigns has been a series of long, complex, and, frankly, dull tasks. Setting up campaign priorities, identifying negative keywords, and setting up bidding strategies, are probably tasks most digital marketers of yesteryear still have nightmares about. 

With Smart Shopping campaigns, you no longer need to perform these tasks. You merely need to set a campaign goal and a budget. After which, the Smart Shopping campaigns will start using its machine learning algorithms to optimize your campaigns with automated bidding strategies and the ideal ad placements. It’s that simple. And in the end, this will help you free up loads of time. Time you can use to focus on matters that are more important or beneficial to your business or life in general. You could refine your marketing strategy or even go for a walk on the beach.  

Smart Shopping campaigns are ideal for eCommerce companies with smaller budgets or who have less time to strategize and manage their campaigns. 

![Blog-image_Smart Shopping_resized_1_smart shopping mobile display_2.svg](https://media.graphcms.com/u4VzjrLQRo6E4qwY1hmk)

*Smart Shopping campaigns will feature both in Product Shopping Ads and Display Ads (e.g. remarketing ads and similar audiences through Google Search, Display Network, Youtube, and Gmail).*
 
## Is there a catch?
*A small one.*

At first glance, Smart Shopping might seem like the right path to go down. However, there is a small tradeoff between ease-of-use and campaign control that you should definitely take into account. 

With Smart Shopping campaigns, it’s not possible to set negative keywords or specify on which devices you want to be visible. Those tasks are all set by Smart Shopping’s algorithms that optimize your campaigns towards your goals.

When developing this feature, we talked to a lot of agencies and marketers who have already set up Smart campaigns on Google. Even though the lack of control was received with caution, they did concede that Google’s algorithms are effective when best practices are followed. 

## Optimize your campaigns with smart bidding strategies

Smart bidding strategies are the key feature of Smart Shopping campaigns. When setting up your campaigns, Google gives you the option to choose between two different strategies. Choosing one over the other will determine how Google's algorithm optimizes your campaigns. The two options are:

![Blog-image_Smart-Shopping_02_EN.svg](https://media.graphcms.com/GVg7E9QZysbIq3cagMCw)

If your main campaign driver is to optimize towards sales value, then you should choose **Maximize Conversion Value**. Choosing this option will maximize the number of conversions by determining exactly which of your products is most likely to convert, then to promote and make it visible to potential customers.

The downside of this strategy, however, is that there is no way for Google to know what your profit margins are on a sale. If you do want to take this into consideration, the **TargetROAS** strategy is the better option to choose. 

Setting up with TargetROAS will determine what type of campaign Google will run for you. For example; by setting a **low TargetROAS** goal on products you want to promote, you essentially tell Google that you are willing to spend a lot of advertising budget to make these products more visible. You can even decide to **set the TargetROAS to less than 1** if you are willing to make a loss with your sales as long as you’re more visible through advertising. 

Let’s simplify it further. Assume you choose a TargetROAS strategy with a relatively low TargetROAS of 3. In this example, you are telling the algorithm that for every one euro of advertising budget you spend, you want €3 of revenue back in return.  

Choosing the ideal smart bidding strategy is completely up to you. You can even combine them with the standard shopping campaigns in order to test out and find the winning formula. 

## Why feed management and Smart Shopping Campaigns are a great fit

Smart Shopping Campaigns are incredibly smart! However, they are only as smart as the information you provide them with. You can therefore easily state that feed health is the foundation for succeeding with Smart Shopping Campaigns. 

If your product feed is not in a great condition, then Google's machine learning algorithms will have a harder time optimizing your campaigns. It is therefore crucial that you ensure that your product feed is optimized and [eligible to serve](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/7052112?hl=en). This is where feed management and tools like Channable suddenly become very handy.

With tools like Channable you can utilize built-in feed templates for more than 2500 different advertising and price comparison platforms. A template for Shopping Ads that works perfectly with Google Merchant Center is no exception and you can even set up a [top-quality feed](/blog/create-quality-google-shopping-feeds) in no time. Not only will this result in greater feed health, it will also help Google better to determine when and where products should show up in searches. 

## So, where do we go from here?

Well, if you are relatively new to Channable and feed management, then we would recommend to first take a closer look towards our blog named: [What is Feed Management and why do I need it?](/blog/blog-what-is-feed-management-and-why-do-you-need-it) This blog gives you a great introduction to Feed Management while explaining all its benefits along the way. 

On the other hand, if you already know quite a bit about feed management, already have a healthy feed or maybe you are already a client or partner of Channable, then you might jump right ahead towards our guide named: [How to set up Smart Shopping Campaigns with Channable.](/blog/how-to-set-up-smart-shopping-campaigns-with-channable)

Take your Shopping Ads to the next level by using Smart Shopping Campaigns

## What is a Google Smart Shopping Campaign?
You’ve got an online store with a lot of products. Or you’re an agency that handles PPC campaigns of multiple eCommerce businesses. Creating ad campaigns for large inventories can get exhausting super fast. 
This is where Google Smart Shopping Campaigns come in.
Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, Google Smart Shopping Campaigns create visual shopping ads for your products. From images to product descriptions, it takes everything from your product feed automatically. 
Unlike regular Google Shopping ads, Smart Shopping Campaign automates the bids and the ad placement. This ensures that it shows your products to the right shoppers at the right time and in the right place without the need for manual tweaking. 
![Google Smart Shopping Campaigns.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/5oaz8vhiQzie5Pfz1sky)
### How Google's AI algorithm runs smart shopping campaigns?
Marketers who use Google Smart Shopping Campaign see a [20% higher conversion value at a similar CPC](https://youtu.be/iyglpSl1Ey0?list=PL9piTIvKJnJOO6s49E14oZpwb4jFE5TY1). 
Why? 
Because it uses machine learning to decide who to show your ads to, where, and at what time based on your business data. 
It monitors sales and conversions taking place on your website; who’s buying what from your online store. Using this granular data, it shows your products to the people most likely to buy from your store, thereby massively increasing the chances of conversions. 
So the more sales activity (traffic, clicks, conversions) you have on your online store and the more comprehensive your historical data, the better results you can see via Smart Shopping Campaigns. 
It also takes into account holiday performance trends, seasonal activities, and so on - to further optimize your campaigns. 
### How to get started with Smart Shopping Campaigns?
You’ll need to set up the following (if you haven't already) before you launch your first Smart Shopping Campaign:
A Google Ads account
A Merchant Center account with an updated product feed
Linking your Merchant Center and Google Ads accounts
Some must-haves to start your Smart Shopping Campaign journey,
Install a Google remarketing tag on your website
Have an audience of at least 100 users
There should be 20 conversions over the last 45 days across your existing Shopping campaigns for Google’s algorithm to work
And lastly, make sure you meet the requirements for Shopping campaigns and follow all the Shopping ads policies for a smooth ride.
## 5 Different types of ad placements in Smart Shopping Campaigns 
Wondering where your ads will appear via Smart Shopping Campaigns? 
![Smart Shopping Campaigns ad placements.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/d0xR41SRwya6aH70Vr8w)
With Google Smart Shopping campaigns, you have access to a whole host of channels and millions of people. 
### Product ads within Google search networks 
Similar to regular Google Shopping ads, your Smart Shopping Campaigns appear in Google search results in the Shopping section when customers search for a query that's relevant to your product.
### Display remarketing ads in the Google Display Network 
Google Display Network (GDN) is a group of more than 2 million websites, videos, and apps where your Smart Shopping Campaigns can appear. 
They’re basically targeting people who’re already acquainted with your business and have visited (or shopped from) your online store previously.  
### Ads on YouTube 
From pre-roll ads to display ads, within YouTube, there are several different places where Google might display your products for relevant YouTube users.
### Gmail ads 
Ever seen sponsored ads by online stores in the Promotions tab of your Gmail account? This is where Smart campaigns often land, too.
![ Smart Shopping Campaigns in Gmail.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/PumDS9uRbCCaRaZ8UZFb)
### Local inventory ads 
Local inventory ads, as the name suggests, help bridge your online store with your physical brick-and-mortar stores. 

![Smart Shopping local inventory ads.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/Cl26t60T52mwwqbMptO0)
Smart shopping campaigns help you promote your in-store inventory to online consumers who live in the vicinity of your store. Not only does this help boost your physical store’s presence but also increases foot traffic to your store.   
## 6 ways to optimize your Smart Shopping Campaigns and boost sales 
Research shows that shopping ads, 
drive [76% of search ad spend](https://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-strategy/the-rise-of-google-shopping/) for the eCommerce industry
currently generate 85.3% of all clicks on search ads and Google Shopping campaigns combined
So they’re definitely showing results. 
But how can you further optimize your Google Smart Shopping Campaigns so you can scale it at a profitable ROAS?
Let’s find out.
### Optimize and update your product feed regularly
Since Google AI algorithm uses your product feed information and images for ads, make sure your product information is always updated.
From product titles to descriptions, use specific keywords that customers are using to find your products. 
Next, regularly update your feed regarding the inventory, business changes, and so on. 
A product is not in stock? Update the product feed.
Launched a new limited edition product? Let Google know.
Offering shipping to a new state or location? Update.
### Optimize your landing page
As customers click on your products through the campaigns, they’ll likely land on a landing page. Make sure the landing product page is highly optimized.
The stronger your product page is, the higher your conversions and sales.
Make sure it’s aesthetically pleasing, looks professional, contains targeted CTAs, has easy checkout, and most importantly, is mobile-friendly.  
### Leverage product categorization
Different products have different target audiences. While you may target women when selling baby clothes, you’ll target men when selling fishing supplies. 
So the better your product categorization, the more targeted your Smart Shopping campaigns can be.
While Google automatically categorizes your products based on its evolving taxonomy, you can also manually set your product category by choosing the closest possible category to your product type.
### Make use of holidays 
The best way to end the year on a high?
Leveraging holidays. 
End-of-year holidays always see a significant bump in sales. 
From 2018 to 2021, online holiday season sales [increased year over year by an average of over 17%.](https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2021/10/20/adobe-forecasts-record-billion-holiday-season-online-us-billion-globally)
![Using Smart Shopping Campaigns during holidays.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/awVduSaAS5mZ5wpz3sRE)
keep the following tips in mind to capitalize on this season.
Adjust budget accordingly: With an increase in sales activity during these days, you may want to increase your budget for Smart Shopping Campaigns, too. This will help increase the visibility and reach of your campaigns.
Play around with your bidding strategy: Increase bids on products that usually see an upsurge in sales during holidays, and vice versa. This is where your online store’s historical data comes in handy. Analyze past sales patterns and adjust bids accordingly. 
Update products and optimize the feed: Offering sales on products during New Years? Update your feed so Google can create optimized ads accordingly. Use holiday-specific keywords in your product description and attribution to further optimize your campaigns and get more eyeballs on them during the holidays!
Keep a close eye on your product inventory: Plan ahead for the crazy holiday season and if you feel a product is running low or is out of stock, let Google know ASAP. 
Create separate ad groups for holiday specials: Introducing gift bundles for holidays? Have limited edition products you’ve only introduced for New Years? Create smaller, more specific ad groups within your Smart Shopping Campaign to target these seasonal specials. 
### Play around with your target ROAS
Target [ROAS ](https://www.channable.com/blog/how-roi-and-roas-impact-your-ecommerce-business)is a bidding option with Smart Shopping Campaigns that allows you to set a specific amount of return on your ad investment. 
For example, you'd like to earn $2 for every $1 you spend on Google ads. So you set your target ROAS 200% and add high-performing products to your feed. Google then automatically maximizes your cost per click to ensure you get the most bang for your buck.
The easiest way to get started with Target ROAS is to look at your historical data of the conversion values per cost of the campaigns and set your tROAS accordingly. 
However, be realistic when setting your ROAS. 
If your ROAS target is too high, Google might not be able to deliver the expected results, so the traffic will drastically decrease. 
And if your ROAS target is too low, Google will push your ads to a lot more users and buy more expensive clicks because the expected cost per conversion is higher. But this could easily make your ads unprofitable. 
So find the right balance by testing and tweaking. 
### Monitor your best-sellers
Monitor your top-performing products during different seasons (holiday seasons, seasons when sales are slow, and so on)  and adjust your bids, budget, and ad placements accordingly. 
Remove products that are not performing well to optimize your campaigns. 
On top of that, it might be worthwhile to put products with really big differences in performance and/or margins into different campaigns. And then adjust the TargetROAS accordingly. With this, you maintain some level of control while still benefiting from automation.
## Is Smart Shopping for you?
If you’d like to increase sales massively, then absolutely.
Who doesn’t want an automated ad campaign that does all the work for you and gets impressive results? But for Google Smart Shopping Campaigns to perform optimally, you need to give it time and enough products. 
When setting up a Smart Shopping campaign, please allow the campaign to run for a minimum of 2 weeks.The more time you give it, the more data it can collect. The more data it collects, the better its results. 
And, make sure that you put enough products in the campaign as it makes it harder for Google’s algorithm to optimize with few products to choose from.
If you want to get started with the Smart Shopping feature, feel free to [login to your account](https://app.channable.com/login) or [sign up for a free trial ](https://www.channable.com/signup)today. You will find the new feature directly within the Shopping Ads tab.
Click here to [sign up for a free trial now](https://www.channable.com/signup)!


Smart Shopping Campaigns: Detailed Guide & 6 Optimization Strategies

## Four key personalization practices of PPC
Google estimates that [purchase intent increases by 15%](https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-gb/consumer-insights/consumer-trends/new-research-on-advertising-automation) and CTR is 30% higher with hyper-personalized ad content, compared with ads utilizing basic personalization. There are two main ways to create hyper-personalized ads. The first is to create ads that target specific individuals with specific items:
![Image Pasted at 2021-3-16 16-36.png](https://media.graphcms.com/meCvbOqQRPq7CUNTeq4N)
*This ad is perfect for customers looking for a specific men’s running shoe. Notice the extra sitelinks underneath for hyper-hyper-personalization? [Learn more about sitelinks](/blog/blog-increase-ctr-ads-with-price-extensions-and-sitelinks).*

The second is to create ads related to current trends and events:
![Image Pasted at 2021-3-16 15-27.png](https://media.graphcms.com/lei0Km7wSqWZk2NMZKcG)
*You need to take advantage of the extra traffic created by big events like the FIFA World Cup or the Superbowl. Customers scramble to buy jerseys, footballs (both kinds), and more!*

So, what are these four personalization practices of PPC advertising that you need to be implementing right now?

### 1. Create both general and specific PPC ads
The most successful eCommerce businesses create generic ads that are ideal for those who are still in the research phase. As well as more specific ads for people who know exactly which items they are looking for. These ads targeting specific individuals with specific items are key for improving CTR. 
![Capture d’écran 2021-03-16 à 16.43.20.png](https://media.graphcms.com/lX76yB5VSu2dAYu6FGT8)
*In the image above, you can see the layout for creating dynamic PPC ads in Channable.*

Applying a streamlined process to personalize your ads will save you both time and money. Leading eCommerce businesses can quickly create both catch-all general ads and refined dynamic ads that utilize data such as gender, brand, and price to be more relevant for potential customers. 

![Sitelinks EN samen.png](https://media.graphcms.com/NNpxV68nTwfA5trhOCzA)
*Adding sitelinks to your ads allows you to personalize further by showing more of your product catalog. They also take up more space, pushing other search results out of sight if you claim the top spots.*

### 2. Take advantage of high search volumes
Taking advantage of high search volumes is going to increase your CTR. You need to plan and create campaigns for popular events that will impact your potential customers’ buying habits. On top of this, you need to be in a position to react quickly to unplanned events which have the same effect on potential customers. 

Leading eCommerce businesses quickly adapt and even create entire campaigns to take advantage of the increased search volume. For example, sporting goods retailers set up PPC ads that take advantage of traffic created by sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup, the Superbowl, and the Olympics.

### 3. Create hyper-relevant ads using 3rd party data
Following on from the awareness created by popular events, leading eCommerce businesses also take advantage of more spontaneous situations. For example, sporting goods retailers create ads advertising the jersey of a specific player almost immediately after they score a match-winning goal or touchdown. This is the epitome of hyper-relevant PPC ads that are bound to have a high CTR. 

Another example is that leading eCommerce businesses use weather data to push certain items that will have a temporarily high search volume due to the weather conditions. Have you ever noticed that when it’s forecasted to rain you are far more likely to see items such as wet weather running gear or umbrellas? 

All this is not by chance. Using 3rd party data, leading retailers set up ads that react to spontaneous moments in a sporting event or take advantage of weather conditions and it really works to improve CTR.

### 4. Never display out-of-stock items
With eCommerce being a booming industry, it is difficult to keep on top of out-of-stock items. The only way to overcome this is to [retrieve orders in real-time](/products/marketplace-integrator). Whether a customer buys from Amazon, eBay, or Google Shopping, the stock levels of leading retailers are automatically updated, and PPC campaigns are instantly paused when stock levels hit zero. 

## Start automating feed management and PPC ads
All of the above and more can be achieved through one simple-to-use [PPC tool](/products/ppc-tool) offered by Channable. 

If you would like to learn more about the eCommerce businesses that are using Channable fill in the form below to download the one-pager. You’ll find testimonials, customer results, and more info about the tool itself. 

<br><br/>
[form id="1cee69f6-856f-4cae-8e48-e4902f8942d8"]




How can your eCommerce business create personalized PPC ads that improve CTR and ROAS?

The date is Friday the 9th of April 2021. It’s 11:30 am and I’m sitting at home in Rotterdam gazing out of the window in amazement at the glorious sunshine piercing through the clouds. It’s not that sunshine is that uncommon in the Netherlands. It’s that in the past 10 days there’s been a two-day 23°C (73,4°F) heatwave, a day of sleet and snow, two days of strong winds and hail, and now today breaks of sunshine with light rainfall. It’s astonishing. 

Though there is something that is perhaps more interesting than the constantly changing Dutch weather. Around two weeks ago, before the yoyoing weather began, I saw product ads for both sunscreen and umbrellas with next-day delivery. Being a marketer for a company with a [feed management](/products/product-feed-management-tool) and [PPC platform](/products/ppc-tool), I understand automation and how simple it can be to set up dynamic ads using 3rd party data. But still, I appreciated how perfectly timed these ads were. And I thought to myself; “that’s pretty clever”.

![Blog-Headers-_-Weather-Data_Weather-Data_Blog-image_SMALL.jpg](https://media.graphcms.com/FhM3oKqgQJaPIceI1fbz)

The umbrella ad said (and I’m paraphrasing because my Dutch is rusty at best), *“Don’t let a little rain take away your sunshine. You can find everything you need for this crazy weather at…”*. Now, as a person born and raised in the United Kingdom, owning a brolly is a prerequisite for being a grown-up. On the eve of adulthood, I was gifted an umbrella by my mother so I’d stop coming home soaked by rain. Long story short, I didn’t need an umbrella. 

However, the sunscreen ad was a different story. It read,*“Two days of sunshine coming up? Two bottles of sunscreen for the price of one!”*. Two bottles of Nivea Sun, Protect & Hydrate for the price of one? Not 400ml, but 800ml for a measly €20.00? This was a deal I couldn’t ignore. We were three days out from a two-day heatwave and I had zero ml of sunscreen. “What fortune?”, I mused as I hastily clicked on the ad and added the products to my cart. “How did they set these up so quickly?”... Ah. 

I am now the proud owner of 800ml (possibly 750ml after the heatwave) of Nivea Sun, Protect & Hydrate. And you wanna know the best thing? It’s factor 30.

![Blog Image 01_ They Got Me.jpg](https://media.graphcms.com/JiLJkOoVSieLup7aV08J) 
*They got me.*

### 3rd party data is the hottest eCommerce trend

Enriching marketing strategies with 3rd party data is fast becoming hugely popular among leading brands and retailers. Though weather-based marketing is leading the way, advertising based on sporting events is not far behind. And it’s really having a huge impact. But why?

Personalization and understanding the wants, needs, and pains of customers is a necessity in modern marketing. If we couple this with our shopping culture having shifted toward immediacy and the right now, it’s clear why being able to create ads that speak to an individual, with an individual pain, caused by an individual moment is the epitome of an ideal product ad in 2021. 

Learn how third-party data is implemented in Channable in our How-to video:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E20ObumZL30" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>


If you’d like to discover more invaluable tips you can use to enrich your business's marketing strategy, head over to the [tips section of our blog](/blog?category=tips). 


Why you need to use 3rd party data to optimize your PPC ads

It’s a great sign: more and more brands trust your agency with their PPC strategy. But the growing success also comes with growing responsibilities and expectations. All of your clients want to receive the attention and care they require to earn a high ROAS and ROI from their campaigns.

This success and your day-to-day work are heavily impacted by the tools and practices you use to manage the PPC efforts of your customers. How can a PPC tool streamline your (multiple) clients’ search campaigns and drive better results?

### You already own the most relevant campaign content 
Creating hyper-relevant ads can often seem like an impossible task. Especially when you manage multiple accounts with large product catalogs at the same time. 
A tool for PPC automation enables you to create search and text ads as well as long-tail-keywords based on the information that is already present in your client’s product data feed.

Your PPC tool’s built-in ad copy generator will open the door to a whole new way of setting up campaigns. By combining static data with dynamic data from your clients’ product feed you can make their product ads more relevant than ever. You can react to current events, personalize your ad copy for a specific target audience, or take advantage of high search volumes by modifying your ad copy systematically. 

> In just a few clicks, we could create a campaign, a bespoke ad group structure that really worked for each individual client, preview all the ad copy, and then with just one click push the ads to Google Ads.

<div align="center">*Scott Beveridge, co-founder of ClickBoost.*</div>

The right long-tail-keywords are essential for the success of your PPC campaigns. You can find these best in product variants and specifications like size, model, pattern, color, gender, etc. All these specifications are in your clients’ product data feed, ready to be used. A PPC automation tool takes this information and generates thousands of highly relevant long-tail-keywords for your campaigns. 

> We have several clients across different countries and it makes it a lot easier for me to manage all of my campaigns in the same structure.

<div align="center">*Job Hilbers, Senior SEA Consultant at ARTEFACT*</div>
 
### Optimize your ads with powerful rules
Using dynamic values from your client’s product feed, such as sales price, stock information or shipping cost etc., means that these values - and therefore your ads - will change frequently. Still, it’s easy for you to take full control over these changes and enjoy the real-time updates. 

Your PPC tool’s rules-system is there to optimize your ads automatically and, for example, pause them as soon as an item is no longer available, or the most popular sizes are sold out. No more wasted ad spent for items that won’t sell. With if-then-rules, you can also ensure that certain text is being either included or excluded from the ad copy. 

> We have been able to focus on optimizing our clients’ accounts, which has led to an improvement of ROAS and an increase in revenue as well.

<div align="center">*Sjoerd Lops, Senior Display Consultant at ARTEFACT*</div>

> Above all, we have gained efficiency and can invest more resources in strategic and tactical considerations and measures instead of in manual work, which ultimately also benefits the clients.

<div align="center">*René Linder, CIO at ads&figures*</div>

Channable’s PPC tool can help you with all of the above. If you want to learn more about how our partner agencies implement it into their day-to-day operations, set the topic filter in our [success stories](/success-stories) to “Agency”. 


What is the most efficient way to increase my clients’ ad relevance and ROAS?

## Marketing agencies are essentially mobile phones
*Bear with me.*


The first commercially available handheld mobile phones had one simple function. And shock, that was to make phone calls. As they became more popular, the number of functions began to increase. Not only due to technical innovation but also consumer demand.

The first notable applications that were introduced were contacts and SMS. To be at the forefront of personal communication prior to these features, you needed so much stuff. Address books, directories, stamps, envelopes, postcards. It just wasn’t manageable and required invention and innovation. 

![Old_mobile_phone.jpg](https://media.graphcms.com/zoZiE7sSSlPIR6wc7rNQ)

New apps continued being introduced. They would absorb and replace now borderline immaterial inventions. While, at the same time, continue to push the boundaries of technology. The calculator, the watch (sorry, Casio), the calendar, GPS devices, the camera, the internet, journals, spreadsheets, and more were made redundant by the ever-innovating mobile phone. 

Fast-forwarding to 2021, the smartphone is indispensable. The pressure to continue innovating and adding more features is immeasurable. If the smartphone isn’t performing neurosurgery in the next decade, people will question whether they actually need this miracle of technology that lives in their pockets. Tell me if I’m wrong, but this isn’t too different from the expectations placed on a marketing agency from its clients; is it?

![Multitaksing.jpg](https://media.graphcms.com/KNpQEfS3GvRxWKRHfbwF)

Though the marketing agency started with streamlined responsibilities. Today, the demand to grow, adapt, and improve is huge. Marketing agencies manage multiple clients from various industries with completely different requirements and measures of success. Much like a smartphone is expected to be an excellent phone, camera, diary, personal computer, and now fitness companion. Marketing agencies are expected to be excellent copywriters, strategists, advertising experts, marketplace gurus, teachers, and therapists. It’s a hideously difficult task. And without a transparent, clear overview it becomes an impossible one. 

## What can marketing agencies learn from the smartphone?
The smartphone is the archetype of a transparent, clear overview. It manages hundreds of applications with different functions and can be incredibly personalized. But how does the smartphone achieve this and what can marketing agencies learn from it? Let’s do a direct comparison. 

The hardware in a smartphone can be compared to the people like yourself working in a marketing agency. It all comes down to potential. The quality of the hardware determines which and how many applications (features) a phone can potentially perform at a high level. Those working in a marketing agency do exactly the same thing. The ability to be able to meet all the desired expectations of different clients (users) is completely dependent on the quality of the team.

![Blog-graph (1).jpg](https://media.graphcms.com/MRbPRey9RtGUzaCO221a)

Looking at the image above, we’ve gone through the user, the application, and the hardware. So what about the operating system? 

The operating system unlocks the potential of the hardware. Without a robust and flexible operating system, applications couldn’t run at an optimal level. Meaning either downgrading to a lesser quality application or not being able to meet user expectations. This is exactly the same as the software used in a marketing agency. In order to fulfill the potential of the team and to meet the expectations of clients, the software used needs to be both robust and flexible. 

But it’s not just about being robust and flexible. Operating systems need to continually develop in order to manage more demanding applications and users, more applications in general, and improve UX. And it’s the same with software. As client demands increase with new platforms, technologies, best practices, etc. marketing agencies are expected to innovate. This can only be achieved with leading software and platforms that continually improve. 

With all this considered, it becomes obvious that the operating system (or the software used in marketing agencies) is the reason the smartphone is the blueprint for a transparent, clear
overview. 

## What should marketing agencies consider when searching for the perfect software?
![Iphone.jpg](https://media.graphcms.com/4s5twsISFiOBgBS8QCQQ)

Let’s look at the iPhone. The user-friendly interface of the operating system and its ability to use a large number of high-quality optimized applications make it stand out from the crowd. It’s exactly the same with software and platforms. We conducted a survey with close to 80 marketing agencies and, to no surprise, a friendly UX and extensive functionalities were at the top of their wishlist. 

Second to that was the price. The commoditization of the smartphone means that you no longer need to pay thousands of dollars for high-quality products that can rival Apple’s iPhone - enter Huawei. Software has gone through the same process. It’s no longer necessary to spend a large portion of your budget on big names and service costs. You can find robust, flexible, and innovative software that does exactly the same thing for a fraction of the price. 

![Busy-store.jpg](https://media.graphcms.com/NfCBFZhT0qZPhwhNav6Z)

Black Friday is a hectic period for marketing agencies. Equipping your team with software and platforms that require little-to-no maintenance is invaluable. It should be intuitive, simple to use, optimized for multiple tasks, and transparently and fairly priced. It should provide solutions for the eclectic demands of multiple clients and, most importantly, give you a clear overview of all your clients’ accounts and activities. This will allow you to better understand how to improve the performance of your marketing efforts and increase ROI for your clients. 

**Want examples of marketing agencies who have found their ideal platforms? Channable has a number of inspiring success stories from various marketing agencies that can be found [here](/success-stories).**

Why software is key for having a clear overview and increasing your clients’ ROI this Black Friday

### An analogy: How would you like the perfect skincare package?
We all have a skincare routine. At least, we all should have a skincare routine. UV radiation is real, people. But, of course, routines differ person-to-person. Our skin’s condition, demands, and expectations vary as well as the effort (and money) we’re willing to put into taking care of our skin. On top of that, the skincare market is confusing and extensive, with new trends, brands, and products popping up every year. Which makes finding the right products to get your skin looking as smooth as butter a real challenge. 

You don’t want too many products standing around on your bathroom counter, you want the ones that really work for you. You want to avoid the disappointment and also the waste of money and time that comes with trying new products that just don’t do it.

![large-minimal-assortment-beauty-products.jpg](https://media.graphcms.com/0huH2x8RO3pihcMei9yA)
The perfect package of products that are designed to work individually but also complement one another sounds good, right? What you want is a company that invests time and resources into researching every single ingredient in all of their products in order to create an ideal, consistently good set. You have tried and liked their cream and serum, and then you see a package by the same company with a combination of your two favorite products - maybe they even add a third one that you want to try. Offering you a whole routine that works just the way you need it to.

### Choose your tools like you choose your skincare routine
Coming back to your professional challenges, you might find similarities in the decision-making process and expectations that your clients have when it comes to the ease of use and optimized results in their online marketing activities.

As is with skincare products, consistency is key in feed management.  And the right set of tools keeps your client’s branding consistent across platforms. Are you aware that customers who are shopping parallelly on multiple channels are observed to have a [30% higher lifetime value](https://ecommercegermany.com/blog/29-multichannel-marketing-statistics-to-know-in-2020)?

Of course, there are way too many channels out there to try and cover them all, so you have to find the perfect set of channels for each of your clients. If the connections to these channels are offered centrally in one place, from one brand, your life gets a lot easier. 

And when you like one company’s feed management tool and see that it works for your clients, it is only logical to also want your PPC campaigns and performance insights as parts of the package. Like a complementing series of care products.

Your [perfect marketing automation package](https://www.channable.com/how-channable-works) aims for this consistency. You work from one single data feed (your unique precondition) and optimize it with the help of different products and their ingredients. All of these single products have gotten extensive research to make them work combined, but also individually. For every need, there is this one feature that will help you to connect in the easiest and most consistent way possible with your desired channels. 

Find more information on feed management and PPC automation for digital marketing agencies on our [dedicated industry page](https://www.channable.com/industry/digital-marketing-agencies).

How your skincare routine reveals the best way to connect to a variety of channels

Automation is EVERYWHERE and takes up more and more space in the digital marketing world. This coupled with the fact your clients are better informed of the automation opportunities adds a sizable amount of pressure for digital marketing agencies. You have to stay in the know as your clients expect you to. 

[Forrester conducted a study for Google](https://services.google.com/fh/files/emails/forrester_research_paper.pdf) in which they asked 300 brand marketing leaders *“what benefits do you expect from an effective digital marketing agency partnership?”.* The top responses were:
1. 43% expect more profit  
2. 41% expect more ROI  
3. 37% expect their agency to keep pace with shifts in consumer behavior  

While responses 1 and 2 are to be expected, number 3 really caught my attention. In line with consumer needs, the goal of effective marketing is to stay relevant. Between 30% and 50% of consumers in European markets [prefer to engage with and purchase from purpose-built brands](https://services.google.com/fh/files/emails/forrester_research_paper.pdf) that deliver relevant content rather than only ads.

In eCommerce, automation tools are the driver to work on the hard KPIs such as profit and ROI and, at the same time, enable you to maintain and improve your expertise and smart strategies. In the end, the purposeful messaging and understanding of consumer behavior have to be added to the campaigns by nobody else but you.

![young-creative-team-meeting.jpg](https://media.graphcms.com/6d1ZG3GZTGWy9dQTK9lk)

Let’s look at it like this: With tooling at hand, you free your schedule to do the deep thinking and strategizing that AI cannot take over from you and find a way to feed the algorithms with exactly the data they need. In a world where agencies have access to the same pool of tools and software, the distinguishing characteristic is how you use them.

> Now that automation has generally been accepted, advertisers find themselves in a position in which they have access to the same tools and algorithms, which leaves little room to differentiate themselves from competitors. So the question becomes: How do you outperform your competitors despite leveraging the same instruments? By shifting the narrative to supplying algorithms with the right data to make the best possible decisions to drive maximum performance.
<div align="center">*Job Hilbers, Head of Paid Search at Artefact*</div>

## How can both you and your client profit from change through automation?
Join forces with technology! The technical knowledge that agencies had developed over the years has become somewhat redundant. But leading agencies appreciate the time that their consultants have won back to actually *advise* their clients and to develop creative strategies that allow algorithms to perform at their best. 

The nature of the [relationship between an agency and its clients](https://services.google.com/fh/files/emails/forrester_research_paper.pdf) may actually change for the better. As an account manager, automation allows you more time to work much more closely with your brands and to share your knowledge in order to help them acquire a certain know-how themselves. The way agencies work is also becoming more holistic. Media teams work closely together with data analysts and technology experts [to use first-party data in the best way possible](https://www.channable.com/blog/create-personalized-ppc-ads-improve-ctr-roas).

## Agencies need AI to grow but AI needs you to rise and shine 
[Agencies need automation in order to scale](https://www.clickz.com/the-rise-of-the-automation-powered-agency/264227/). The more tasks you can automate, the more clients you can manage with the same personpower. In an agency context, account managers, as the actual users of automation tools and software, will be in charge of mastering and educating the machines in order to help AI grow in the right direction. 

This role of the human at the intersection of automating and strategizing will become even more important with increasingly smart algorithms. Your understanding of performance data will be needed in order to find the right starting point for a campaign. Only when your strategy is in place and working, will you be able to hand over the baton that is the campaign to AI.

Do you want to be at the forefront of automation and master your biggest challenges? Find out all you need to know about feed management and PPC automation for digital marketing agencies in the [dedicated agency space on our website](https://www.channable.com/industry/digital-marketing-agencies).

How do leading agencies use automation to meet client needs?

# The importance of choosing the right bidding strategy

Channable´s clients are now able to configure their optimal bidding strategies directly in our [PPC tool](https://www.channable.com/products/ppc-tool). 

We know it is easy to become overwhelmed with so many different bid strategy options offered by Google Ads, that's why we have created this blog to give you some insight on which bidding strategies work best for your business, how Google Smart Bidding abilities can help you to increase your conversions and the benefits of configuring your most important bidding strategies directly in Channable. 

## How to determine your bidding strategy?

Google Ads offers multiple ways of bidding that you should choose very carefully depending on the goals you have in mind. Most advertisers focus on clicks, impressions and conversions.  Which one should you choose based on your goals? 

- *Strategy based on clicks*. Using cost-per-click (CPC) bidding will help you generate traffic to your website.
- *Strategy based on impressions*. If your goal is to increase your brand awareness and visibility of your ads, this strategy might be the one you need.
- *Strategy based on conversions*. This is a more advanced bidding method, and you will pay Google for a determined conversion or action (it could be a purchase, email sign-up, phone call, download, etc.). In order to measure interactions, you need to have [conversion tracking](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6308).

If you want to focus on conversions, **you should consider using Smart Bidding** to save time, improve performance and avoid errors setting the biddings. Smart Bidding is a kind of automated bidding that looks for ad auctions that are more likely to hit your KPIs.

[tip]Find more info in [Google Help Center](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2472725) about how to determine a bid strategy based on your goals[/tip]

## Finding success with Smart Bidding

Smart Bidding is a set of automated bid strategies that use machine learning to optimize your conversion goals. On top of the machine learning capabilities, it takes into account info like device, location or time of the day to create tailor bids depending on the search context. 

Let's see the most important automated bidding options you have available with Google:

- *Target cost per action (CPA)*: helps you get as many defined actions (sign-ups, app installs, reservations) as possible at or below the target CPA you set. This is handy if you want to control the amount you spend on certain actions"
- *Target return on ad spend (ROAS)*: helps you get more conversion value or revenue at the target return on ad spend (ROAS) you set. This definitely requires a bit of calculating to determine your optimal return, but it can be a powerful method to measure your ads true effectiveness. 
- *Maximize Conversions*: helps you get the most conversions for your campaign while spending your budget. This is probably the easiest strategy to set up. All you need to know is your maximum daily budget, that you are willing to spend on text ads. 
- *Maximize Conversion Value*: helps you to maximize the total conversion value of your campaign within your specified budget. 
- *Enhanced cost per click (ECPC)*: helps you to automatically adjust your manual bids to try and maximize conversions. For example, Google can increase or decrease your bid based on the likelihood an ad drives conversions. Bids will ultimately be averaged out to achieve your budget limit.

Some users associate Smart Bidding with a lack of control on the campaigns, meaning that you totally rely on Google’s algorithms to get your targets. However, Google's algorithms are effective when best practices are followed. Smart Bidding will save you tons of account management time and advanced artificial intelligence will help you achieve great results for your PPC campaigns.

[tip]Find more info in Google Help Center about [Smart Bidding](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7065882?hl=en) and how to pick [the right bid strategy](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6167148?hl=en)[/tip] 

## How can Channable help you to configure a bidding strategy?

Channable is aware of how important it is to choose the right bidding strategy for a PPC campaign in order to achieve the highest results. That´s why from now on you will be able to establish your bidding strategy directly in Channable. With this new setup in our PPC tool, we are a step closer to helping you achieve your campaign goals with less time and effort. 

Until now the only bidding strategy available was the manual CPC option. Meaning that all the bidding had to be configured in Google Ads. But thanks to this new feature we give clients the option to choose an array of bid strategies beyond CPC directly in the tool, based on their conversion and click goals of a campaign: 
![Bidding.png](https://media.graphcms.com/IeAfTmK8RNCrHf3n3ZGV)

As you can see above, all the Smart Bidding options described before (except the Target ROAS) are available for use directly in Channable. 

You do need to keep in mind that these bidding strategies will be added to Google Ads when setting up new campaigns in Channable, meaning that any updates of that value need to be done in Google Ads directly. 

[tip]In the following link you will learn [how to configure a campaign in Channable](https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360010964780-Configuring-the-Campaign-settings), including the bidding strategy.[/tip]

Being able to set up your bidding strategy directly in the tool will give you** more independence from Google Ads**, simplifying the set up of your dynamic campaigns. Consequently this will help you **save time and effort **creating new campaigns. **Maximize the return and help you reach your goals faster** are just some of the positive results of managing your bidding set up process within Channable.

If you are already generating your PPC campaigns using Channable, be aware that from now on you will be able to configure the bidding strategies directly in the tool for all your new campaigns. This new feature, together with the new option of [adding location targeting](https://www.channable.com/blog/increase-the-return-of-your-campaigns-by-targeting-the-right-audience), will allow you to maximize the use of Channable PPC tool. Do you want to learn how to configure the bidding and the location targeting in the tool? In the following video,  Robert Smit, our product owner will guide you through the new settings:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VEHMS5WGJ0E" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>


Just getting started and would like to start creating dynamic and automated campaigns for Google Ads, feel free to [start a trial account](https://www.channable.com/signup) with Channable. 



More ROI for your ads choosing the right (smart) bidding strategy

# The importance of choosing the correct location targeting
Location targeting helps focus your advertising to find the right customers for your eCommerce business, and will hopefully help you increase your return on investment (ROI) as a result. Channable realized the need for a more complete setup within dynamic text ads and Shopping campaigns and updated [our PPC tool](https://www.channable.com/products/ppc-tool) with expanded options to select or exclude more specific targeting locations based on [region, city, zip-code, or places of interest](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/1722075?hl=en). This blog will break down some basics about location targeting and we will explain the benefits of this new all-in-one campaign set up in Channable.

## Location targeting basics
Targeting ads is an essential part of a successful advertising campaign. Google Ads offers different ways of targeting your ads, but this blog is focused on geographical targeting, one of the most popular targeting setups. Location targeting lets you select specific locations where you want your ads to be shown. By default, you are able to choose if your ads are shown to people located in the specified area (Location of presence), to those who have shown interest in your targeted locations (Area of interest), or both. You can select entire countries, and/or areas within a country such as cities or territories.

- Targeting your ads to a *country or multiple countries* can be a good idea if you provide products and services to those large areas. Targeting entire countries allows you to receive more ad exposure than you would by targeting a few individual cities or regions within a country.
- Targeting *specific areas within a country* allows you to target specific regions, cities, or postal codes. This option is very useful for businesses that serve a local neighborhood, that have special offers in selected locations, or sells products in selected regions or cities.

What should you consider when selecting location targeting?

1. Be sure to target the locations where you can find your customers—which isn't necessarily in the same place that your business is located. 
2. Be careful with using very specific locations because it might not meet Google targeting criteria, meaning that your ads may only show intermittently or not at all. 
3. Keep your language and location targeting settings consistent. The language selected should be the same as that is used for the copy of your text ads and shopping ads.
4. Sometimes it is easier to be clear about what locations you don't want to target and simply exclude them from a larger region. For example, a sales promotion might not be applicable to only one or two cities within a country.

## How Channable can now help you to configure the location targeting?
With the fast expansion of eCommerce and ever more complex and local-focused marketing strategies, it is essential to adapt your advertising efforts to certain areas. Channable is aware of this new priority in the market and aligned with our goal of simplifying the process of creating dynamic PPC campaigns in our tool, we have decided to extend the options to select more specific targets. 

Until now our [PPC tool](https://www.channable.com/products/ppc-tool) offered limited targeting options based on country and language. If a business does not serve/sell country-wide or would like to focus the advertising efforts on certain areas within a country, targeting regions, cities, or postal codes, all these settings were not available in our PPC Tool. Clients had to manually adjust all location targeting options in Google Ads after they have created the dynamic campaigns within Channable. 

With the implementation of this new feature, users can select or exclude more specific targeting locations based on region, city, or zip-code directly in the tool. Creating a **more complete setup** of dynamic campaigns that can be achieved, **reducing the need of switching** between Google Ads and Channable and thereby providing a **higher ease-of-use** and an **increase of the ROI** immediately.

## How to set up the location targeting in Channable?

Channable offers three options to synchronize your targeting, meaning that apart from adding location targeting to new campaigns, you can also overwrite the ones that are already included in Google Ads. You are also able to choose if the ad should be shown to people in your target location or who've shown interest in your targeted locations (Location of Presence or Area of Interest).

In the following image you can find an example of how regions, cities, or postal codes can be added or excluded in the tool. But if you need more specific info about how to configure the location targeting in Channable’s PPC tool, please [check our help center article](https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360010965080-Configuring-Campaign-targeting-settings).

![Targeted locations 2.png](https://media.graphcms.com/pUJGZe9QiCcyOManAS4l)

[tip]NOTE: Apart from location targeting based on fixed lists, Google offers more advanced location options like radius targeting, audience targeting or targeting locations in bulk. These advanced options are not available in Channable, but we are currently working to include them in the near future. We will keep you updated with further details.[/tip]

If you are already generating your PPC campaigns using Channable, be aware that from now on you will be able to configure the location targeting directly in the tool. This new feature, together with the new option of [adding bidding strategies](https://www.channable.com/blog/more-roi-for-your-ads-choosing-the-right-bidding-strategy), will allow you to have a greater use of the Channable PPC tool. Do you want to learn how to configure the location targeting  and the bidding in the tool? In the following video, Robert Smit, our product owner, will guide you through the new settings:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VEHMS5WGJ0E" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>


If you are just getting started and you would like to start creating dynamic and automated campaigns for Google Ads, feel free to start a [trial account](https://www.channable.com/signup) with Channable. 








Increase the return of your campaigns by targeting the right audience

As a seller, leveraging Amazon is a complicated process with many nuances, but also rewarding because you're showcasing your products to the whole world. Sellers have to make the right decisions, carefully list their products, and capture the opportunities Amazon provides.

This article discusses how to win the Amazon Buy Box and gain some of the biggest opportunities to boost sales by using Amazon’s Featured Offer (formerly known as Amazon Buy Box) and finding the sweet spot in your Amazon pricing strategy.

We will provide all the key factors and nuances of Buy Box so that you can make the right adjustments to your Amazon profile to reach a broader audience and generate more revenue.

## What is the Buy Box on Amazon?

Earning the Buy Box is a powerful option to increase visibility for your products and, in return, boost sales for your eCommerce business. The Buy Box is the “Add to Cart” button where customers can directly add the item to their cart.

It’s placed in the right-hand sidebar on the product pages of Amazon. The “Add to Cart” button is placed right above the “Buy Now” button in the sidebar. Amazon claims that Buy Box helps customers find the best prices between products and sellers by easily accessing the best offer while comparing others in the “Other Sellers on Amazon” and “Used & New” sections.

While the Buy Box offers the best deals to customers, it is also an opportunity for sellers to provide the best service to claim the Buy Box and drive sales.

If a customer prefers to make their purchase through the Buy Box, they can easily add it to their cart with the “Add to Cart” button or click “Buy Now” to finalize the purchase instantly. 
The Buy Box is an automated component based on specific criteria. Not all sellers are eligible to place themselves at the Featured Offer (Buy Box) position.

This position is a result of an accumulation of both technical and operational scores which Amazon rewards sellers with the Buy Box.

![What is the Buy Box on Amazon.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/VGm0g5nqQ9ysUzYjOL3O)

## Why is the Buy Box Important to Amazon Sellers?

Amazon is the 5th most valuable company in the world. Amazon has dominated and revolutionized the eCommerce market. Their annual net sales revenue was $513.98 billion in 2022 according to Statista.

While Amazon’s market share is enormous, every seller has an opportunity to take a slice of this giant opportunity. Obtaining the Buy Box will help you to increase your revenue substantially. Because 82% of Amazon sales go through the Buy Box and the number is even higher for mobile purchases.

On mobile apps, it’s more user-friendly to use the Buy Box and directly purchase rather than comparing other alternatives.

Learning how Amazon's algorithm is tailored will allow you to optimize your performance and relevant data to better reach the Buy Box.

Unfortunately, there is no simple solution to winning the Amazon Buy Box such as having the lowest price or being a best seller. However, Amazon's machine learning algorithm considers a variety of factors, such as competition in the marketplace, time-sensitive campaigns, product data, categories, and individual seller ratings.

Simple and consistent actions can help you compete for Buy Box. You can focus on delivering a seamless customer experience, preparing seasonal themes like back to school, Valentine's Day, Cyber Monday, beforehand and restocking your inventory if needed, and increasing your seller rating will help you to win Buy Box.

All these different factors serve to same purpose, which is better customer satisfaction which also Amazon prioritized. When a seller starts to improve one of those factors, it creates a domino effect and increases the overall service quality too.

## The Recent Changes in the Amazon Buy Box

This is not about changes in the Amazon Buy Box criteria and eligibility requirements. But to highlight the fact that Amazon changed the name of the feature from Buy Box to Featured Offer around the second half of 2022, so to not confuse things too much we will now refer to the Buy Box as "Featured Offer."

Amazon even changed the wording in their YouTube videos and blog posts, as well as in the Seller Central. Additionally, you can take these nuances into account when you aim to achieve a Featured Offer spot.

### Rising Competition

Amazon has recently experimented with buying options and user journeys. Rising competition between sellers on specific products keeps prices competitive, but it can also confuse sellers.

Amazon spokespersons say that using the right Amazon pricing strategy can help sellers win the Featured Offer and get ahead of the competition.

### Say Goodbye to the Perfect Order Percentage Score

Previously, Amazon took into consideration sellers’ “Perfect Order Percentage Score” metrics. That metric affected sellers’ performance as well as their eligibility for the Buy Box. 

Currently, Amazon recognizes the Shipping Time metric more than others. Referring to how fast order can be fulfilled and delivered. 

### The Price Wars Have Started

Prices of goods and services are inflated all around the world. This has also affected product pricing on Amazon and turned into hot competition among sellers.

Providing the lowest price with the maximum value is the key. But while doing this, keeping your shop profitable is key to a balanced Amazon pricing strategy. When your product catalog reaches a certain volume, it will be hard to manage your prices manually. Using a [Repricer](https://www.channable.com/products/marketplace-integrator/repricer) can help you to create automated rules, instant price adjustments and keep you ahead of the competition.

### There Might Not Be a Direct Correlation Between Amazon Buy Box and Prices 

There is a general misconception that Featured Offer (formerly Amazon Buy Box) listing a product with the lowest price among competitors will ensure being on top. But this is just not true as there are a lot of variables taken into account to decide which seller is No. 1.

This idea was falsified by Northeastern University, which conducted [a study](https://news.northeastern.edu/2016/06/02/northeastern-researchers-find-that-amazon-might-not-always-be-pitching-you-the-best-prices/) about Amazon’s pricing strategy and showed that not the best prices are guaranteed to land on the Featured Offer.

Besides those mentioned topics, Amazon’s overall standards for the Featured Offer remain still, but a lot has changed in the eCommerce trends. These trends shape both the industry standards and user behaviors.

Being aware of the shifts will help you to optimize your products and approach to customers. These trends and social signals may help your success on Amazon because these aspects are also considered by Amazon’s algorithm.

1. Collecting positive, reviews and feedback from customers. 
2. Delivering exceptional customer service and prioritizing customer experience. 

### How to be Eligible to win the Amazon Buy Box

Not every [product category](https://sell.amazon.com/sell#product-categories) supports the Featured Offer (formerly Amazon Buy Box); for example, books aren't eligible for this feature. Criteria can vary for each category, but here are a few general factors that can affect Featured Offer selection:

- **Amazon Account**: Sellers need to have an active professional selling plan and an account in reliable status. 
- **Competitive Prices:** Featured Offer prices are generally equal to or lower than market prices. 
- **Deliver Exceptional Customer Service:** There are several metrics to evaluate your customer service, such as Order Defect Rate, Pre-Fulfillment Cancellation Rate, Late Shipment Rate, and Valid Tracking Rate. 
- **Stocked Inventory:** Running out of stock can block sellers from the Featured Offer status. 
- **Fast Delivery:** Fast delivery commitments can attract more customers. However, products also have to be delivered within the promised timeframes. 
- **Product Condition:** The Featured Offer is only for new and like-new goods.

![How Your Amazon Pricing Strategy Helps You Win the Buy Box.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/1LNwkl1yRQWyKsyuPlHn)

## How Your Amazon Pricing Strategy Helps You Win the Buy Box 
 
Amazon prioritizes the best prices to deliver the best customer experience. However, for sellers, this approach is not about lowering the prices below profitability. When you’re building your Amazon pricing strategy, you should consider a different approach for each product. There are three different methods to handle your Amazon pricing strategy: 

- Manual Repricing
- Rule-based Pricing
- Algorithmic Repricing

To bypass all this hassle and manage your products from one cohesive dashboard, you can use the [Repricer](https://www.channable.com/products/marketplace-integrator/repricer) that gets you ahead of the competition. You can set specific thresholds and limits to [automated pricing for each item](https://www.channable.com/blog/amazon-repricer). 

One of the advantages of having an algorithmic pricer tool is that it handles everything in the same dashboard, not only the price, but the product, data, and performance as well. 

### Repricer in Action

1. Choose your competition strategy

![Repricer competition strategy.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/A1T0W4cQm2C72NWlsr7Q)

2. Set maximum & minimum targets

![Competitive price targets in Repricer.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/kbIbxoQTRqNgS78ucubY)

3. Select your competition

![Conditions and rules for competition in Repricer.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/H6Vvg7bNSuG7pNtxLN2S)

4. Set your repricing conditions

![Creating specific conditions for pricing in Repricer.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/jp2vUFGMQKK3lc1AB27z)

## Conclusion

There is fierce competition to achieve a Featured Offer spot among sellers on Amazon. 

But there are many ways to obtain and secure this position. Sellers should provide exceptional customer experience, competitive pricing, and impeccable delivery.

Amazon Ads is part of Channable's end-to-end marketplace solution, making it even easier for advertisers to access the benefits of Amazon PPC adverts. Learn how Channable can optimize and accelerate your Amazon PPC campaigns and how you can manage thousands of ads across marketplaces. [Sign up for a free trial today!] (https://www.channable.com/signup) 

Using complementary tools like a [Repricer](https://www.channable.com/products/marketplace-integrator/repricer) can also help optimize your Amazon pricing strategy. 

And always keep in mind, that there are new opportunities to seize, and Channable is there to help you scale and reach new heights!

How to Win the Amazon Buy Box (Featured Offer) and Maximize Sales

Whether you're new to the PPC business or a cyber veteran, chances are high you've experienced harsh competition on Google. To win the SERP-Game, you constantly need to be on the ball and regularly optimize and improve your ads. That’s why automation is a marketer’s best friend, and where we come in! 

## Why should I set up a final URL at the keyword level?
The answer to that question is pretty straightforward: you want to answer the user's search query as concisely as possible. Why? Well, here's some breaking news: Google is smart. It rates the user experience your ads provide and lists your ads accordingly on the Search Engine Results Pages (also known as “SERPs” or “SERP”). This rating - called the quality score - makes or breaks whether you're successfully selling online... or not. Google mainly considers three points:

- **CTR**: How likely is someone to click your ad when Google shows your ad for the keyword they search for?  
- **Ad Relevance**: Is the ad relevant for the keywords you've set up?  
- **Landing Page Experience**: Is the landing page relevant and corresponds to your ad, or does the user need to conduct another Google search to get the desired result?  

The magic word for efficient ads is **relevance**. Google likes relevance, and if Google likes you, the business probably likes you as well.

[![PPC.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/Wa2tAP7jQceAnStbTGyY)](https://www.channable.com/products/ppc-tool)

### Let's set the scene
Let's assume your shop is selling all kinds of shoes, including Nike sneakers. You just came up with the juiciest ad text ever written in PPC land. It's bulletproof - everyone will click on this ad! But what if the enthusiastic buyer clicks on it and lands on a page with Puma sneakers. That’s right, they'll probably return to Google (Bounce Rate!) and conduct another search. Not to worry; we could also fix this on the [AdGroup level](https://www.channable.com/blog/blog-difference-between-ad-campaigns-and-ad-groups-ppc-advertising). 

Let's take this example one step further. Imagine your user is searching for 'Nike Air Max 90 black size 42'. If you set up your keywords on the AdGroup level, the user probably gets directed to a collection page of all your Nike shoes. But how relevant would your ads be if the user searching for 'Nike Air Max 90 black size 42' clicks on your ad and gets directed to the landing page with his desired model in the correct size? Correct, it doesn't get more relevant than this!

***So why should you set up a final URL at the keyword level? To direct users to a relevant post-click landing page highly related to the specific keyword they were searching for.***

## How do I optimize my keyword strategy with a final URL at the keyword level with Channable?
Set up different product-specific landing pages for each of your relevant keyword phrases. With Channable, you can add the final URLs the same way you set up dynamic keywords:
![URLatKW level EN.png](https://media.graphcms.com/VJQCrq0LR4SVyBNpPWB0)
Each time a customer searches for the keywords defined in the keyword section in the PPC tool and clicks on the ad, they will be redirected to the relevant keyword URL, which will overwrite the final URL specified in the ad template.

## What makes defining the final URL on a keyword level and Dynamic Keyword Insertion a winning team?
Besides defining final URLs for different keywords, you can set up [Dynamic Keyword Insertion](https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360011012700-How-do-I-use-keyword-insertion-in-an-Ad-template-) (DKI) with Channable. Both features make a great team when it comes to winning the SERP-Game. DKI allows your ad to appear differently depending on what the user is searching for. When a user's search query appears in the ad, it also becomes bolded. That will make your ad stand out more and generally lead to higher click-through rates. Therefore, DKI can make your ads highly relevant to the user's search query and increase your ad's effectiveness.

[tip]**Dynamic Channable fields and Dynamic Keyword Insertion**  
The basic principle of Channable's automation is dynamic fields. This means you use a placeholder like 'color' or 'brand' instead of typing 'blue' or 'nike', allowing you to create multiple ads with only one setup, as easy as that.[/tip]

The Dynamic Keyword Insertion is an advanced Google Ads feature that uses dynamic fields to update your ad text with the user's search terms. When a user searches for one of your keywords, Google Ads automatically inserts the keyword that triggered your ad, highly relevant to the user. 

## What are the benefits of defining the final URL at the keyword level and using DKI with Channable?
### Manage everything in one tool
We all know that digitalization is quick but also dirty. The downside is that there are countless supposedly helpful tools out there, many for just one task. With our all-in-one tool, you save labor, time, and manual effort. Set up all your ads directly within one tool. Setting up the final URL and DKI directly in the Channable PPC tool means you don't have to additionally resort to the Google Ads Editor. 

### Manage millions of SKUs with just a few clicks
Suppose you are managing a portfolio of thousands or even millions of products. In that case, you want to set up multiple keywords in the same ad group as it is useful or even necessary to have separate URLs per keyword. Channables dynamic fields allow you to define an unlimited number of final URLs with just a few clicks.

### Highly relevant Ads
Customizing your Google Ads' final URLs is a crucial component to optimizing the Ad Relevance and landing page performance. Besides that, DKI enables you to customize your ads depending on what the user is searching for. Applying those two features cleverly allows you to create highly relevant ads, which are more likely to beat your competitors in the SERP-Game.

### Higher ROI
Highly relevant ads result in less money spent on irrelevant clicks. If your ads are dynamically fitted to the search query, Google only shows the ads when relevant. In addition, a landing page that exactly matches the search query results in a lower churn and a better landing page experience as clicks are more likely to complete the goal of your landing page.

*Are you ready to bring your ads to the next level? Take a deep dive into all the powerful functionalities of the [Channable PPC tool](https://www.channable.com/products/ppc-tool) in a [free and personalized online demo](https://www.channable.com/demo). No strings attached!*

*Already using our PPC tool? Good news! These features are available within the PPC tool without any extra charge. What are you waiting for?*


Optimize your keyword strategy with final URLs and DKI

## What is product feed optimization?
You probably already know that a [feed](https://www.channable.com/blog/blog-what-is-feed-management-and-why-do-you-need-it) is needed if you want to advertize or sell your products on marketplaces, comparison websites, affiliate networks, or social media. Sounds easy, right? Well, in theory it is, but in practice it can get complicated. Every channel has different requirements and specifications about what format your feed should have and the data it should contain. [Google Shopping](https://www.channable.com/integrations/google-shopping-feed) for instance has different requirements than [Amazon](https://www.channable.com/integrations/amazon-product-feed), complicating the integration of your catalog with each channel. Some of these mandatory specifications are for example: title, description, URL, price, product ID, and image description.

Creating a new product feed taking into account these mandatory specifications is the basic best practices if you want to start advertising or selling your products. Having a basic product feed is enough to pass the platform's first “exam” but it will not be enough to make your products excel. If you want your products to get the best results, then you need to focus on product feed optimization.

## Why do you need product feed optimization?
While sources disagree on exactly how many sellers currently compete on Amazon, most estimate between 1.9 and 2.5 million active sellers. And the competition on other platforms such as Google Shopping or Facebook (just to mention a few) has not stopped growing. Meaning that you need to work hard in improving the visibility of your products on each of these channels. How can you do that? There are many things to consider, for instance, your bids or account history, but here we want to talk about the most important one: Optimizing your product feed.

With an optimized product feed, your chosen channels will have a better understanding of your catalog and will be able to match your products with the search queries of the users. The more relevant your product is to a user’s search the more likely the platform will show your product. If the information provided in your feed is quite poor, then other competitors with more complete data will have more chances of reaching these users. 

Optimizing product feeds will not only help the user to find your products but will also make the product more appealing to click on the ad or to finish the purchase, improving your conversion rate. And we bet this is one of your main goals right?

## 5 Tips to optimize your product feed
The first step to take into account with your data feed optimization is to make sure the feed accomplishes all the requirements stipulated by the channel. Once this is done, there are dozens of ways to optimize the data feed, adding value to your product information. Fortunately, we have collected some easy-to-implement tips to help you with the creation of a high-quality product feed. 

### 1. Make sure you use mandatory fields, recommended fields, and optional fields
Usually, platforms distinguish between mandatory, recommended, and optional product attributes. These attributes are ordered in different fields of a product feed. Google Shopping for example makes it mandatory for all products to have a title. 

It is very important to make sure all the mandatory fields are included. Additionally, platforms offer more fields that are not required, but these recommended fields help to have a better understanding of the product, like product type, sale price, size, or shipping information. It is even possible to complement the feed with even more optional fields or custom fields (e.g. information on shipping service). We recommend using as many fields as possible. Remember! The more information you provide, the more likely you are to convince your audience about purchasing your products.
![Campos inglés.PNG](https://media.graphcms.com/04ZE4aGXRwaUzcq3QKTw)

### 2. Categorize your products correctly
Assigning the correct categories in your product feed is vital for your ads to appear in the most relevant searches. Even if it is not compulsory to assign categories to your products on all the platforms (for example the categorization is not mandatory in Google Shopping anymore), we still recommend doing a correct categorization of your products. It will give more clarity about what your products are about and also, it will help your products to appear when users do broad searches for categories, rather than for specific products.

### 3. Optimize your titles and descriptions

Sometimes your titles are the cause of your poor performance. The main problem is that most of the time titles are vague, which makes it hard for the platform to know which search queries to match their products with. Additionally, titles can help your products to be more attractive to users. That's why titles are a key attribute to check and improve in product feed optimization.

A good way to highlight your titles is to add relevant attributes to them. Including data like the brand, color, size, material, or gender in the title can help to increase the success of your sales. Another good choice is to include high-performing keywords. But remember that each platform has different rules on the length and layout of the text. For example, this is what you should consider when optimizing your [titles for Google Shopping](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324415?hl=en) (obviously this may vary per channel):

- Max length: Max 150 characters
- Distinguish between variants: Add the distinguishing details of each variant to the title.
- Don’t include promotional text (things like “buy one get one free”)
- Don’t use capital letters for emphasis.
- Put the most important details first: Users will usually see only the first 70 or fewer characters of your title
- Don’t use extra white spaces

[tip] If you are really interested in creating the perfect Google Shopping feed, you can check our blog about [how to successfully advertise on Google Shopping](https://www.channable.com/blog/blog-how-to-successfully-advertize-google-shopping).[/tip]

### 4. Update your product data and keep it clean
In product feed optimization, it is really important to use up-to-date data to publish your products online. Advertising items that are out of stock or incorrectly priced will lead to unhappy customers. Additionally, your products can be temporarily banned on the platforms. 

Also, if you want to make your product information understandable for the user, it is important to remove the unwanted HTML code. We know this HTML code is vital for your online shop, but we are sure you do not want it to appear on Google Shopping or Facebook Ads.

### 5. Use performance data to exclude products and set up custom labels
It is obvious that not all your products perform the same way. The popularity, margins, profit, and seasonality vary a lot. So why should you treat all your items the same way? [Data such as conversion rate, CTR, revenue/cost, or ROAS](https://www.channable.com/products/channable-insights) can be extremely useful in deciding which products to publish. For instance, you can decide to exclude products with a low profit because you want to allocate your advertising budget accordingly. 
![Analytics EN.PNG](https://media.graphcms.com/b4QNgLbTTCqtpR1JDeSQ)

Also, depending on these metrics, we can assign a specific value for each product in a custom field. For example, top performance, medium performance, and low performance. Once each product has associated a value, we can change different things. For example, we can increase or decrease the bids to get the best possible ROI depending on the performance. 

Considering these examples as inspiration, use your imagination to find hundreds of applications about how you can use performance data in product feed optimization.

## Channable, the solution to optimize your product feed
There are thousands of channels to get your products listed, each of them with unique rules and requirements. That's why it makes sense to automate this process using a product feed generator like [Channable](https://www.channable.com/products/product-feed-management-tool). Apart from providing templates with all the fields required on each channel (more than 2.500 feed templates included), optimizing your product feed is very easy thanks to the “magic” rules you can find in the tool.

With the help of these rules, you can keep your product feed updated, exclude products, modify prices, improve titles and descriptions, apply discounts, remove HTML text, use performance data to create custom fields, etc. And these are just some examples, but the list of possible product feed optimizations made with rules is almost endless. You need to take into account that the effort depends on the quality and completeness of your ‘raw’ product data as exported from your online shop. The rules will let you get the best high-quality product feed possible in just a few clicks!

Data feed optimization sounds complicated to you? With the help of a[ product feed generator](https://www.channable.com/products/product-feed-management-tool) like Channable, it won’t be. If you don’t believe us, try a [free trial account](https://www.channable.com/signup) and check things out for yourself and see how easy it is to implement all these tips in your product feed!


The ultimate guide to product feed optimization

## There is no way around marketplace order management
Did you know that [62.5% of all global online spending in 2020 took place on digital marketplaces](https://www.adweek.com/performance-marketing/the-growth-of-online-marketplaces-in-2021-and-beyond/)? The marketplace share in eCommerce is expected to rise even higher in the coming years, showing why marketplaces are a key component of your online business strategy. For the consumer, they come with the ultimate ease of shopping online in a fast, seamless experience. For online merchants like you, marketplaces can be a goldmine - when handled savvily. One of the most decisive factors when it comes to success on the leading platforms like [Amazon](https://www.channable.com/integrations/amazon-product-feed), [eBay](https://www.channable.com/integrations/ebay), or [Bol.com](https://www.channable.com/integrations/bol-com) is marketplace order management.
### Why a marketplace order requires constant care - or automation
When your order volume increases and/or you start selling on multiple marketplaces, you can easily lose the overview of your marketplace order management. The potential for errors when it comes to stock maintenance, such as overselling or delayed stock updates, is rising. Next to that, it is almost impossible to handle orders from various marketplaces in various backends. Leading eCommerce merchants want to centralize their incoming orders in one place to **gain maximum efficiency and control**.

How can this goal be achieved? With the help of a [marketplace integrator](https://www.channable.com/products/marketplace-integrator)! Next to the centralization of all marketplace orders, a good marketplace integration software offers different services which form a **fully comprehensive marketplace management system**.

## What does marketplace order management entail?
Selling on third party platforms should not overwhelm you. On the contrary, the **sales process on marketplaces should be as smooth and streamlined as possible**. In order to achieve this, you will want an integrated solution to handle your orders and to avoid that extra manual work. 

Essentially, automated marketplace order management will send your orders directly from your (multiple) marketplaces to your online shop, where you can handle everything from one place.

The order functionalities that a marketplace order management tool supports will **depend on the combination of your eCommerce platform and marketplace**. There are two main functionalities that can be (partially) supported by the tool: The handling of the orders and returns, as well as stock updates in real-time directly on the marketplace. 

1. Information about **orders and returns** will be sent from the marketplace to your online shop, and status feedback (such as shipping information or tack & trace codes) will be sent back to the marketplace.   

2. **Real-time updates** about in stock/out-of-stock information or the actual number of products in stock are sent to the marketplace as soon as something changes in the online shop.  

## What else does an automated marketplace integrator offer?
A marketplace integrator is not only able to retrieve and fully synchronize marketplace orders online, it usually has other features.

**API connections** to a variety of marketplaces serve as a two-way communication between your shop backend and your sales channel, exchanging information about your products and automatically updating your listings. This automation omits manual updates of your product offerings or stock information. 

All marketplaces have different requirements for their data input and product attributes but your **original product information can easily be optimized and adjusted** in a marketplace tool. With **rule-based optimization**, “if” and “then” rules modify your product information to match the specs of every marketplace, and filter out the products you don’t want to advertise on.

A marketplace repricer completes the full marketplace automation package by enabling you to control your minimum and maximum price limits and **automatically win the buy box**.

[tip]Read this blog for more information on [‘How to successfully sell on the top eCommerce marketplaces.’](https://www.channable.com/blog/blog-how-to-successfully-sell-on-the-top-ecommerce-marketplaces)[/tip]
## 3 benefits of automated marketplace order management 
To sum up, here are 3 good reasons why you can scale your overall marketplace success through the use of marketplace order management software.

### 1. Save time while scaling your order handling 
You can handle more marketplaces and orders in less time and shift your efforts to a smarter marketplace order management. You speed up the whole order process from the moment the customer clicks the ‘buy’ button to the product(s) leaving your warehouse.

### 2. Easily expand your multichannel strategy 
By centralizing your marketplace order management in one backend, you free up resources to discover new and additional sales channels which can then, in turn, be integrated into your order handling automation. 

### 3. Less marketplace order errors & happy customers
You avoid marketplace advertisements and orders for products that are out of stock and minimize the risk of human errors. Your marketplace orders and shop information will be synchronized so your customers can profit from correct product listings at all times and will be satisfied with their purchase experience.

What do all these benefits have in common? Right, they take you on the road to **more sales and growth in the eCommerce marketplace world.**

*Want to save your seat on this ride? When you are a Channable user, you can discover your [favorite marketplaces](https://www.channable.com/integrations?category=marketplaces) in the tool, or [reach out to our technical support](https://www.channable.com/contact) to see which order functionalities are available for your existing marketplace connection(s).* 

*When you are new to marketplace automation, discover Channable’s marketplace APIs in a [free trial](https://www.channable.com/signup).*


What is marketplace order management to help grow eCommerce business?

## Why sell on Zalando?

The answer to that question is pretty straightforward: as the most significant player in online fashion in Europe, **Zalando offers valuable business opportunities for any fashion brand and retailer**. Offering your products on a large marketplace like Zalando, you'll get access to millions of customers in different markets without doing any marketing of your own. 

The online platform, which originated in Germany as an online shoe store, currently serves more than 46 million customers in over 23 European countries. 

Consumers shop in a wide variety of fashion categories; besides shoes, Zalando offers men's and women's clothing, children's clothes, make-up, lingerie, luggage, and much more. In other words, if you're a fashion-based company, your products will fit into one of Zalando's broad categories.

But this is not the only reason Zalando is attractive to brands and retailers: Zalando handles the payment process and customer service for you. 

Furthermore, external sellers can outsource their logistics process to Zalando with *Zalando Fulfillment Services*. You store your products in the Zalando warehouse, which will manage your products' stock management, packaging, and shipping. This allows a high service level that is difficult to replicate for smaller brands. 

**Another advantage is the low commissions Zalando charges their sellers** and the absence of a sign-up fee. The selling fee consists of fixed monthly charges and a selling commission for every sold product. This commission is based on the product category and ranges between 5 and 25%.

## How to sell on Zalando

If you offer your products on marketplaces already, you know that selling your products on a marketplace is often easier said than done. 

It comes down to three things. You need to:
 
1. Be accepted as a seller
2. Be able to integrate with the marketplace technically
3. Make sure your product data matches the specific requirements of the platform

Channable helps you with the last two.** But before integrating your shop with Zalando and optimizing your data, you need to register as a Zalando Partner.**

## How to become a Zalando Partner

Signing up as a Zalando Partner revolves primarily around proving that you can meet Zalando's standards. The registration process requires a lot of paperwork and technical requirements and can take weeks, so good preparation is vital. 

**Before thinking about selling your products on Zalando, you must:**

1. Have an online store, as well as a (VAT-), registered business
2. Sell products in one of the following categories: clothing, shoes, sportswear, and equipment or accessories
3. Offer free shipping as well as return and be able to provide all related documents; a logistics partner approved by Zalando must do the shipping
4. Be able to guarantee a 100-day return policy

If you fulfill these requirements, you can start the registration process for the [Zalando Partner Program](https://partnerportal.zalando.com/s/article/Get-to-know-Zalando-Partner-Program). 

**Zalando knows two fulfillment options: **

- 'Regular' Zalando partners, who do their fulfillment themselves
- Partners, who use the Zalando Fulfillment Service and send their stock in bulk to Zalando, which then manages the complete fulfillment logistics

Currently, Channable does not offer an integration with Zalando Fulfillment Services yet, but we're working on an implementation as you're reading this. And for the time being, you can easily keep track of all your orders and stock management thanks to our order connection.

**The Registration as Zalando Partner involves two phases:**

First, you apply for the Zalando Partner Program and prepare your documents, including your [KYC ](https://partnerportal.zalando.com/s/article/Know-Your-Customer-KYC)(Know Your Customer). The KYC identifies the contractual parties and is a legal requirement based on the German Money Laundering Act.

After Zalando approves you as a partner, you'll get access to zDirect, the self-service retail operations tool from Zalando. In phase two, you need to complete the [Partner Readiness Checklist](https://partnerportal.zalando.com/partners/s/article/How-to-use-the-Brand-Readiness-Checklist) in zDirect.

You'll find more information about the registration process at Zalando on the [Zalando Partner Portal](https://partnerportal.zalando.com/s/) and in our [Help Center](https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/4410109483154-Introduction-to-selling-on-Zalando).

## Technical integration with Channable

After Zalando approves you as a Zalando partner, we can start with the integration of your webshop into Zalando. Channable works as an integrator, meaning that you upload your product data to Channable, and we then push it to Zalando. This way, we ensure that your product data meets Zalando's requirements and is always up to date.

Before starting the integration, we'd like you to fill in this [form](https://www.channable.com/zalando-signup), even though you've probably had enough paperwork by now. We're asking you this to clarify all necessary information right away so that we can help you optimally from this point on. After filling in the form, you need to invite Channable as an [External Technical Organization using zDirect](https://partnerportal.zalando.com/partners/s/article/Technical-Integration-for-Partners). Once you've succeeded in this, we will start setting up the Zalando connection. Our support team will create the API connection and the order connection. 

For Zalando, you need to use the order connection, as your zDirect environment does not support the handling of orders. With the Channable order connection, all your Zalando orders are sent directly to your online shop, meaning that all your marketplace orders are fully synchronized at any time, saving you valuable time that you can spend on counting your revenue. 

You'll find a more detailed guide on [setting up the Zalando API with Channable](https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360021217679-Setting-up-a-Zalando-API-Process-for-new-Zalando-sellers) in our Help Center.

### Optimize your data for Zalando

**Zalando operates a marketplace business model, meaning that you as a retailer are responsible for selecting the articles and the prices**. With Channable, it’s easy to filter the products you want to offer on Zalando. For example, Zalando only allows products from the latest collection; with our powerful rules, you automatically filter all older items so that they never even reach the platform.

Once you've selected your products, you need to upload your product data to the online Zalando catalog. 

**To make sure your products are accepted, you need to match the Zalando content and image guidelines:**

- All products are required to have an EAN-13 and must be correctly labeled

- Make sure your product images fulfil the specific Zalando policies (e.g. specific color range for the background)

- The products need to be categorized and feature the particular attributes for the given category.

In our [Help Centre](https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360021217679-Setting-up-a-Zalando-API-Process-for-new-Zalando-sellers) you’ll find a more in-depth, step-by-step plan to prepare your product data for Zalando.

## Go live and sell!

Before going live, you’ll be fulfilling a test order, to make sure, everything works all right - your first order of hopefully many to follow!

Selling your products on Zalando might seem like a bit of a headache. However, our Channable API connection with Zalando will make the integration as easy as possible. 

In addition, our technical support will assist you every step of the way and make sure your products are ready to sell on Zalando asap!

**Are you ready to start selling on Europe's leading marketplace Zalando? **

If you’re a Channable user, [reach out to our technical support](https://www.channable.com/contact) to help you with the first steps. If you are new to selling on marketplaces, discover Channable with a [free trial](https://www.channable.com/signup).



The complete guide to selling your products on Europe's leading marketplace Zalando

Being where your customers are is no longer optional for the e-commerce space.

With our newest marketplace integration, we’re empowering you to level up your marketing efforts by instantly optimizing and synchronizing your product catalogs to automatically list your products on Zalando with as little manual work as possible.

Curious how this impacts you directly? With this end-to-end integration, you can grow your business, increase visibility and optimize sales on Zalando with one package.


**We’ve rounded up all the benefits for you: **


- **Seamless API integration**: Connect directly to a marketplace and send your product data and any updates in real-time to the platform.

- **Marketplace management**: Optimize, enrich and manage your product data in a centralized way for all marketplaces

- **Order connection**: Effortlessly sync your order data between Zalando and your webshop.

Ready to future-proof your online sales strategy? Check out how you can [get started ](https://www.channable.com/integrations/zalando)with Zalando now. 


Introducing the Zalando marketplace integration

Running a multichannel retail strategy is a juggling act. Honestly, running a single eCommerce site and a brick-and-mortar store is daunting enough, but when you begin tossing in social commerce, marketplaces, and more, it’s downright overwhelming.

A multichannel strategy is simply offering your products on more than one platform (either in-person or online). A successful multichannel strategy can lead to increased brand awareness, higher sales, and more money in your pocket.

However, the more channels you introduce, the harder it is to keep everything in line. Many brands venturing into multi-channel retail run into at least one hiccup, and they’re often one of five issues.
Let’s break down the top five red flags you might see as you establish your multi-channel presence and what you can do to fix the problem.

## Red Flag #1: Inconsistent cross-channel branding and messaging

If you’re only selling your products on your website, keeping your company’s branding and messaging consistent is relatively easy. But the moment you begin introducing more channels like Amazon, eBay, or Etsy, things get a bit more complicated. Each channel will have unique requirements and nuances, and if one isn’t performing as well as another, you might be tempted to put updating it on the backburner.

But here’s the thing: when you’re presenting your products and brand to new audiences, you want to make sure they form the same impression about your brand whether they’re shopping on your website or Amazon or somewhere else.

If your branding and messaging are inconsistent across your platforms, you risk losing out on sales, and it’ll be significantly harder to build brand awareness.
 
Take [LeSportsac](https://www.lesportsac.com/){nofollow}, the lifestyle brand. They expanded to a multi-channel approach and consistently market their brand and products across their in-person stores, online shops, and multiple marketplaces. As a result, they experienced a 20% increase in average order value and a 7% conversion rate increase.

### How to spot it

Spotting inconsistent messaging and branding is relatively easy, but it can be time-consuming. If you have a computer that enables a split-screen display or a tablet you can set up next to your computer, it’ll make it easy to compare without having to click back and forth between tabs.

On one screen or tab, you’ll pull up the product page on your primary site. This will likely be your brand’s website. On the other, you’ll pull up your brand’s page on another channel. Scroll through your product pages simultaneously to check for discrepancies in word choice, images, specs, etc. If everything matches, then you’re on the right track. If there are any differences, you’ll need to make updates.

### How to solve it

The good news is that Shopify makes this problem really easy to solve. Instead of creating separate brand accounts for every channel you want to sell your products on, you’ll sell on different channels through Shopify.

Shopify offers several [direct channel integrations](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-sales-channels){nofollow} and [third-party channel integrations](https://apps.shopify.com/collections/sales-channels){nofollow} to extend your presence from your site to other channels easily.

## Red Flag #2: Poor inventory management

Especially if one of your channels is a brick-and-mortar store (or even a pop-up), then inventory management becomes infinitely more difficult. If a customer buys something online and you just sold the last one in your store, you have to make an embarrassing call or email.

Even if you’re selling across a couple of online channels, it’ll be harder to track your inventory numbers if your shops aren’t integrated.

### How to spot It

Even if you have one experience where a customer buys something on one channel that you already sold via another, you need to make a change.
 
### How to solve It

The easiest way to take care of this issue is to integrate your channels. This way, all of your inventory numbers will line up so that you know what you have available. If you have a brick-and-mortar store, you can use [Shopify’s POS app](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/sell-in-person){nofollow}, credit card reader, and other [Shopify-enabled retail hardware](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/sell-in-person/hardware){nofollow}

## Red flag #3: Inconsistent customer experience and support

Attracting and retaining customers is a lot like dating in the sense that one bad experience is likely to throw off the entire vibe.

One of the trickiest things about eCommerce is giving your customer the same kind of experience that they’d get if they were shopping in your store. When you’re selling your products in third-party marketplaces, providing your customers with a supportive, nurturing relationship is more challenging.

If your customers have a great experience with your brand on your personal site, but they have a terrible experience with your brand on Etsy, you may lose a customer. Since the last thing we want is to lose customers, the goal is to provide consistently excellent customer support across all channels.

### How to spot it

Spotting this red flag is more challenging because you probably won’t realize something went wrong until you get hit with a negative review about how your brand was super unhelpful on X platform. If you’re getting a fair amount of feedback about one channel, in particular, your brand messaging is likely off.

If you want to proactively check that your customer service is the same across the board, you can run a focus group or case study to see the effect your platforms have on your target customers.

### How to solve it

Keeping your customers happy keeps you in business. Solving support and experience problems often starts with your internal team to ensure everyone’s on the same page about customer interactions.

If there seems to be a hangup with the customer experience somewhere, it can be helpful to map out your customers’ journey from discovery to delivery so you know where you can bolster their experience. You can also take advantage of Shopify’s automation tools and extensions to offer customer support even if you don’t have the staff members available to monitor the site.

Look at [Leesa](https://www.leesa.com/){nofollow}, the mattress company. They provide a seamless customer experience across multiple platforms and use multi-channel advertising to stay at the forefront of their customers’ minds. They’re selling luxury, and you feel that through the white-glove service they offer customers on every channel.

When in doubt, listen to what your customers are saying. You’re always going to get a few people angrily ranting on the internet. But the best way to ensure you’re giving them the kind of experience they want to have with your brand is to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly. Then you can turn the bad and ugly into good and good into extraordinary.

## Red flag #4: Struggles with shipping and returns

In the same vein as managing your inventory, one of the biggest issues that brands run into with multi-channel retail is handling shipping and returns across multiple platforms. If you’re selling your products through a Facebook/Instagram shop and a customer has a negative experience with shipping, they won’t blame Meta. They’ll hurl complaints at you, and if they hurl those complaints on a public forum, it could damage your brand’s reputation.

### How to spot it

If you get frequent messages from customers saying that they bought or returned something and still haven’t received the product or heard anything from you, then you have a transit issue on your hands. Additionally, keep an eye out for reviews or comments mentioning negative shipping and returns experiences and figure out where the disconnect is between purchase and delivery.

### How to solve it

Solving transit issues begins with knowing how your products get from Point A to Point B. You typically have three options for fulfillment: self-fulfillment (you ship or accept items yourself), third-party logistics (someone else ships or accepts your items), and dropshipping (the supplier/manufacturer ships or accepts your items). Depending on your product catalog, you may want to employ multiple methods.

To streamline your fulfillment options and methods across your channels, you can [use Shopify to note where specific items will be stocked](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/shipping/fulfillment-services/custom){nofollow} so you know where they need to be shipped to and from.

## Red flag #5: Trying to manage too many channels

![Red flag 5 - Too many channels.png](https://media.graphassets.com/EevyQ78PSbSl08zwYiuO)

You’re already running a business, so it’s safe to say that you’ve got your hands full. Although a multi-channel retail strategy comes with numerous benefits, if you spread yourself too thin, you run the risk of internally combusting.

It’s much better to choose a few channels that you can manage with ease instead of trying to put your brand up on every single channel available. While having your products in more places is good in theory because it expands your brand’s presence, providing a phenomenal customer experience on fewer channels will help you develop customer loyalty and repeat sales.

Look at [Gymshark](https://www.gymshark.com/){nofollow}. The athleisure brand has skyrocketed to a company value of $1.3 billion, and nearly half of its revenue comes from repeat customers. Instead of selling their products on every channel under the sun, they use a multi-channel marketing strategy to drive traffic to their website, where they know they can provide an incredible customer experience. You can only buy their products on their website or at a pop-up store, and they’re still incredibly successful.

### How to spot it

You’ll know when you’re spread too thin when you start noticing the other four issues mentioned in this guide popping up repeatedly. Or, if you feel like you’re dropping the ball on one or more of your platforms, it’s time to call a team meeting.

### How to solve it

You have a few options here, and it will primarily depend on your budget.

**- Option 1**: Reel things in a bit and stop selling your products on one or more channel(s). When culling the herd, examine which channel is bringing in the least revenue and which channel doesn’t have a high volume of people in your target audience.

**- Option 2**: Hire another person or two to your internal staff and have them manage your different channels to ensure they match your primary website.

**- Option 3**: Partner with a third-party product management platform to use Shopify to its full advantage while you keep doing what you do best: running an amazing business.

## What are the benefits of using Channable for your Shopify multichannel strategy?

![Multi-channel strategy.png](https://media.graphassets.com/IgPFr53R3KBNaovxYacS)

At Channable, we’re dedicated to making your life easier. We understand that you’ve got a million things to do, and running multiple online stores is not the kind of cherry on top that you’re looking for with your busy schedule. That’s where we can help.

We offer a seamless way to manage your products and ads based on your inventory in real-time. Channable has a built-in Shopify plugin that allows you to integrate your Shopify feed with Channable in just a few clicks. Then, we can help you promote your Shopify feed across over 2,500+ price comparison websites, affiliate networks, and marketplaces.

Additionally, you can use our intuitive rules to optimize, enrich, and filter product information to help potential customers discover your brand and keep your messaging consistent across multiple platforms. Plus, you’ll never have to worry about a rogue Google ad showcasing a product that’s sold out when you use Channable.

Last but not least, the platform comes with free technical support to help you whenever you need it, whether it’s about our platform, Shopify, or any of your connections.

Running an effective multichannel strategy doesn’t have to be hard. You can grow your brand without having to worry about semantics. With us, it’s green flags all the way.

What are you waiting for? [Sign up for Channable today and start your free trial today](https://www.channable.com/signup). 

How to spot and solve the red flags in your Shopify multichannel strategy 

Using the right technology makes every company a more successful one, and our focus on shipping powerful features means that Channable customers all over the world can experience the full benefits of our platform to scale their online sales no matter the size.

Many customers face one problem when they scale their online sales: as they grow, so does the volume of their products within Channable – this inadvertently increases the time it takes to manage products on multiple channels with large amounts of data. 


## Next-generation production categorization
![Banner site 97- accuarcy.png](https://media.graphassets.com/FHfAaAN9SSq8MaaFQPFM)

Today, we’re delighted to announce that we’re launching **a brand new feature that allows 
advertisers to instantly categorize millions of products** for Google Shopping, Facebook, Ebay, and many more channels. 

Product categorization when done manually or in a rule-based way can take an incredible amount of time and resources, dragging down the setup time and speed to market your product, which means you’ll either waste time doing manual work or lose competitive advantage – or both! 

That's why our product team has created this new way to categorize products – a feature that allows you to:

- **Go to market faster** by instantly categorizing millions of products 

- **Enjoy reduced channels and marketplace setup time ** by up to 80%

- **Categorize millions of products** for Google Shopping, Facebook, Snapchat, and many other channels and marketplaces

- **Gain flexibility ** by deciding what and how many products should be smartly categorized and how to apply custom rules

- **Get up to 97% accuracy through our machine learning algorithm**, which analyzes millions of data points across different industries and assortments 

- **Achieve real-time categorization** for any new products that enter your feed

## Leveraging the power of machine learning

How does this new feature help you achieve more in less time? 

In machine learning, computers solve hard problems by training them on huge data sets. By analyzing thousands of examples and gradually learning to recognize the patterns, this next-gen technology gives you the ability to work in a more seamless way, without manually doing any work – all while achieving a highly optimized feed. 

This practice works in many cases, and in fact, we use it for our **Smart Categorization **feature so that the more product data we process, the better and more instant the results will be.

Ready to start automation of this process? You can achieve these benefits while saving your team members valuable time by leveraging **Smart Categorization **for your online marketing. 

That’s it for now. Until the next product update! 👋

Ready to future-proof your online sales strategy? Get started with [Smart Categorization](https://www.channable.com/smart-categorization) now. 

New: Smart Categorization brings AI technology to your product feed 

An Expert’s Guide to Google Performance Max Campaigns in 2023

Are you considering leaving your existing [feed management tool](https://www.channable.com/blog/blog-what-is-feed-management-and-why-do-you-need-it)? 

Changing from one system to another can seem a daunting task and that’s understandable. Maybe you’ve had your current platform for many years, uploaded all your data, and trained all your staff on it. 

You might even have become accustomed to its quirks and worked hard to find supplementary workarounds. It will take time and energy to adapt to an alternative. **But if your current system doesn’t meet your needs, don’t let the migration process be an obstacle to achieving results!**

Careful planning and support from your new provider can help you move through this transition period without the stress. Once you are over the mental hurdle of migrating, you will realize you were putting up with shortcomings that could easily have been resolved a long time ago.

**Check out our seven core steps to a smooth migration: **

## 1.  Define your reasons for switching

First, clarify your reasons for changing. Do you need more exposure for your products? To streamline integration with online marketplaces? Improve analytics? Synchronize order data? Do all these things faster and more cheaply? Whatever your reasons for changing your feed management tool, remind yourself – and discuss them with your team – to get everyone on board with the need for the change.

## 2. Define success 

Once you have defined your reasons for change, the next step is to analyze where you are, what your needs are, and what you are looking to achieve with the new tool. What are the challenges with the current setup? Make the case for the new tool by showing how it can overcome these challenges. You will then be able to make an accurate comparison of the different options available to you. 

For example:
 
- [ ] **Problem**: Delays waiting for scheduled updates on orders, managing orders on different sites, and meeting different listing requirements.

- [ ] **Need**: Marketplace integration - a tool with integrated API connections to push product listings to all major marketplaces. An order connection that allows everything to be performed in real-time.

- [ ] **Successful outcome**: Product data is automatically updated, and immediate feedback is received from the designated marketplace, highlighting any errors. All orders can be managed from one place.

This self-reflection must cover your entire ecosystem to support the optimal design methodology. Then you can do your research and compare the different options available to you.

Perhaps you have had personal recommendations from existing clients of feed management tools or you have a list of potential tools that you have compiled over time from your own desk-based research. 

It is important to refine this list by spending some time on the providers’ websites, assessing the [specific features](https://www.channable.com/how-channable-works) of the tools and to what degree they meet the requirements you have set out. 

> Does the provider offer feed management, PPC, and marketplace integration from one platform, for example? Channable users often comment on our functionality as a key selling point over our competitors. Ease of data migration should also form a core part of your decision-making process - what are the options and how does your potential new provider support this? 

Once you have got a shortlist of providers that meet your needs, review sites can often help solidify your decision. Many of our clients used Trustpilot, Shopify App, Capterra, and G2, for example. 

## 3. Align deadlines

Make sure transformation deadlines are aligned to preserve your business performance. Make a clear transition schedule, which is shared and communicated to all parties, and map out your data migration plan. As a safety margin, the dates between the end of your old subscription and your new one starting can overlap by a few days to ensure that you don't end up without an active feed.

## 4. Create a channel strategy 

To help you with your planning you can create a strategy by the type of channel you are using. Not all platforms have the same requirements. For example, you can separate the marketplaces from the other channels because these are the platforms that require the most technical investment. Start by migrating the simplest channels and work with your team to migrate the more specific platforms over time.

With Channable, adding a new feed to your platform can be completed in two easy stages:

- **Adding a new feed**

Select the webshop/project for which you want to create the new export feed. Next, click on the 'Feeds' tab which is located on the left-hand side of the tool. To add a new export feed, click 'Add new feed'.

- **Selecting country, feed, market, and sub-market**

This will redirect you to the setting tab of the new export feed. There you can choose a name for the feed, the country to which you want to export, the export feed itself, and what type of market it is you have. When you have selected a feed click continue.  

## 5.  Data migration - assess your feed requirements

You have probably had to apply optimization rules in the past because your import(s) was not suitable for one or more marketing platforms? Check if your new provider supports the data feed formats of your chosen marketplaces.

There are two different ways of exchanging data (your items in this instance) between two systems – by data feed or by APIs. 
![02 Feed transfer - 7 ways to overcome the fear.png](https://media.graphassets.com/z2lwXo9PQPeVk7gkaorq)
1. **In a traditional feed-based exchange arrangement**, the system or party that is supplying information creates a file with all the required information in it (the data feed). This file is usually updated regularly to keep up with any changes. The party that receives the information regularly accesses the file, usually within the same interval that the feed is generated.

Google Shopping, Beslist, Facebook, Kelkoo, and LeGuide all use data feeds and reach thousands to millions of users every day. 

2. **With an API**, any data format that is mutually supported can be sent, and the systems are no longer required to keep reading all data. Instead, data can be sent at any time and updated immediately. Several major products such as Google Ads, Marktplaats, eBay, and Amazon use APIs to connect.

Given that APIs enable more advanced and more timely information exchange, their use is only likely to grow in the years ahead but, in the meantime, it is important that your solution supports both options. 

## 6. Try it out!

Concerns about the viability of the new platform will often form a big part of the apprehension surrounding migration. Will the new platform do what it claims? Is it worth the hassle? That’s why most providers provide a free trial of the service so users can try it before committing. 
![03 Feed visual - 7 ways to overcome the fear.png](https://media.graphassets.com/e6UN376NQfeJ7Rxs5Ukd)
Use this trial run as a true pilot – test it out with your team - what it is like with the new tool versus your previous solution? Let your team familiarize themselves with the platform. Is it easy to use? Does it improve workflows?

If you are in a research phase and you are investigating a move to Channable, the best solution is to proceed with a free trial. You can [register for free](https://www.channable.com/signup) on our site, create an account and navigate through the features at your own pace. Or if you’re at a more exploratory stage in which you need help or guidance, you can also [request a demo ](https://www.channable.com/demo)with one of our team members who will be happy to take you through the tool and discuss your needs. 

## 7.  Inform your partners 

The platforms - and therefore the contacts - you work with on a daily basis will also need to be informed of the tool change. By informing your contacts, you get everyone on the same page, minimizing the chances of being surprised by unaddressed issues. Everyone will have time to prepare for this change and to support you in the best way possible.
 
At Channable, we know that migration from one tool to another can be a source of stress for our customers. That's why we do everything we can to support you throughout the entire process. 

Implementing our feed management and PPC automation tool should never become one of your business challenges! Trust us to ensure your migration runs smoothly with no impact on your day-to-day business (well, only the positive ones)!

7 ways to overcome the fear in product data migration 

Most of the people I speak to look at their Performance Max or Standard Shopping setup and wonder what they can do to improve it. 

You can’t control what keywords you show for. Audiences are limited. Negative keywords are misleading. Manual bidding is not fair. So what can you actually do to improve performance? 

Improving Google Shopping, and much of Google Ads in today’s world is less about direct tactics and more about nudging the machine in the right direction. 

There are three components to Google Shopping:

1. The feed
2. The campaign
3. The data

Today, I will show you how to make changes to each component and get better performance for Google Shopping — regardless of whether you run Performance Max (Smart Shopping) or Standard Shopping campaigns. 

It all starts with your feed, and it’s not as confusing as you might think. 

## 1) Add missing attributes to your feed
Over the years, I have learned that feed optimization is an ambiguous word. It means a lot of different things, so I have distilled it down to two specific optimization tactics: 

1. Adding missing attributes
2. Improving existing attributes

An attribute is often also called a field — it’s the titles, descriptions, product types, etc in your Google Shopping Feed. 

Before you start optimizing certain parts of your feed, you need to add missing attributes. This is a step that most PPC managers miss in their work with feeds. They jump straight to optimizing titles (which is also important), but first, you need to get all the right attributes in the feed. 

Here is a list of required and recommended attributes to add:

![Blog Image 2 Table 6-step goolge shop optimization.png](https://media.graphassets.com/WB1WPx0Q6a51OYWZUYLU)

Once you have added the relevant attributes, you should start optimizing the individual attributes — the first being your title. 

## 2) Optimize your titles and others
Once you have added all relevant attributes, it’s time to optimize the most important ones in the following order: 

1. Titles
2. Product type
3. Custom labels
4. Google product category
5. Descriptions

We will review custom labels in the next section, but let’s first take a look at each attribute here.

### Optimizing titles
Here’s a quick overview of how you can optimize titles: 

1. Add category and brand to the product title
2. Add size, material, and other specifics
3. Rewrite them manually if you HAVE to

![Blog Image 1 6-step goolge shop optimization.png](https://media.graphassets.com/GAOVj0gAQpC813xbBBC8)

Once you have finished titles and product types, you can proceed to apply custom labels. 

Optimizing your entire feed is a topic in itself, and I recommend our article on [Google Shopping feed management](https://savvyrevenue.com/blog/google-shopping-feed-optimization/)

## 3) Apply custom labels
A Custom Label is a way to group products together across brands and product types without adhering to any set list of values. An example is aggregating conversion rate data for all products on sale vs not on sale. 

But you can do anything with custom labels. What we use custom labels for the most is to find performance outliers. Some of the custom labels we apply are: 

- Pricing tiers
- Discount or not
- Seasonality
- Product score
- Bestseller status
- New vs existing product
- In-stock status (across sizes, colors, etc)

Here’s a further explanation of each custom label:

**Pricing tiers**
 - Performance differences can often be found across pricing tiers. For some, it means that high-priced items have no immediate conversions, or that products under $10 aren’t profitable. 

**Discount or not**
 - Discounted products often convert better because, well, they are discounted so their price is better and there is a sense of urgency.

**Seasonality**

- Sandals, shorts, and summer dresses convert best when it’s summer, but can lie dormant most of the year.

**Bestseller status**
- This has to be the number from your eCommerce platform. Just taking the numbers from Google Ads makes little sense — Google already has these. 
- Another important note is that you can’t take bestsellers from across your site as a whole. It has to be top 3-5-10 per category preferably. 

**New product vs existing**
- If you have strong products within existing categories, your new products might have difficulty taking over from existing products because of their historical data. 
- Another aspect is if you constantly add new products that Google tests out, you might see a lower ROAS/revenue without any benefit. 

**In-stock status** (across sizes, colors, etc)
- There is already an in-stock attribute, yes, but that’s solely for the individual product variant (product, color, size). This custom label should instead track when the bestselling product variants go out of stock — as in when size 7-10 in shoe size goes out of stock.
- This is especially relevant for apparel, but also interior design products.

**Private label products**
- eCommerce businesses usually want their private label products treated separately from the rest of the products. 
- If you only have one private label brand, then this is easy and doesn’t require the use of custom labels. If you have many, it becomes more cumbersome and custom labels can be useful. 

Custom Labels can be applied in one of two places: 

1. Directly from your back-end
2. In your feed optimization tool

Some of the values can be built using your feed optimization tool even if the data isn’t in there directly. Here’s a simple example of creating a custom label for whether a product is on sale or not:

- If sale_price exists = set custom label “On Sale”
- If sale_price not exists = set custom label “Not on Sale”

Once you have applied your first custom labels, you need to analyze the data and find product segments that are worth separating from your existing Google Shopping setup. 

## 4) Find product segment outliers
I will start off by saying that it’s not always the case that there are performance differences across any of the product segments listed above.

But there are times when you should use them to:

- Better allocate budget
- Set dedicated ROAS targets
- Follow up on individual performance

A typical use-case is bestsellers, but this has been talked about for years, so let’s take another example: **New products vs existing products**.

Let’s say you create this custom label, and find that you spend 95% of your budget on products that have been active on your eCommerce store for more than a year. 

But your last year’s strategy has been to expand your product portfolio a lot, so you have actually added 25% more products to your eCommerce store. Spending 5% of your budget on your new products can indicate that: 

1. You have the wrong products
2. Your new products are too similar to existing products
3. Your ROAS target doesn’t allow new products to get launched

As PPC managers, we can’t do anything about A or B. What we can do is figure out if C) is a limiting factor. To do that, we need to segment the campaigns to change the budget and ROAS targets.

## 5) Segment your campaigns
Segmenting campaigns is a cornerstone tactic with Performance Max (and standard Google Shopping). With Performance Max, you don’t have many options to improve the campaign performance, but you should use the options that are available to you. 

Two of the options to improve Performance Max are:

1. Setting different ROAS targets
2. Applying different budgets

You can use this for a couple of different scenarios: 

- Different product categories
- Different brands (or Private Label brands)
- Different product segments (with Custom Labels)

By combining campaign segmentation, you have options to create different campaign structures that you can use to nudge Google Shopping: 

**Create a campaign each for:**

1. Private label products with a low ROAS target
2. “External” products with a high ROAS target

This will nudge Google Shopping to spend more money on private label products yet still maximize exposure for the external products you carry on your site.

**Create a campaign each for:**

1. Spring/Summer collections
2. Fall/Winter collections

This enables you to set higher budgets, lower ROAS targets, and overall tell Google it’s time to push the spring/summer products when the season starts — and lower the effort on fall/winter products. 

The sky's the limit and the best way to segment your campaigns depends on your business. 

## 6) Learn when to use Standard Shopping
Performance Max (Shopping only) is a great way to get started with a baseline Shopping campaign, but sometimes you need to use the standard Shopping campaigns to get the best results. 

With Standard Shopping you get more insights and an ability to influence the performance:

- Seasonality Bid Adjustments (will open up in the future)
- [Prioritize product segments](https://savvyrevenue.com/blog/google-shopping-campaign-structure/) over others
- Search term visibility
- Minimum and maximum bidding caps

This only applies if you actually have something that differentiates your products — and it can’t be directly correlated with the performance (revenue, ROAS, etc.) that you're experiencing right now. Because then Smart Bidding will take care of it for you. 

## Conclusion
Too many Google Shopping setups are created and left alone. Often advertisers, or agencies, will optimize a bit of the feed, change the ROAS target now and again, but mainly leave the campaigns alone.

That’s a mistake. 

As outlined above, there are several ways to improve the performance of your Google Shopping campaigns, and if you feel overwhelmed, they can be narrowed down to a few key aspects:

- Add missing attributes to your feed
- Optimize core feed attributes
- Apply and analyze custom labels
- Segment your campaigns
- Change to standard Shopping for options

The only option that shouldn’t be on the table is not doing anything. 


The 6-Step Google Shopping optimization process to improve ROAS and revenue

We want to help you make the most of it. Below are actionable trends and strategies from our agency partners and experts including:

- Bennett Wissak, Director of Growth at [Maison MRKT](https://www.maisonmrkt.com){nofollow}

- Diederik Koonings, Platform Partnership Manager at [Channable](https://www.channable.com/)

- Bas van Wijk, Online Marketing Consultant at [Multiply](https://www.multiply.nl){nofollow}

- Robert Smit, Product Team Lead at Channable

Gain insights you can implement now to help your eCommerce strategy grow and understand some of the opportunities and benefits the holidays can bring.

## A positive outlook
Despite the uncertainty last year, [Adobe](https://business.adobe.com/resources/sdk/holiday-shopping-report-2021.html?faas_unique_submission_id=D8AE5E6B-93E5-F6A6-0BFF-65E7261D6F6A){nofollow} states that eCommerce sales still grew **8.6%** and a massive **44%** over 2019, the last pre-COVID season breaking over $200 billion in online sales for the first time in the US. 

In the Netherlands, [McKinsey](https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/survey-dutch-consumer-sentiment-during-the-coronavirus-crisis){nofollow} states that over **55%** of consumers have tried a new shopping behavior within the past three months, **23%** saying this change took place in either their retailers, store visits, or online shopping providers. This further strengthens the reason for an omni-channel strategy.
![RE.png](https://media.graphassets.com/XiBdw2ToS2uaucG9e3Yg)

Even before the pandemic, online sales were trending up, with more people shopping online than in-stores. A whopping **142.2 million** shopped online, vs **124 million** in-store according to the [National Retail Federation](https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/thanksgiving-draws-nearly-190-million-shoppers){nofollow}.

While these trends are great news for online advertisers, consumers did face some challenges when shopping online including reasons such as: 

- Out of stock items

- Weaker season discounts

- Extended holiday sales period 

The last of which seems to start earlier and grow longer each year resulting in less focus and impact. 

**75% **of all retailers are offering discounts before Black Friday, and many retailers are extending Black Friday deals to last days or even weeks, as stated by research done by [Adobe](https://www.adobe.com/content/dam/www/us/en/adi/2020/pdfs/Adobe_Holiday_Forecast_Press.pdf){nofollow}.

## Key Black Friday strategies for your eCommerce ads
Acknowledging these trends, we want to help you prepare and avoid pitfalls, identifying some actionable strategies you can implement into your online advertising strategy this holiday season.

### 1. Prevent out of stock ads
![Step 1- checking stock.png](https://media.graphassets.com/rgTNrImTBWlKLutogmgu)
Are your ads displayed when and where you need them? With more than **20%** of eCommerce revenue generated in the holiday season, making sure your items and ads are up to date is imperative.

Normally, ads are updated once every 24 hours on feed based platforms such as **Google** and **Meta** (Facebook and Instagram ads). 

With a [data feed management solution](https://www.channable.com/products/product-feed-management-tool), stock updates can be scheduled more frequently, leading to **fewer out of stock ads**, and syncing your items better across platforms, enabling a smoother omni-channel ad strategy.

### 2. Test emerging platforms in your omni-channel strategy
![Step 2 A- omnichannel strategy.png](https://media.graphassets.com/WU0Jio27TGqHQFCrCsdL)
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" are wise words for many aspects of life, but not eCommerce. What worked six months or a year ago, may not have the same results or relevance now. Audiences, interests, and attention are constantly shifting. Your ads and online strategy should also be flexible enough to adopt new trends and test platforms.

Bennett Wissak, Director of Growth at [Maison MRKT](https://www.maisonmrkt.com){nofollow}, states that they are always testing new channels in their client's marketing mix to reach better results.

Maison MRKT takes a holistic approach when selecting channels and never ties itself to a single platform. This approach enables the agency to be fluid with ad spend and maximize success in a given timeframe. 

![Step 2 B- Holistic approach copy@2x.png](https://media.graphassets.com/rVka7nI8TvSdMdPprW8y)

While they're currently, focusing on [Meta](https://www.channable.com/integrations) and [Google](https://www.channable.com/integrations/google-shopping-feed), they've also seen performance pick up on other channels such as [TikTok](https://www.channable.com/blog/tiktok-dynamic-showcase-ads-setup-channable), [Pinterest](https://www.channable.com/integrations/pinterest), and [Snapchat](https://www.channable.com/integrations/snapchat) as well.

The biggest breakout campaign type they have recently seen is [Performance Max](https://www.channable.com/blog/performance-max-campaigns) from Google. Performance Max uses machine learning to serve ads across Google’s entire network including search, shopping, YouTube, Gmail, and more. They have been pleased with the results so far.

On the marketplace side, Diederik Koonings, Platform Partnership Manager at Channable, says Amazon is a favorite for its massive **traffic volume**, **brand recognition**, and **ease of entry** (you don't even need a webshop to sell). That being said, Amazon is so massive it's hard to stay up to date on all its features. 
![Step 2 B- Amazon buy box.png](https://media.graphassets.com/kcZBPcU8S5uN2pN5gcCw)

Diederik says, advertising in **multiple regions**, optimizing your bidding strategy for the [**Buy Box**](https://www.channable.com/blog/win-amazon-buy-box-increase-sales), and implementing **Amazon ads**, are a few ways you can benefit even more from this marketplace and Amazon's ecosystem.

### 3. Order management and automation
This can be seen as the other side of out of stock items, ensuring your clients get their orders on supported marketplaces. With a marketplace integrator, you can manage all orders in one place. No more **logins**, **multiple accounts**, or **multitasking** across platforms.
![Step 3 API INTEGRATION@2x.png](https://media.graphassets.com/Sr0UGXSHTXCBhq5f3tyQ)
Selling on multiple eCommerce marketplaces often causes a lot of time spent on order handling. A marketplace integrator is able to retrieve orders in real-time with API connections and fully synchronize all your marketplace orders on marketplaces, such as [Amazon](https://www.channable.com/integrations/amazon-product-feed) or [eBay](https://www.channable.com/integrations/ebay). 

This results in automatically sending all your order information, updated stock levels, shipping, and more directly to your online shop, where you can finally handle everything from one place.

### 4. Add social commerce and ads to the mix
![Step 4- 97- genZ@2x.png](https://media.graphassets.com/bX3RXylBQpabrZbM4GPv)
Social platforms are becoming the starting point of the customer journey. On some platforms and regions, the customer never leaves the social channel and the entire transaction takes place in-app. 

This is now a crucial aspect of eCommerce and should not be ignored if you want to maintain growth and stay on top of trends.

- [97%](https://theinfluencermarketingfactory.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/social-commerce-report.pdf){nofollow} of Gen Z consumers say they use social as their top source of shopping inspiration

- [⅓](https://sproutsocial.com/insights/data/harris-insights-report){nofollow} of consumers use social to learn about a brand or company before purchasing

Robert Smit, Product Team Lead at Channable, quotes: 

> Selling on social media represents an exciting new opportunity for brands and retailers. Even if you start small to find your footing in the community, don't worry. Just make sure you have a presence and having a complete profile across the main players can offer credibility and brand awareness to a wide audience and is easy to set up.


Bas van Wijk, Online Marketing Consultant at [Multiply](https://www.multiply.nl){nofollow}, has found success with a mix of social advertising including Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Talking strategy, an example of a campaign that worked for Multiply, is a **dynamic re-marketing** campaign on **Facebook**. 

With this campaign type, you can show products that people have previously viewed on the website or placed in the shopping cart, without having made a purchase. Adding in a good discount, they will be more inclined to buy it.

### 5. Create a successful and unique ad strategy
![Step 5- money at the beginning of the month.png](https://media.graphassets.com/Ke4PEuTjqEFwzCL1cdgr)
Bennett and his team at Maison MRKT are always looking for innovative strategies to help their clients maintain and improve their performance. 

Two strategies worth highlighting are:

- **Use reach objectives**: In lower-funnel campaigns during Black Friday use reach objectives to maintain a low CPM. The idea is that the offer will speak for itself, so rather than trying to attribute sales to people clicking through their ads, they’ve gone after getting the message in front of the most people possible with very encouraging results.

- **Prorate budgets**: Focusing budgets at the beginning of the month can have a big impact. Costs are often lower earlier in the month, making retargeted audiences as large as possible. They then help prospects convert with automated catalog sales campaigns during the final week of the month when sales typically peak.
	
Bas shares that Multiply has found success with a few interesting strategies:

- **Banners**: In the run-up to special (holiday) days, make sure you already start creating awareness in the form of banners. You can do this through various platforms such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, etc). The average click price is cheaper than on the holidays themselves and you also make sure that your target audience knows that you are participating and may have some great sales.
 
- **Optimize Seasonal Bidding**: Use seasonal bid adjustments in Google Ads to optimize bidding during short sale periods (less than 7 days). 

- **Landing pages**: Create a holiday landing page in which you can already give a hint in the days prior to the sale and in which the most popular products can be found on the actual days. This can even be further extended by warming up your audience with a countdown for holiday sales by sending newsletters.

- **Local Campaigns**: Get more traffic to the shop with targeting via local campaigns, fully using an omni-channel approach by blending on and off-line.

Testing and analyzing are always essential though, as maintaining an omni-channel strategy is always shifting. 

## Key learnings
- Identify top performers and prevent out of stock items

- Test emerging platforms to see if they fit in your marketing mix

- Manage orders and automate where needed

- Include social commerce in your advertising strategy

- Do not settle and test new strategies and platforms for your perfect omni-channel strategy

Ultimately, there is no one silver bullet that will work for every business. But with so much to gain over the holiday season, it’s essential to think things through and see if there are easy ways to adjust your strategy and increase your online presence.

Want to explore more tips and trends? Check out the [blog](https://www.channable.com/blog) section of our website to find some inspiration.

Black Friday and the Holiday Season: Actionable tips and strategies for 2022

Microsoft Vertical Ads is the new way to go if you want to optimize your advertising strategy. Powered by dynamic data feeds, they offer a more personalized way to reach audiences in specific categories. 

Vertical ads focus on the information potential customers are looking for, persuading them to buy your product by presenting them with rich ad experiences that stand out from the crowd. But how does this work and what are the benefits for your business?

In this article, we will not only explain how they work, we will also offer you a step-by-step guide on how to use Vertical Ads with Channable.  

## What are Microsoft Vertical Ads?

Microsoft’s latest addition to their ad solutions are Vertical Ads. These ads are aimed at specific industries and use industry-specific dynamic data feeds to create ads on the Microsoft Audience Network. 

The belief that customers search for very different types of information in different sectors lays at the foundation of the new ad solution. A customer looking for a place to buy groceries will have profoundly different search criteria than a customer looking to book a cruise for the summer. 

For groceries, store location, opening hours or organic attributes might be important points, the person looking to book a cruise will be interested in departure and destination ports and peer reviews.

Microsoft Vertical Ads have been created to address the needs of specific industries like automotive, travel and financial services. They use search intent data, combined with a deep understanding of user needs, offering a richer ad experience to potential buyers.

![Cars for sale search.png](https://media.graphassets.com/iRThKElbSr2u41BDV9vc)

As Microsoft explains: 

> “Using Microsoft’s audience intelligence, you can provide the appropriate content to the right audience at the right time and drive consumers towards being lead-ready by delivering the content that they have demonstrated interest in”. At this time, Automotive is the only industry in which Vertical Ads are globally available, but other industries are expected to be added soon.

## The power of Automotive Vertical Ads: Delivering high-quality experiences for advertisers
![Experience visual.png](https://media.graphassets.com/VpxgDVNBQAG43CnWju8G)

For users in the automotive space interested to start using Microsoft Vertical Ads in order to increase their business, Channable has created dedicated templates to easily feed the right data directly from your database into the ads. The templates will ensure the correct data to automatically be displayed in the correct fields in the Ads, enabling customers to go live faster. 

The partnership between Microsoft and Channable enables the automotive industry to break through in this crowded marketplace, while minimizing the time and resources generally required to set up and manage automotive campaigns. As Nitin Hegde, Principal Product Manager at Microsoft stated: 

>  “[Microsoft Advertising](https://www.channable.com/integrations/microsoft-advertising) is committed to delivering rich feed-based vertical ad products that engage consumers and deliver high-quality traffic for advertisers. We’re excited to partner with Channable, who have built-in support for our vertical feed formats and have recently added in schema validation and support for Automotive Inventory Ads."

According to Nitin Hedge, with Automotive Inventory ads now generally available in over 90+ markets, customers of Channable and Microsoft Advertising should find it easy to get up and running and begin capturing high-quality leads from across the Microsoft Advertising network. 

## 4 reasons why adding Microsoft Vertical Ads to your advertising portfolio is a great idea

<iframe width="900" height="410" src="https://www.microsoft.com/en/videoplayer/embed/RE4XKPB?pid=11ab4f8e-8240-529e-f6ca-c32fcbcbc0a3video-" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The Automotive industry has been through some challenging times in the past years and unfortunately they are not over yet. However, advertising opportunities for the industry are plentiful. 

Research has shown that online searches for automotive are up 17% since 2020 and 48% since 2019 (source: Microsoft internal data, US, January 2019 - December 2021) on the Microsoft Search Network, and Search was the most used digital channel across automotive buyers.

This means that there are many opportunities to reach automotive shoppers in the search for their perfect ride. Imagine what adding personalized contextual ads can do for their experience and decision making process! The benefits of Vertical Ads in this process are clear:

### 1. Richer experience

In Microsoft Vertical Ads, automotive sellers can increase the click-through-rate (CTR) by offering a richer experience by showcasing good images with timely and relevant information. 

Displaying mileage, price, trims, color and other details at a first glance helps potential buyers to shorten the customer journey and decision-making process. 

Furthermore, the setup of these ads already enhances engagement before the audience has even clicked the ad.  

### 2. More volume

With these ads, it is much easier to reach car shoppers that are closer to the transaction stage of the customer decision journey where they make a purchase. 

Reaching them in the stage where they are making comparisons is the best time to connect, leading to higher volume. 

### 3. Saving time

Vertical Ads save marketers valuable time, as they eliminate the need to create individual ads for the Microsoft Audience Network. 

Data and images can be uploaded in bulk and will automatically create audience ads or search ads. If your potential buyer has shown interest in specific items, Microsoft will match the items in your feed by using AI. The feeds are easy to set up. 

### 4. Better results

No keywords are required for these ads, as Microsoft AI dynamically generates them. You can use feeds to generate your ads faster, also ensuring accuracy as inventory and prices change. With tracking templates and conversion goals, you can optimize your Microsoft Vertical Ads. 

Tracking templates can be added at different levels; account, campaign, ad, ad group, keyword or feed item. By using URL tracking, you will know precisely how visitors got to your website. 

Standard performance reports can be downloaded by navigating to **Reports** > **Reports** > **Performance** > either **Campaign**, **Ad**, or **Keyword**, and feed item reporting is also available for Vertical ads.

In general, the results in Automotive are very positive. A 2021 internal report by Microsoft showed that advertisers running Automotive Ads on average saw the following results: 

-  6-15% incremental click rate lift
-  3-8% conversion rate lift
-  28-40% lower cost per click than their corresponding non-brand targeted text ads 

Paul Schuurhof, Performance Lead Automotive Mediaventions, [Gaspedaal](https://www.gaspedaal.nl/){nofollow} is pleased with the results: 

![Quote.png](https://media.graphassets.com/zEU7PcrDS2MuRONhCQOg)

## How to create Microsoft Vertical Ads with Channable – a step-by-step guide

Adding new data feeds through Channable is very easy. Below, you will find a step-by-step guide to set this up for your Vertical Ads: 

1. Go to “feeds” and click on “add new feed” 
 ![pasted image - 0.png](https://media.graphassets.com/ORXO2jpTS6ogsVw567zi)

2. Search for “Microsoft Vertical Ads” and select it.
![pasted image - 01.png](https://media.graphassets.com/X2H4vlrmRNmYA4vM0vs1)

3. Choose the country you want to target and select “Automotive Inventory Ads” as the market. Next, give your feed a name and click “Continue”.
![pasted image - 02.png](https://media.graphassets.com/MtJRz1zWROaMbvCAHGnf)
 
4. There is no need to set a category. You can skip this step.
![pasted image - 03.png](https://media.graphassets.com/GbOchnhZRxCS5P8o7P3K)

5. Use the rules to optimize your ads.
![pasted image - 04.png](https://media.graphassets.com/hOfXtrsQUCnciJd9UYan)
 
6. Map your fields to the required fields. When you are done, click on “Save and run”
![pasted image - 05.png](https://media.graphassets.com/jmgnj4XNTsanIeoy6bU1)

7. Check the quality of your feed and try to implement the recommendations.

![pasted image - 06.png](https://media.graphassets.com/XBXS8hhGSvOtQfyqZKOl)

8. Check the preview of your feed and copy the created feed URL into Microsoft Vertical Ads.
![pasted image - 07.png](https://media.graphassets.com/rof62BGPR1K1yfjbD8Qk)

After completing these steps, you are set up for success and ready to start enjoying the benefits of Microsoft Vertical Ads. As soon as the Ads for other categories (Travel and Finance) are released, templates will be made available for those categories as well. 

Why wait? Get a head start on the competition and start enjoying the benefits for your business now. Learn more on [the website](https://www.channable.com/).

> If you are not a Microsoft Advertising customer yet, we have partnered with Microsoft Advertising to offer you an introductory coupon to get started. Please visit [Contact sales - Microsoft Advertising](https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en-us/resources/support/contact-sales?s_cid=en-us-acq-onemsft-src_mpn-sub_0-flx_verticalads) and submit the form.  

Microsoft Vertical Ads: How to use them with Channable

## 1. Focus on efficiency, and automate your processes.

One of the first things you can do is critically assess your operational efficiency. This includes having a clear understanding of your overhead costs. For example: Which processes are essential, and which can be streamlined or even eliminated? 

Using a [feed management tool](https://www.channable.com/blog/blog-what-is-feed-management-and-why-do-you-need-it) will help you optimize and automate all of your product feeds without having to invest extra time or resources. 

You won’t have to add prices and inventory stock changes manually, for one thing, and you’ll have control over the product information you share online. By creating qualitative feeds, you’ll be able to easily promote your products on thousands of advertising platforms, marketplaces, affiliate networks, and price comparison websites.

## 2. Be strategic with your marketing dollars.
![Strategy.png](https://media.graphassets.com/oIDOnRLQiiLxEqDfK5oB)
When a recession is looming, retailers often respond by slashing their marketing budget. But actually, it’s important to make sure you’re marketing your products strategically – and that means spending differently, not necessarily less. 

As [Harvard Business Review](https://hbr.org/2009/04/how-to-market-in-a-downturn-2) suggested during the last recession: “Take a scalpel rather than a cleaver to the marketing budget.”  
 
**Remember**: People don’t stop spending money during a recession – they simply spend less. By allocating most of your marketing resources to your best-selling products, you’ll be able to maintain their strength for your core market.

The key is to make every dollar in your budget go further and work harder. That includes investing in the right analytics tools to help you get a clear picture of who your customers are, what they’re buying, and why a seamless shopping experience matters more than ever. 

Using behavioral analytics, for instance, can help you understand exactly how a customer interacts with your business. You’ll learn how they first found you and what parts of your website they like to visit. 

You’ll also be able to track the ad campaigns they’ve seen and responded to; the products they buy (and how often); and the total amount of money they’ve spent with you in the past and will likely spend in the future.

## 3. Identify your highest-value customers, products, and channels.
According to [one recent study](https://review42.com/resources/customer-retention-statistics/), 65 percent of business comes from repeat customers. So rather than casting a wide net to attract new customers, you should target the shoppers who have been consistently returning to your site. 

Begin with a review of your product offerings and pricing models. You can identify the items with the highest profit margins and then automate your feeds to [advertise](https://www.channable.com/products/ppc-tool) and [showcase](https://www.channable.com/products/product-feed-management-tool) them. Similarly, determine which channels have performed best and then include them in a multichannel advertising strategy.
 
With [the right data insights](https://www.channable.com/products/channable-insights) in place, your sales and advertising tactics can hit your targets with greater precision. As we mentioned previously, behavioral analytics can give you valuable insights about your customers. 

Real-time data on product performance will also give you a clear view of your highest- and lowest-performing products so you can automate product segmentation. Data insights can also help you optimize your ad campaign goals based on ROAS or CPS rates.

## 4. Keep your online presence consistent and up to date.

Have you ever clicked on a Google Shopping ad, only to land on the business’s webpage and discover the product is out of stock? Nothing frustrates an online shopper more than discovering the item they want is no longer on sale – or even worse, no longer available. 

An obvious solution is to manage your inventory and keep your product feeds [up to date across all channels](https://www.channable.com/products/marketplace-integrator). By updating your feeds multiple times a day, you can adjust your prices in relation to your competitors, add promotions for select products, and ensure your inventory is always accurate. To increase your online reach, you can also use feed templates to build high-quality data feeds. 

## 5. Show your loyal customers a lot of love.
![Loyal.png](https://media.graphassets.com/ukxIGy88QbGqoyAJsTJ5)
Now is the time to prioritize an excellent customer experience (if you haven’t already), especially for your most loyal shoppers. This requires being proactive and creative about customer incentives. 

For instance, why not reward shoppers with exclusive membership programs and discounts? You can use [automation tools](https://www.channable.com/products/product-feed-management-tool) to waive shipping fees to avoid the possibility of cart abandonment. As Amazon has taught the eCommerce industry, it’s essential to pay attention to every little detail related to consumer behavior. 

The world’s largest online retailer leverages behavioral analytics to create targeted ads, special savings, and customized recommendations, resulting in more and happier customers who keep coming back. In 2022, there are almost 160 million Amazon Prime users, and that number is only expected to climb. 

To deliver highly responsive service, you can prioritize customer favorites and maintain a customer wish-list. If someone wants to buy a popular item that’s currently unavailable, save their contact information and get in touch as soon as it’s back in stock.

As a general practice, don’t rely solely on automated mass emails to stay connected with your customers. Sure, they want to know about upcoming sales and limited-time offers. But they also appreciate a personal touch. Consider surprising them with an eye-catching email to wish them a happy birthday or to thank them for being a valued customer.

## 6. Flex the power of your brand.
![Extra visial.png](https://media.graphassets.com/HmKEwTx1Riuo8XvnOoKp)
Are you a boutique online shop for women’s shoes? Does your business offer the internet’s best selection of household products? Your customers should know what makes your brand stand out.

To strengthen your brand presence, leverage the power of social media. The idea isn’t necessarily to sell something, but to interact with customers, remind them who you are, and give them a glimpse of the values behind your logo. Social platforms are a great way to share fun facts, helpful tips, clever videos, and even lighthearted slice-of-life storytelling.

Not only can reinforcing your brand help you navigate a challenging business landscape, it might help you emerge even stronger. Take Patagonia, for example. The California-based retailer is well known for both its sustainable outdoor clothing line and its ardent environmental activism. 

Because corporate social responsibility is an integral part of Patagonia’s brand identity, customers who visit the retailer’s website can read in-depth stories about environmental advocacy. 

With a few simple clicks, they can also donate to one of over a thousand causes. Brand consistency has played a role in Patagonia’s success, even during a disruptive pandemic. Named one of Time’s most influential companies for 2022, the company is expected to exceed $1 billion in sales revenue this year.

How customers experience your brand is shaped by the many interactions along the way, from your ads and merchandise display, to the number of clicks on a page, to the checkout process and beyond. So don’t take your brand for granted – it’s one of the most powerful ways you can create an emotional (and enduring) connection with your customers. 

## The bottom line
When it comes to riding out an economic downturn, you want to leverage your strengths and commit to playing the long game. That way, when the economy does recover, your online business will be well positioned for sustainable growth.

## We’re Channable, and we help eCommerce thrive.
Founded in 2014, Channable mobilizes next-generation technology to connect retailers and advertisers with customers throughout the world. 

We offer a unique combination of data feed management and pay-per-click automation tools within a highly intuitive platform. Our tools are user-friendly and empower customers to create the campaigns they need, manage their feeds with ease, and seamlessly integrate their marketplaces. 

If you want to learn more, [reach out](https://www.channable.com/demo) to one of our eCommerce experts.
[![Artboard 1.png](https://media.graphassets.com/EtI2CWoCTaaFHZZAAmkA)](https://www.channable.com/demo)


How to recession-proof your eCommerce business: Six tips for online retailers and business owners

## Your guide to the latest power tool for your product catalog.

If you’re one of over 200 million businesses active on Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, you already know what it takes to market and sell your products on two of the world’s biggest social and eCommerce platforms. You need to make sure your inventory is up to date and your product descriptions entice users to stop scrolling and start clicking.  

## What exactly are supplementary feeds?

Available on the Facebook and Instagram Shopping app, [Meta’s supplementary feeds](https://www.facebook.com/business/help/609872007120910#:~:text=Supplementary%20feeds%20provide%20product%20information,partner%20platform%20may%20not%20support.) add to the product information already supplied by the primary data feed in your Meta catalog.
 
Your primary feed includes mandatory attributes like content ID, title, description, availability, condition, price, link, image, and brand. The supplementary feeds complement your primary feeds by enhancing or updating your existing product information. Using the same content ID, new information is assigned in a supplementary feed to a product in your main feed. 
![02_Supplemantary feeds.png](https://media.graphassets.com/3HHwS6nmSCe1tUe8tU5L)
A supplementary feed can support up to [23 additional fields](https://www.facebook.com/business/help/609872007120910), including: Google product category, Facebook product category, category-specific fields (e.g., home, health & beauty or electronics), color, size, material, gender, age group, video, country of origin, and GTIN (global trade item number).

Because it’s meant to support, not override, your main feed, a supplementary feed can’t modify or delete your existing product fields. It’s also not designed to be used as a standalone data feed.

## How can supplementary feeds help my business?

When it comes to your eCommerce catalog, the more detailed your product feed, the better the shopping experience. Supplementary feeds make it easier for shoppers to filter and sort through your catalog so they can quickly locate their preferred item. The better the experience, the more likely it is you’ll convert a lead to a sale.

## How do I add and manage a supplementary feed?

To use the new supplementary feed tool, you must have an existing [Facebook Marketplace](https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/learn-more/) catalog through Commerce Manager, the tool for all sales activity across Facebook and Instagram. Don’t have a catalog yet? [Here’s a great place to start](https://www.channable.com/integrations/facebook-product-feed).

There are two ways to add supplementary feeds to your Meta catalog: 

1. If you have a small inventory, create a file using a Meta template and then manually upload it to Commerce Manager.
2. If you have a large inventory, create and add a file from a partner platform like [Channable](https://www.channable.com/products/product-feed-management-tool) using the app integration.

Here’s how to make product updates:

After the integration is set up, you’ll be able to see the latest synchronizations from your partner platform in Commerce Manager. To update or correct any product information in Commerce Manager, make your edits right in the partner platform. All of the product updates you make will automatically sync to your catalog in Commerce Manager.

## Optimize your success with Channable

Channable has a [number of features](https://www.channable.com/how-channable-works) to help you maximize the power of Meta’s supplementary feeds. As one example, our if-then rules let you systematically filter, modify, and improve your product catalog listings with just a few easy clicks. Another feature, the quality score, guides you in creating clear and robust descriptions to boost product visibility and make it easier for your customers to find the products they want. 

*Here’s a screenshot showing you how to assign a gender attribute using an automated if-then rule. By adding gender information, you’ll help your customers filter product selections based on gender to locate their preferred items. The gender attribute is often used along with attributes for size and age group.*

![03_Screenshot 01.png](https://media.graphassets.com/vU7AhInaQ2atZ7GvsnDx)

*This screenshot shows our quality score feature, which is unique to Channable. Your quality score will let you know how well you’ve used the supplementary fields to enhance your product feed.*

![04_Screenshot 02.png](https://media.graphassets.com/s9HwkIyrT56LkwIcscc9)

Helping you understand Meta’s supplementary feeds is just one of the many ways Channable empowers you to take control of your digital marketing. To learn how to set up and manage Meta’s new tool using Channable, check out the step-by-step tutorial on our Help Center.

Meta’s Facebook Marketplace is used each month by over 800 million consumers across 70 countries. Introduced in 2016, it’s proven to be one of the most effective eCommerce platforms for businesses of all sizes and industries.

By using Facebook Marketplace, businesses benefit from:

- **Extended reach**: eCommerce retailers can get their brands and products in front of more customers.
- **Personalized customer experience**: Facebook Marketplace surfaces the products consumers want most while helping retailers target the right customers.

## Pro tips for a better feed strategy
![05_Pro tip 01.png](https://media.graphassets.com/2B0gTxoKQNyCe4V8pqCj)
Although it probably won’t be possible to use all 23 supplementary fields for each product, you should try to include as many as you can. Remember: The more product details, the better. These fields are especially important: description, images, Google product category, Facebook product category, category-specific, color, size, and GTIN.
![06_Pro tip 02.png](https://media.graphassets.com/oh0iT5TeydDLTqv95ZxQ)
With Channable, you can seamlessly update your feeds on a weekly, daily, or hourly basis. Our recommendation is to update your catalog hourly if you can, or at least once a day.

## The bottom line

Meta’s new supplementary feeds add yet another tool to your eCommerce toolkit. If you want to reach more shoppers and future customers on the global marketplace, you’ll need a robust, up-to-date catalog. Meta is committed to helping you get the most out of your eCommerce growth opportunities — and so is Channable. 

## We’re here to help eCommerce thrive.

Channable is the all-in-one platform for smarter digital marketing. Our solutions are user-friendly and empower customers to create the campaigns they need, manage their feeds with ease, and seamlessly integrate their marketplaces. 
[![07_CTA.png](https://media.graphassets.com/lREPCj0YRUG9dSM9fmzv)](https://www.channable.com/integrations/facebook-product-feed)
If you want to talk more about Meta’s new supplementary feeds, reach out to one of our [eCommerce experts](https://www.channable.com/contact).


Adding Meta’s new supplementary feeds to your eCommerce strategy

In the world of online selling, Amazon is a monster, with almost 2.5 billion visits every month. The cost of living crisis affecting Europe means [customers are more cost-sensitive](https://www.gocompare.com/business-insurance/how-does-cost-of-living-crisis-impact-consumer-spending/#:~:text=a%20significant%20risk.-,How%20is%20the%20cost%20of%20living%20crisis%20impacting%20consumer%20spending,%2C%20their%20hard%2Dearned%20money){nofollow} than ever. Amazon retailers face an ongoing battle to review and refresh prices and maintain seller performance to secure their place in the ultra-competitive online sales market. 

**The solution is Amazon Repricer.**

Amazon Repricer frees retailers from the laborious manual task of scanning and updating prices with an intelligent algorithm that does the work for you. But, it can do much more – optimizing your offer and refining your processes. It’s an essential part of any strategy that aims to secure your products a position in Amazon's [product feed](https://www.channable.com/integrations/amazon-product-feed) and Buy Box.

**Meet Amazon Repricer: The future of automated pricing**

Amazon prices can change daily – sometimes in seconds ­– as sellers vie for a position. Retailers need confidence that their prices are competitive and that takes a lot of time. Manually checking the prices is almost impossible when your inventory grows above a certain limit. And even then, who wants to have to check Amazon every day? (Nobody, that’s who.)
 
> "If you're selling on Amazon, you know how important it is to stay competitive on price. But manually repricing your products can be time-consuming and tedious," says Brandon Wilkes, Marketing Manager at The Big Phone Store UK.
 
The bigger your inventory, the larger the problem. So, what can you do? Amazon Repricer is an automated tool that scans the market for the latest prices and matches, or increases your bid to ensure the best position for your product.
 
"Amazon Repricer automatically adjusts your prices to match (or beat) your competitors," says Wilkes. "That way, you can focus on other aspects of your business, safe in the knowledge that your prices are always competitive."

Many people see a repricer and think of their prices entering a race to the bottom. This is not the case. You’re still in control and able to decide what your minimum price is so you still make a desirable amount of margin. In some cases, Amazon Repricer could also up your prices – increasing your margin!
 
The system saves you time by automating processes but it can do much more…Amazon Repricer can help you tackle the biggest challenge of them all: [winning the Buy Box.](https://www.channable.com/blog/win-amazon-buy-box-increase-sales)

## Winning the Buy Box
![02_Amazong buybox channable.png](https://media.graphassets.com/LsIChRV0Tt6l3E7KZZJl)
Amazon's little yellow Buy Box holds incredible power. An estimated 82% of transactions go through this box. The fact is that retailers who hold a position in the box will earn more than competitors.
 
We're sure you know, but customers shopping on Amazon have two options in the Buy Box: Buy Now or Add to Basket. In some cases, Amazon will win the button itself (naturally), but not for every product.

So, how does the Buy Box work? Amazon is, naturally, tight-lipped about the intelligence inside its system, but there are three elements:
 
1. Buy Box eligibility
2. Seller performance
3. Pricing
 
Retailers need to provide Amazon with a complete story about your performance, including the speed and efficiency with which your product is delivered to the clients, measured by your seller performance rating.

![03_Quote Raymond Scholtens channable copy (1).png](https://media.graphassets.com/GROt5h17TYaEmZm2GNjq)

Amazon will look at multiple factors to put a product in the buy-box. It will assess how quickly you can deliver your product to the customer. They will look at how customers rate you as a seller and of course the price. 

You will have to create a good process to quickly ship your products to the customer and be of good service so you will get positive reviews. These are all important factors but the price is the one you can start optimizing for maximum revenue on Amazon right now.” 
 
A Buy Box position isn't a guarantee of success. For popular product categories with many sellers, Amazon rotates the buy box occupant. In other words, the buy-box is shared and not given to only a single seller.
 
Amazon's algorithm balances the three aspects above to decide who occupies the Buy Box. For example, a seller with a high performance may occupy it for 30% of the time, one with a lower price could secure 20% of the Buy Box, for example.

While Amazon Repricer may not guarantee you'll win the Buy Box all of the time, you certainly can win it some of the time – and given the global traffic, this can still add up to a substantial increase in revenue. Winning some of the time is better than winning none of the time.

## 5 reasons to support your strategy with Amazon Repricer
![04_5 reasons support strategy amazon repricing channable.png](https://media.graphassets.com/lFR3pBvqSV49fajS8cQt)

So, by now you should understand what Amazon Repricer can do for you and your business, but here are five reasons why every retailer should include Amazon Repricer in their strategy.

### 1. Get a slice of the Buy Box
 
We'll say it again, but with 82% of Amazon purchases made through the Buy Box, if you're not using Repricer, you're missing out on a huge section of the market. For more details about the importance of the Buy Box, see above.

Want to know more about the benefits of [advertising your products on Amazon](https://www.channable.com/blog/blog-tips-for-advertising-your-products-on-amazon).

### 2. Inform pricing decisions
 
The built-in features of Repicer enable you to gain critical insights into competitor pricing. "You can use data from Amazon to make informed pricing decisions. 

With Repricer, you can access Amazon's data on pricing trends and competitor pricing," says Wilkes. The system provides real-time access to a huge amount of data that you can use to optimize operations and refine pricing strategies.
 
"You can test out the impact of setting a range of min and max pricing of your product on Amazon Repricer to check for how it will fare among competitors," explains Simon Brisk. 

"The Amazon Repricer runs a market simulator in the background predicting customer behavior trends and sales predictions to help you set up optimal prices for maximum profit." 

### 3. Optimize inventory
 
Amazon Repricer can help you to optimize inventory management and ensure you're not stuck with excess stock. This is particularly important for retailers selling seasonal stock that, if unsold, can take up significant warehouse space. "Amazon Repricer can help you make smarter decisions about how to price your products," says Wilkes.
 
On the flip side, if you secure a position in the Buy Box be sure you'll face other challenges. "Make sure you have enough inventory to cover your sales," says Carl Jensen, the founder of Compare Banks. "Sellers cannot exceed their monthly limit of units sold." 

### 4. Reduce manual tasks
 
Before Amazon Repricer, someone would need to manually check each price and update them in Amazon. That's OK if you're a small seller with an inventory of 500, but what happens when you get to 5,000 or 50,000? 
 
Prices can change in seconds, and it's impossible for a human to manage inventory pricing quickly enough. "I really like how Amazon Repricer takes care of the fluctuations by automatically adjusting prices accordingly," says Simon Brisk of Click Intelligence.

### 5. Build a platform for growth
 
Using Amazon Repricer enables you to scale-up your selling, adding new products and optimizing your pricing strategies in seconds. 

"If you had to devote man-hours to fill that demand, you would seriously neglect other facets of your company, which would negatively affect everything as a whole," explains Daniel Gray at thermal imaging company Smart Scouter.

With Amazon Repricer, however, you may direct your concentration in another direction and let the rules or algorithm handle it; you can then relax knowing that you haven't missed a single change in price.”

## How to drive growth for your products more efficiently and effectively

Amazon Repricer is a simple system that can work for every type of reseller. We can split Amazon resellers into three categories:
 
1. **First-Party-Sellers (1P)** Manufacturer sells inventory directly to Amazon, and then  Amazon sells them to consumers. Appears with the label “Ships from and sold by Amazon.com”.

2. **Third-Party-Sellers – (3P)** Sellers sell directly to consumers via Amazon Marketplace Appear with the label: “Fulfilled by Amazon” or Shipped from and sold by [Seller]”

3. **Hybrid Sellers (1P+3P)** ­– Brands and manufacturers use both 1P and 3P models to sell their products.
 
The type of seller you are will influence your buy box strategies. (Hybrid resellers must obviously mix-and match strategies according to how they sell products.)
 
It’s critical to understand how your relationship affected your pricing strategies and your opportunity to achieve a Buy Box position.
<table markdown>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;"> </td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">**First-Party-Sellers (1P)**</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">**Third-Party-Sellers**</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">**Buy Box Eligibility**</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">
- Need to have a professional
- Amazon Vendor Central Account
- Items must be “buy box eligible”
- Must sell new items
</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">
- Need to have an active and professional Amazon Seller Central Account
- Items must be “buy box eligible”
- Must sell new items
</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">**Seller Performance**</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">
- Amazon-sold products are always treated with perfect seller performance
</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">
- Sellers must optimize their seller performance themselves, which can be difficult to control and takes time
</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">**Competitor Pricing**</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">
- Since Amazon sells the products, **no way to control the price** for consumers
</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">
- Is able to compete with instant price adjustments to increase buy box share
</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
</tr></tbody></table>


It’s clear that third-party sellers have an advantage here. “Make sure your Repricer is configured to take into account both your minimum and maximum prices,” says Wilkes. 

> “By automatically adjusting your prices in response to changes in the marketplace, you can maximize your profits.”

And that’s what every business wants, right?

## When is Amazon Repricer the right solution for you?
![05-When is amazon repricer the right solution for you.png](https://media.graphassets.com/CjzHF6u3RICWG5lphjdD)

Amazon Repricer is an affordable and effective solution for businesses of all sizes. If you’re considering investing in Amazon Repricer, ask yourself these questions:
 
How many products do you sell on Amazon? If you only sell a small amount (500 or fewer, for example) then Amazon Repricer may not deliver the benefits you need. However, for those with larger inventories. Amazon Repricer can help you smash sales targets.

How price-sensitive are your customers (and what margins are you making)? Selling on Amazon is a margin game, but you need to ensure you're making a profit at the price you’re selling. Be sure to set and stick to minimum prices.

How robust are your supply chains? Let’s say you achieve a position in the Buy Box and start selling like mad. Can you manage to restock and resupply quickly enough?

Can you manage demand? Seller rating is central to this. If you can’t fulfil orders, you’ll see your seller rating plummet, which can have a massive impact on your ability to sell and scale-up. Do it too often and you can kiss goodbye to your place in the Buy Box.

## Can you afford Amazon Repricer?

If you sell significant numbers of products on Amazon, the question isn’t whether you can afford Amazon Repricer, but whether you can afford not to use it. The most cost-effective and efficient way of implementing Amazon Repricer is with Channable.
 
Channable can give any business the best chance to win the buy box with real-time price adjustments. Our all-in-one marketplace integration platform makes it super-simple to set-up, optimize and manage sales across Europe and the US. You’ll save time automating strategies for all your items and maximize profitability.

Our Amazon Repricer is part of our end-to-end marketplace solution. Manage thousands of listings across multiple marketplaces, all from a single, intuitive platform.

[Sign up for your free trial today](https://www.channable.com/signup) and discover the power of Channable’s end-to-end marketplace solution, streamlining every step of your product listing process, data analytics and optimization.

Would you like to learn more about the benefits of introducing [Amazon Repricer](https://www.channable.com/products/marketplace-integrator/repricer) to your business? Contact us today.

Amazon Repricer - All you need to know

An interesting discussion about all the ins and outs of the chaning e-commerce market, the technical aspects of selling on marketplaces. Sharing best practises on how to succeed on marketplaces, and answering questions like; Why are marketplaces such important channels for retailers? And how do you start? Find out now in this podcast!

<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/7p1o9RKN8VpQZHTLSjwMT3?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="352" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>

How to successfully sell on marketplaces

This article gives you everything you need to succeed with Bol.com. From target markets and features such as price stars, to how you can best incorporate Bol.com into your online marketing strategy and reach your audience.

## Bol.com and the price stars hierarchy

### Price stars

Bol.com utilizes a price stars scoring system for their ads ranging from 1-5 stars. This number is assigned to your prices via Bol.com and determines your rank compared to other sellers. 

This ranking system gives you an overview of the competition and shows exactly how competitive your prices are or if they need to be adjusted to stay attractive and move up the ranks. 

Simply put, **your item is competitive** if you rank 4 or more stars. If you get 5 stars, then your price is the most competitive compared to the market as a whole. 

In your sales account, you have an overview of the price valuation of your items and can see what price you can advertise on in order to get a better price valuation. Including each price stars rank and relevancy for your items:
![Header_v4-17.png](https://media.graphassets.com/GW5hM5nbT7aK28vWQzx5)
**Pro tip**: Items with 1-price star are not visible on the marketplace which means your product price deviates too far from the relevant market price.

## Winning the Buy Block

Bol.com's yellow Buy Block is the center of attention on every page. 97% of customers end up purchasing their items from the Buy Block and the fact is that retailers who hold this position will earn more than competitors.

So how do you win the Buy Block? In addition to your price and price stars ranking, Bol.com takes multiple factors into consideration such as your delivery times, reviews, customer satisfaction ranking, and other conditions.

Your price and price stars ranking are the quickest factors to optimize and are the ones you have the most control over, especially with a [repricer](https://www.channable.com/products/marketplace-integrator/repricer) and [marketplace integrator](https://www.channable.com/products/marketplace-integrator).

A Buy Block position is never guaranteed. For popular product categories with multiple sellers, it can be very difficult to attain this position.

And while you may not be guaranteed to win the Buy Block all of the time, you can definitely increase your chances by optimizing your ads.

### Keep your price competitive on Bol.com

Our repricer is one of the few on the market that allows targeting for a specific price stars rating. This way, your price will never go higher than the boundary set by the selected price stars.
![Visual flow chart_Price Stars_EN.png](https://media.graphassets.com/BxiZPch7QfODNfWhqkP6)
A further explanation of the feature can be found in our [Help Center](https://helpcenter.channable.com/hc/en-us/articles/7151094266258-Bol-com-repricer-Price-stars?_ga=2.148559102.897135202.1666082932-363199183.1656404651).

## 4 advantages of using the Bol.com Repricer in your strategy

**1. Competitive prices equal more clicks and conversions**
If you advertise at a competitive price, your ad will be viewed and purchased more often. Regardless of your industry, the higher the price stars, the more often your ads convert across all categories.
 
**2. Increased conversion boosts your ad position**
Looking long term on Bol.com, increased conversion rates lead to a better position for your ads/items. This means more sales boost your items higher in the search results. This makes your ads more visible so that it ultimately sells even better.
![Header_v5B-18.png](https://media.graphassets.com/bZusubtFSzfjopJJd9lw)

**3. A higher ranked item increases your chance of the Buy Block**
Coupled with a reliable, fast delivery record and merchant score, a high conversion rate will lead to a higher ranking. 

All this determines whether or not you get featured in the Buy Block. And this is where you want to be because 97% of customers end up purchasing their items from the Buy Block. This is making it worth optimizing your items and ads to move higher up the ranks.

**4. Higher ranking Bol.com ads = better Google ads for free**
The higher your ranking on Bol.com, the more relevant your items will be perceived on Google and promoted via Google Ads at no extra cost. 

This is a benefit that certainly pays off, attracting up to 50% more customers coupling Bol.com and Google Ads, according to a [whitepaper](https://partnerplatform.bol.com/content/uploads/2021/09/BOL-10139-Whitepaper_bol_Dit-is-het-effect-van-een-goede-prijs_v3.pdf) by Bol.com. 

## Drive growth by efficiently displaying your items

How often are your articles viewed? How do your delivery times and sale prices compare to the competition? These are important questions that need to be asked and the answers can be found in your sales account or [data management solution](https://www.channable.com/products/marketplace-integrator), helping optimize your offerings to the needs of your audience.

The following **tips** will help you drive growth even further and jump ahead of the competition.

### Advertise volume discounts
If it's not possible to permanently lower a price and stay competitive because of shipping costs, a volume discount may be a solution. 

With a volume discount, you incentivize customers to buy more in one order, and can quickly build up larger sales. Ads that offer a volume discount can sell up to 30% more according to [Bol.com](https://partnerplatform.bol.com/content/uploads/2021/09/BOL-10139-Whitepaper_bol_Dit-is-het-effect-van-een-goede-prijs_v3.pdf).
![Header_v4-15.png](https://media.graphassets.com/TFDRzn0XTXG9zKLIdcEq)
Bulk sales can be relevant for many items but there are legal restrictions depending on which regions you are selling in. Check out Bol.com’s [partner platform](https://partnerplatform.bol.com/nl/hulp-nodig/aanbod/inrichten-volumekorting/) for all the details.

## Engage in promotions

Promotions are a powerful way to increase your visibility and sales via Bol.com with two main avenues to choose from:

**1.** Participate in promotions as part of larger Bol.com holiday campaigns such as Black Friday or Mother's Day where Bol.com makes a pre-selection of items to advertise based on relevance to the customer.

The advantage of participating this way is that the promotions are very visible to customers across the marketplace and are promoted by Bol.com. You can find more information [here](https://partnerplatform.bol.com/nl/hulp-nodig/aanbod/promotie-in-bol-com-campagnes/).

**2**. It is also possible to independently create a promotion, whereby you determine the duration and range yourself. These promotions are highlighted using a promotion label and in most cases, Bol.com also uses additional resources to [boost your visibility](https://partnerplatform.bol.com/nl/nieuws/nieuw-zelf-promoties-instellen/).
 ![Header_v4-14.png](https://media.graphassets.com/bXOH6R5RHeuHclmChSuw)
Bol.com also incentivizes promotions. Check out their [partner platform](https://partnerplatform.bol.com/nl/hulp-nodig/aanbod/promotie-in-bol-com-campagnes/) to see how much commission or discounts you could receive on your promotional offer.

### Put your articles in the spotlight

Do you want to stand out with a new item or draw attention to your best sellers? Then, link search terms your target audience uses directly to your items. This will help you rank higher in the search results and stand out from the competition.

Watch this video for [more info.](https://partnerplatform.bol.com/nl/samendoorgroeien/ervaringen-uit-de-praktijk/hoe-werkt-adverteren-via-bol-com/)

## Is Bol.com the right fit for your eCommerce strategy?

Bol.com is an effective and established marketplace for businesses of all sizes.

For online retailers and advertisers big and small, Bol.com can be a lucrative marketplace to add to your marketing mix. And if you advertise and sell a significant amount of products online utilizing a [repricer](https://www.channable.com/products/marketplace-integrator/repricer) and optimizing with a marketplace integrator like Channable, you can boost your ads across the board.

Channable can help give any online shop a boost in winning the Buy Block and a higher price stars rank. With real-time price adjustments, our all-in-one marketplace integration makes it super simple to set up, optimize and manage sales and ads. This will save you time automating updates for all your items and maximizing profitability.

Would you like to learn more about the benefits of introducing a [Bol.com repricer](https://www.channable.com/products/marketplace-integrator/repricer) to your business? Contact us today to get started.

Bol.com | Everything needed to boost your online selling

But what about the week right after Christmas? Although not as well-known, December 26 to 30 — known as Cyber Week II — also presents some enticing eCommerce opportunities, thanks to the large number of consumers who have time off from work and more time to spend online.

In this post, we offer actionable strategies to help busy retailers like you take advantage of the post-holiday possibilities and enjoy a profitable close to the fiscal year.

## Get inside shoppers’ heads
![Cyberweek_pic2.png](https://media.graphassets.com/d9E5wLBjREWwxbQrxDVT)
Whether your goal is to clear out excess inventory or to re-create some of your sales success from Cyber 5, understanding consumers’ mindset can help you plan your sales and marketing strategy for the days leading up to New Year’s.

Here are four common buying scenarios to keep in mind:

**1. Gift-receiver’s remorse:** Once the last holiday present has been unwrapped, consumers may be feeling a bit of a letdown. Maybe they didn’t receive the wireless earbuds they wanted and are wishing they had dropped more hints. Now, they’re open to buying the things they’ve had their eye on for a while, but didn’t find among their holiday haul.

**2. The need to spend gift cards:** Each year, in-store and online gift cards continue to grow in popularity. Most people who receive a gift card during the holidays (nearly 60%, according to [one study](https://www.pitneybowes.com/us/blog/gift-cards.html)) plan to use it within days or weeks—and this includes online shoppers.

**3. The search for a year-end deal:** Everyone wants a good deal, and savvy shoppers know that some of the best can be found immediately after the Christmas rush. As a result, they might be eager to take advantage of a strategically placed, post-Christmas online sale. 

**4. The emotional pull of a New Year’s resolution:** On average, [41% of consumers](https://blogs.oracle.com/advertising/post/5-ways-to-target-new-years-resolution-audiences) make New Year’s resolutions, and their resolve is strongest at the outset. If they’re using holiday downtime to kick off resolutions before the ball drops, help them out by promoting goods and services — like health food or exercise equipment — that support their new goals. 

You can turn each of these situations into an eCommerce opportunity to end Q4 on a strong note. In the next section, we share some specific strategies that help you do just that.

## Make shopper behavior work in your favor
By aligning your sales goals with shoppers’ needs and wants during the post-holiday season, you can create a targeted eCommerce strategy.
Here are seven ideas to get you started:

**1. Use targeted ads to promote end-of-year sales and special discounts**
![Cyberweek_pic7.png](https://media.graphassets.com/2d0nnefbRsaJUtvv3fOl)
Cyber Week II is a great time to clear out your inventory and make room for next year’s items. Since many consumers are still enjoying social time with family and friends the day after Christmas, you can start running end-of-year sale ads December 27 or 28 and through New Year’s Day. Depending on your advertising budget, you might even keep them up through the first few days of January.

**2. Use past performance data to gain strategic ROAS insights**
If your priority is capitalizing on holiday sales to maximize profits, the first step is using the right [analytics tool](https://www.channable.com/products/channable-insights) to determine your top 10% to 20% best-selling items during Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the first weeks of December.
![Cyberweek_pic5.png](https://media.graphassets.com/4Hov85u4Qn6w1jpGsdyi)
Once you identify your top sellers, focus on return on ad spend (ROAS) to optimize the impact of marketing decisions. Instead of advertising evenly across your whole stock, channel most or even all of your ad spend into your most successful products.

**3. Stay active on tried-and-true platforms, but don’t be afraid to experiment with new ones**
In addition to sites where you already advertise, explore new [eCommerce sites](https://ecommerceguide.com/top/top-10-ecommerce-sites-in-the-usa/) like Amazon, eBay, Target, and Walmart, as well as [social commerce sites](https://influencermarketinghub.com/social-commerce-platform/) like Facebook, Instagram, and even [TikTok](https://www.channable.com/blog/tiktok-dynamic-showcase-ads-setup-channable). Not sold on social media? Consider these statistics:
![Cyberweek_pic3.png](https://media.graphassets.com/ZblhlMd4QHy1yEN9IfSZ)
- [Nearly 45% of internet users](https://statusbrew.com/insights/social-media-statistics/#social-media-usage-statistics) do their own product research on a social media site.
- [90% of Instagram users](https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/23865/13-mind-bending-social-media-marketing-statistics.aspx) follow one or more business pages.
- [11% of social media users](https://www.statista.com/statistics/1255327/united-states-social-media-discovery-driving-purchases/) buy a product immediately after finding it online.
- Social media traffic skyrockets by [more than 70%](https://blog.contentstudio.io/holiday-season-sales/) during the holiday season.
- By 2027, social commerce sales are projected to reach [$605 billion](https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/social-commerce-stats) in value.


**4. Implement a retargeting strategy**
Think of advertising as strategic fishing. Instead of casting a wide net to see how many fish you can catch, use several smaller nets in places where you know fish like to swim. In other words, [fish where the fish are](https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2022/05/10/maximize-your-marketing-efforts-by-fishing-where-the-fish-are/?sh=113670e93358). This analogy explains the power behind retargeting ads. With retargeting, you’re reminding shoppers about a product they want by advertising it on the sites and apps they frequently visit.

Remember the consumer with gift-receiver’s remorse who didn’t get the set of earbuds they wanted? If your inventory includes electronics and you deploy retargeting ads, they might just end up in one of your nets and become a happy customer.

To build an effective retargeting campaign, we recommend two strategies:

- **Focus on keyword search terms:** With the right PPC tool, you can automate ad campaigns by designating keywords in your feed and using Google’s dynamic keyword insertion (DKI) to insert them into your Google ads. By using keywords strategically, you ensure relevant ads will be displayed to every shopper.

- **Track visits to your website:** By using Google AdWords and/or Facebook Ad Manager, you can determine who’s visiting your site, how long they’re staying, and which products they’re looking at. Once you know the products that interest them, you can target visitors with relevant ads.
![Cyberweek_pic4.png](https://media.graphassets.com/qwXNUZ45TFawSBsW9BX2)

**5. Make the most of your feeds**
The holidays are a great time to experiment with the new Google Performance Max ads (formerly Google Smart Shopping ads), which you can keep running in the weeks leading up to Christmas and New Year’s. But keep in mind, the efficacy of these ads depends on how well you’ve optimized your product data feeds.

If you’re using Google Ads, don’t neglect your [supplemental feeds](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/7439058?hl=en). Similarly, if you’re on Facebook (Meta) Marketplace, which manages social commerce for Facebook and Instagram, be sure to leverage [Meta’s new supplementary feeds as well](https://www.channable.com/blog/meta-supplementary-feeds-for-ecommerce-strategy). 

By filling out as many data fields as possible, you can enrich your product feeds with descriptive detail — which provides more context for your ad, improves its rankings, and enables Google and Meta to tailor it to relevant keywords being used by shoppers.
 
You should also ensure your feed is accurate, organized, and optimized to the specifications of each marketplace, especially if you’re dealing with thousands of products. A [proven feed management solution](https://www.channable.com/products/product-feed-management-tool) will not only alert you to any errors in your data, but also proactively modify a descriptor you happen to input (e.g., beige) so that it matches the advertising platform’s descriptor (e.g., brown).

**6. Promote products or services that can jumpstart someone’s New Year’s resolution.**
Think about the common resolutions people make. They almost always have to do with correcting a behavior (e.g., snack less, exercise more), developing a new skill (e.g., learn how to play the guitar), or cultivating a new pastime (e.g., travel). 
![Cyberweek_pic6.png](https://media.graphassets.com/hy6Fy9BITTeO1ZsNAUEa)
If your merchandise includes running shoes, hand weights, healthy snacks, musical instruments, rolling luggage, or anything else that might inspire a resolution, let shoppers know with a clear, engaging, and optimized business ad.

**7. Plan ahead**
Above all else, make sure you plan ahead. Your advertising won’t be effective if you’re reacting out of haste instead of applying data-informed decisions to your overall strategy. Set your ads up in November or early December so that they’ll be ready to launch by December 27. If your year in eCommerce ends well, you’ll head into 2023 with bigger profits and fresh inspiration.

## The bottom line
In an [economic downturn](https://www.channable.com/blog/how-to-recession-proof-ecommerce-business), shoppers may spend less, but they don’t stop spending. That’s certainly true during the holiday season. By being strategic in your advertising decisions, you can extend the consumer appeal of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas right up until New Year’s Day. And while Cyber Week II is unlikely to match the high octane of Cyber 5, it can still be abuzz with valuable eCommerce activity.

## How Channable can help
At Channable, we mobilize next-generation technology to connect retailers and advertisers with customers throughout the world. We offer a unique combination of data feed management and PPC automation tools within a highly intuitive platform. Our tools are user-friendly and empower customers to create the campaigns they need, manage their feeds with ease, and seamlessly integrate their marketplaces.

If you want to learn more or schedule a consultation, [reach out](https://www.channable.com/demo) to one of our eCommerce experts.

How to make the most of Cyber Week II and end the fiscal year strong

We sat down with Erika Shemie, Partner Success Manager at Google, to discuss Performance Max best practices and how to incorporate these campaigns into your marketing strategy for the holiday season and 2023.

But first, a quick explanation of what [Performance Max campaigns](https://www.channable.com/blog/performance-max-campaigns) are. Performance Max campaigns are the newest iteration of ads for digital marketers offered by Google. 

Simply put, Performance Max campaigns allow for advertising across Google's platforms. Adding AI and machine learning into your ad structure to maximize performance and results, Performance Max campaigns are a goal-based campaign type that helps link you to customers across YouTube, Display, Search, Discover, Gmail, and Maps.

That being said, let's jump into the conversation with Erika and see what insights she shares for Performance Max best practices..

## 1. Hi Erika, let's talk about how can retailers benefit from Performance Max campaigns to boost reach during the holiday season.

Great topic to dive into. Let's break down some Performance Max best practices advertisers can implement with a Google Merchant Center (GMC) feed:

**Build a specific Promotion campaign**
- Build a promotion specific campaign, which can be used as a “shell campaign” for all promotions, from there you can specify a certain holiday or sale you would like to promote including more information regarding promotions & specific assets.

**Use Maximize value strategies**
- Use maximize strategies (e.g. Max. Conversion Value without ROAS target) to benefit from a shorter learning period (if starting a new Performance Max campaign) to get up and running faster for a seasonal campaign.

**Filter for promotional products**
- Filter for your promotional products in listing groups, e.g. via custom label

![Performance_v3-07.png](https://media.graphassets.com/R1ZMZQwKS6Wk1LmgQyce)

**Ensure budget matches holiday demand**
- Use the demand forecast tool and performance planner in order to calculate available holiday demand to keep your budget unconstrained and the ads working optimally.

**Create a separate Performance Max Retail ‘holiday campaign’ with (seasonal products with specific targets)**
- If you want to prioritize certain types of products, create a separate Performance Max campaign for those items (e.g. one campaign for holiday merchandise, one for high-margin categories, and one for everything else). Setting a lower ROAS target can help maximize visibility for these products in the weeks leading up to peak periods. 

### Performance Max Campaigns best practices 
Start with Maximize Conversion value strategy (without ROAS target) to benefit from a shorter learning period (if starting a new Performance Max campaign from the scratch)

## 2. Which advertisers are most suited for Performance Max campaigns?

Performance Max campaigns build off the success of existing automated solutions to deliver a comprehensive campaign that works for **all advertisers** across a wide range of marketing objectives (e.g. sales, leads, website traffic, brand awareness and reach, app promotion, local store visits & promotions) and media channels (Google Search, Google Maps, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Discover feed, and Google partner websites).

![Performance_v3-03.png](https://media.graphassets.com/l3HNXwUmRduwJOBhz5r4)

Online sales, store visits, and new customer acquisition are the supported marketing objectives for the retail version of Performance Max. This means everyone can benefit from using Performance Max campaigns to a certain extent. But it can be extra beneficial to new advertisers who do not have much experience in refining campaigns and why Performance Max best practices can really boost your performance when starting out.

## 3. What type of advertising strategies can you implement with Performance Max Campaigns?

Well, advertisers will have to first determine what their business objectives are and then set their campaign up to align with those goals. A few goal examples are:

- Is their objective to spend as much as possible at a certain ROAS goal? If so, we recommend setting a ROAS target and uncapping their budget

- Is their objective to drive as much revenue as possible at a certain budget? If so, we recommend setting their desired budget and to use maximise conversion value bidding without a ROAS target 

- Do they have other objectives such as driving new customers or driving store visits? If so, we recommend optimizing to new customer acquisition or store visit conversion goals.

### Performance Max Campaigns best practices
Check the [insights tab](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/10256472?hl=en) on how they can improve performance. Always update the creatives and make sure they are relevant. Keep an eye on performance, and when it starts to drop, take a look at CTR.

## 4. How can advertisers improve their creatives/copy to boost conversions?

There are many ways in which you can optimize your ads to make it even easier for Google to recognize important information. A few simple techniques to use are:

- Highlight information about **products** and **offerings** (like promotions) within the headlines and descriptions. 
*Why: Promotions and discounts spark interest and help motivate customers to complete purchases.*

- Only **capitalize** the first word and proper nouns in your **headlines** and **descriptions**. 
*Why: Use sentence casing in your creative, rather than all caps, to provide a more organic and authentic ad experience.*

- **Text assets** should be distinct from each other and make sense when combined. E.g. We recommend that advertisers don't repeat phrases in the headline and description that would be repetitive. We also recommend using descriptions that could be paired with Dynamic Headlines if Final URL expansion is turned on.
*Why: This allows for multiple versions of your ads to be tried and tested for optimal performance.*

## 5. How many campaigns would you create for a certain item and how often would you refresh it?

There is no fixed rule regarding how many campaigns an advertiser should have. This Performance Best practice, really depends on a lot of factors. The setup of the campaign needs to meet the advertiser's business goals and strategy.

![Performance_v3-04.png](https://media.graphassets.com/ttXfduZ2SMaeE1mytOav)

Performance Max for online sales is designed to maximize within the advertiser’s target and budget and can run with only one campaign (if the advertiser has only one ROAS goal & budget) - if they have **different goals** this is when to consider breaking out to more than one campaign, as a Performance Max best practice.

> Generally speaking, if the advertiser has a large number of products, with high conversion volumes and different ROAS goals for different types of products, they should create more than one performance max campaign.

One example where an advertiser should create multiple Performance Max campaigns as a best practice, would be customers that are trying to achieve profitability targets for product categories. In this case, they would have to create one Performance Max campaign per category (e.g. one for footwear, one for outerwear, and one for accessories) and then set a different ROAS target for each campaign.

Another example would be if they have separate budgets, language, or geo-targeting for their goals. This means they would have to run separate Performance Max campaigns for each segmentation.

### Performance Max Campaigns best practices
If you were targeting several countries with different budgets, you would need to separate campaigns because the budget is on campaign level and would need adjusting per region for best results.

## 6. Can you give us any A/B testing tips on how to manage campaigns?

We recommend using a **pre/post** and/**or geo-split** test when switching from Shopping campaigns to Performance Max campaigns. What this means in practice is:

- **Identify products to test:** For shopping campaigns, select a subset of products to test Performance Max with 
-** Set your budget**: Set the Performance Max budget to be equal to or greater than the budget for those products in the existing Shopping campaigns. This is to prevent overall sales for those products from declining across Shopping and Performance Max campaigns.
 - Performance Max will trump Shopping campaigns with overlapping products in most instances so it’s critical to ensure sufficient budget is allocated to Performance Max in order to maintain overall sales  
 - To evaluate performance, measure how well Performance Max delivers conversion value and ROAS compared to the original Shopping campaigns.

- **Same campaign setup:** Ensure that product targeting, and conversions are being optimized and that goals are the same across SSC/standard Shopping and Performance Max campaigns.

*Please note that since the new Performance Max campaign is created from scratch, it will go through a learning period.*

Once you have launched your new Performance Max campaign, pause the original standard shopping campaign, let the Performance Max campaign ramp up for at least 1-2 weeks, and exclude this time period from evaluation. 

![Performance_v3-05.png](https://media.graphassets.com/ckhncp6CRNaRBaEJMe0Y)

Evaluate the performance of 4-5 weeks after the ramp-up period + any conversion lag time* to ensure you are considering sufficient data to compare to the standard shopping campaign.

### Performance Max Campaigns best practices 
You can monitor performance via the Google ads interface by visiting “Attribution” > “Path metrics” > “Average day to conversion.” Please select “Measure from first interaction”

## 7. What components do you need to successfully set up a Performance Max campaign?

You should add as many assets as you can or as many as you have available. Performance Max is an automated solution powered by machine learning. More assets = more potential ad formats that can be created for different channels and users.

If you add a [GMC feed](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/188924?hl=en&ref_topic=3163841), then technically you don’t need to upload any other assets. The minimum requirement is only if you do not attach a GMC feed. However, as a best practice, we still recommend uploading the “minimum” required assets below, as a Performance Max best practice:

- **Google Ads conversion tracking or GA4 conversion tracking**
- **Approved Merchant Center feed** 
- **Text:**
 - Headline: Recommended 5 x 30 character max headline (at least one with 15 characters or fewer)
 - Description & Short Description: Recommended 4+ x 90 character max descriptions (at least one with 60 characters or fewer)
 - Business name: 1

- **Image:**
 - Landscape image: (1.91:1)  Recommended 3+
 - Square image: (1:1) Recommended 3+
 - Portrait image: (4:5) Recommended 1+

- **Video: **
 - 1+ recommended. You can add up to 5 videos. If you don't have one, Google will create videos automatically when possible

- **Extensions:**
 - Sitelinks: Recommended 4+
 - Callouts: Recommended 1
 - Structured Snippets: Recommended 1

Keep in mind that it's a Performance Max best practice to organize asset groups like you organize your ad groups, by a common theme. For example, you might try separating asset groups by the different products or service types you offer.

## 8. What does a successful campaign look like?

What success looks like will depend on your goals. For some, success might be reaching or exceeding their target ROAS and for others, it is maximizing sales (so in that case, the focus would be on volume).

![Performance_v3-06.png](https://media.graphassets.com/xGk0Vr37TCWV5t6STwPa)

There are some general Performance Max best practices that we recommend advertisers to follow, which will help create more successful campaigns.

1. Providing Text, Image, and Video assets will help maximize the reach and value delivered. We always recommend providing more than the minimum required assets

2. Automation is only as powerful as the data you are feeding it. Be sure that the product feed is well-optimized and there are no account suspensions or warnings. We also recommend ensuring that the conversion tracking and remarketing tags are firing and working properly.
 
3. Aligning your campaign objectives to your business objectives

4. URL expansion helps advertisers to optimize performance of their Performance Max campaigns. By using URL expansion, we can replace their Final URL with a more relevant landing page, dynamic headline, description, and additional text assets based on customers’ intent.

5. We recommend setting the ROAS target to the ROAS the advertiser wants to achieve. Once your campaign is optimized they can assess performance and determine if they want to make any changes to their ROAS target. Keep in mind, there is a tradeoff between efficiency and spend – the higher advertisers set their ROAS goal, the less their campaign will likely spend; the lower they set your ROAS goal, the more their campaign will likely spend.

## 9. Can you run parallel ad campaigns? 

Can Performance Max campaigns run parallel ads with the same items and take this into consideration when optimizing when and where items and ads are displayed?

It’s not advisable to run standard shopping campaigns with the same items as Performance Max. 

This is because Performance Max will be prioritized over Standard Shopping campaigns, and Display campaigns with a Merchant Center feed in the advertiser’s account if they’re targeting the same product inventory. 

If the campaigns are in different CIDs or are not using a Merchant Center feed, higher Ad Rank will drive selection.

## Key takeaways from this interview

- For seasonal products or sales, build a specific promotion campaign.
- Performance Max campaigns utilize Google's entire ecosystem including: Google Search, Google Maps, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Discover feed, and Google partner websites.
- Pick your advertising strategy and give your campaign enough freedom to optimize, including budget and time to learn.
- Monitor campaign performance to see when new campaign content or tweaks are needed.
- Evaluate A/B testing only after the first 2 weeks and allow 4-5 weeks for optimization.
- Add as many assets as possible from your GMC feed and online shop for peak performance.
- Define your campaign success test strategies and goals until you reach them.

Enjoyed the insights about Performance Max campaign best practices? Stay connected and check out all the resources we have available on our [blog](https://www.channable.com/blog).


Google Performance Max Campaigns best practices for seasonal campaigns: Interview with Erika (Partner Success Manager)

There are two schools of thought on how best to navigate this abundance of options. First, there’s the omnichannel approach, which tailors messages to individual customers across interconnected digital platforms. 

Then, there’s the more straightforward multichannel approach, which is shaped by the specific product, service, or distribution channel, giving brands tighter control over their customer interactions.

While an omnichannel approach can be a great way to maximize return on ad spend (ROAS), it isn’t necessarily right for everyone. 

In this post, we break down the differences between omni- and multichannel strategies, outline their key costs and benefits, and share the critical factors to consider when choosing the method that’s right for your business.

## The power of omnichannel
At the most basic level, omnichannel is a form of multichannel marketing, which simply means using several distribution channels, e.g. (**social media, television, emails, etc**.) to carry out a marketing strategy or campaign.

More specifically, however, omnichannel refers to a unified approach where different channels communicate with and learn from one another. 

For example, an ad running on Instagram might draw from customer data generated elsewhere, like a Facebook account or a Google search.

> Implicit to omnichannel marketing is the idea that communication between marketing channels should be *all about the customer*. This results in a tailored campaign that adapts to each individual customer and responds to their unique needs, product preferences, and buying behaviors.

Also inherent to omnichannel is the idea that a campaign should take place wherever a customer is: in a store, on a smartphone, on Amazon, on Facebook—ideally, *everywhere*.

![Omnichannel_4-02.png](https://media.graphassets.com/5x20xVESXq5VM8OEAREQ)

Say a customer sees an ad for a pair of shoes on Instagram. Sometime later, having jumped from smartphone to laptop, they see a banner ad for the same shoes in their search browser, prompting them to add the item to their Amazon Shopping List. 

Later still, an email arrives with a promotional offer, finally compelling them to complete the purchase on the shoe company’s website. This is an omnichannel strategy that has successfully played out across different platforms, devices, and potential points of sale.

Synchronized online ad campaigns are a well-documented development (cue jokes about Instagram and Facebook eavesdropping on customer conversations). 

Coordinating between digital and in-person channels, however, requires a bit more creativity. It’s in this area where some of the most innovative omnichannel strategies are taking place. For instance:

- At **Bonobos**, in-store sales associates are more like personal shopping assistants. In fact, Bonobos “guideshops” don’t actually carry inventory. Instead, customers can set aside, try on, and purchase apparel they’ve saved through digital channels, then have items shipped directly to them. Bonobos’ in-person point-of-sale system thus interacts seamlessly with a customer’s online journey, resulting in a highly coordinated and personalized experience.

- **Starbucks** uses an app-based rewards program to cultivate digital relationships with customers and open up marketing opportunities across multiple channels. Meanwhile, customers can use the app to order drinks that they pick up in person—a system that puts the customer in charge and reduces friction once inside the shop.

Omnichannel campaigns keep the focus squarely on the customer, making them feel like the center of the universe and making it easy to complete a transaction in-store or online. The result is a significant boon to merchants’ bottom line.

![Omnichannel_4-03.png](https://media.graphassets.com/RjxD5p1QTmGsiRjgKugP) 

Consider the following:  

- [73% of retail consumers](https://hbr.org/2017/01/a-study-of-46000-shoppers-shows-that-omnichannel-retailing-works) use multiple channels to shop. 
- [91% of customers](https://www.accenture.com/t20171031T052156Z__w__/us-en/_acnmedia/PDF-34/Accenture-Pulse-Check-Dive-Key-Findings-Personalized-Experiences.pdf) are more likely to buy from brands that recognize their preferences and provide personalized product offers. 
- An optimized omnichannel experience drives greater traffic and sales, yielding up to a [9.5% increase](https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/06/15/2463295/0/en/Omnichannel-Selling-Increases-Revenue-9-5.html) in annual revenue.
- Strong omnichannel campaigns can result in a [7.5% reduction](https://v12data.com/blog/25-amazing-omnichannel-statistics-every-marketer-should-know/#:~:text=Companies%20with%20extremely%20strong%20omnichannel,48%25%20for%20weak%20omnichannel%20companies) in cost per contact year.

## Putting omni to work
For the right company, omnichannel can be revolutionary. In the long run, its ability to boost the customer experience and amplify profits can easily make the upfront effort worthwhile. 

> When we look at our data, we see that customers captured via omnichannel are bringing in 3x more revenue. The difference is, we know if someone saw an ad on a specific platform, so we can target specific kinds of customers. That allows us to ensure we’re sending them the right message at the right time. –Rob Smets, Account Director, Happy Horizons 

One example of this is [Happy Horizons](https://happyhorizon.com/nl/). As a full-service digital and creative agency based out of the Netherlands, Happy Horizons uses Channable to implement a variety of campaign strategies, including omnichannel. 

In their experience, they’ve noticed that companies that benefit from an omnichannel strategy tend to share the following characteristics:

- **A desire to spread sales across multiple platforms**: For example, a brand with strong in-person sales may see a need to sell more online. Happy Horizons caters to multiple customers with both online and offline stores. With Channable’s [Insights & Analytics,](https://www.channable.com/products/channable-insights) they can track when an online ad converts to an offline sale.
 
- **Products that can be differentiated by audience segment:** This includes Bonobos, with their varied styles—but not Apple, which sells the same iPhones to everyone. Happy Horizons uses Channable to store metrics from different audience segments in a single customer data platform (CDP). From there, they can build out differentiated campaigns based on documented interactions.

- **Appeal that doesn’t rely on the scarcity principle:** Omnichannel is all about ubiquity and omnipresence. Contrast this with, say, Nintendo, which kept the supply of its new Wii console limited in 2006 to generate a frenzy of excitement and anticipation.
 
- **A need to improve existing marketing efforts through data:** This allows companies to better target customers, convert impressions to sales more efficiently, and avoid leaving products stranded in forgotten shopping carts. For example, Happy Horizons aggregates search, performance, and product data on a centralized Channable dashboard. They can then consult these insights together and assess them holistically to tailor their creative campaigns.

## The costs of omnichannel
For all these benefits, it should be noted that the effort and expense of omnichannel must be balanced against competing needs. 

Launching an omnichannel campaign can be complex and time-consuming, and it requires a significant investment in tech infrastructure. Companies implementing omnichannel need to be able to: 

- Perform data-driven audience segmentation
- Match and meet customers across multiple devices 
- Collect and manage event-level data such as clicks and searches 
- Analyze that data to produce actionable marketing insights
- Automate all of the above across a range of platforms and devices

Omnichannel may also not be the ideal way to build a clear and consistent brand personality, since your messaging is dictated by the customer’s experience—not the other way around. 

However, for organizations with the resources to build and support an omnichannel strategy, it presents an unparalleled opportunity to meet customers where they are, allowing marketing teams to test strategies and learn from results in real-time.

## The virtues of multichannel
Unlike omnichannel, a multichannel marketing approach keeps ad messaging relatively static across distribution channels.

> As a result, companies that opt for multichannel see two key advantages. First, **multichannel is easier to implement**, given its comparatively simple, standardized content. Second, marketers can more closely **control how customers interact** with their brand and how their customers’ data is handled and applied.

For example, in the omnichannel journey above, the shoe company was equally happy to have its customer complete the purchase through Instagram, Amazon, or its own website. But consider Apple, a company far less receptive to third-party sellers.
 
Apple prompts customers to purchase directly from their showroom-like stores or their visually arresting website. Ultimately, the pleasure of interacting with Apple is part of the appeal of buying a new product. 

Apple retains complete control over the context in which customers experience their brand, and they limit reliance on third-party marketplaces that interpret and transmit customer data. 

They may cast a wide net when it comes to sparking product interest and engagement, but they aim for a relatively narrow customer experience.

![Omnichannel_4-05.png](https://media.graphassets.com/RSaxJlTtRoi1zZ8BaVMP)

For many companies, however, the advantage of multichannel is far more straightforward. It allows for an expanded reach without the heavy technological costs of omnichannel.
    
Ultimately, a company may opt for a multichannel approach for strategic reasons—maximizing the impact of isolated ads and touchpoints—or practical ones, like reserving their marketing resources for other initiatives.

## Getting the most out of multichannel
While multichannel is easier to implement and control than omnichannel, it still unfolds over a range of touchpoints and marketplaces. 

That means marketers still need to coordinate ads to run across different channels, eating up significant time and effort. That’s where innovative marketing solutions like Channable come in.

Channable helps marketers take care of the manual, time-consuming details of formatting, updating, and optimizing product feeds and ad content so that they run at peak performance, regardless of the platform.

![Omnichannel_4-04.png](https://media.graphassets.com/7d4rabcmRqCTOB3uvwBl)

For example, here are three ways leading brands have leveraged Channable’s platform to maximize returns on their multichannel strategies.

- Men’s clothing retailer [Suitable](https://www.channable.com/success-stories/suitable-retail-use-case-channable-insights) has eCommerce operations spanning seven countries and a wide spectrum of online marketplaces, price comparison sites, and social channels. They use Channable to **gather real-time data** on how products are performing, with analytics tools **automatically segmenting **and **discarding** products in targeted campaigns.

- [Ideal of Sweden](https://www.channable.com/success-stories/ideal-of-sweden) produces mobile phone accessories, with promotional videos central to the brand’s marketing strategy. They use Channable to **place videos **across a range of **websites**, **marketplaces**, and **social media platforms**, with Channable automatically adjusting and formatting the video content to each channel’s precise specifications.

- Luxury cosmetics company [Rituals](https://www.channable.com/success-stories/rituals-google-ads-campaign-focus-channable) used to update Google Ads manually, product by product, country by country. Using Channable, they can insert dynamic fields into their ads, which are automatically updated with any change to their database or inventory. The result is not only time savings but improved performance. Since partnering with Channable, their **clicks** are up **55%**, **CTR** is up **7.6%**, **AOV** is up **7.65%**, and **conversion rates** are up **4.7%**.

## The bottom line
When choosing your digital marketing strategy, it’s important to assess your appetite to take on additional effort, expenses, and technological challenges. Then, take a close and honest look at your product offerings, your sales goals, and your brand identity.
 
Not every multichannel approach is right for every business. The key is to weigh how your organization will benefit against any potential drawbacks to come to the right conclusion. 

## How Channable can help
At Channable, we make it easy for retailers and advertisers to manage their product feeds, integrate with a range of online marketplaces, and connect with customers around the world. 

Whether your objective is to keep distinct ads organized and automated in a basic multichannel campaign or to incorporate customer analytics in an intricate omnichannel strategy, we can help you grow.

To learn more or schedule a consultation, [reach out](https://www.channable.com/demo) to one of our eCommerce experts today.


Omnichannel and multichannel marketing: Which is best for your business?

So what can you do to help your ads cut through the noise?

##  5 industry secrets that will help you exceed eCommerce goals

### 1.  Ensure that your multi-channel strategy is robust

On average, consumers will interact with [20 different channels](https://internetretailing.net/marketing/as-shoppers-interact-with-brands-on-20-different-channels-marketers-struggle-to-keep-up-study-finds-23106/) on their journey before making a purchase.

> To be in with a chance of a click, ads need to be ready and waiting where consumers are shopping.

eCommerce advertisers must actively address the multi-channel trend to reach shoppers most effectively. 

The best bet at maximizing ad visibility lies not only in being multi-channel but in having a robust multi-channel strategy. The challenges of launching, managing, and scaling campaigns, plus the continuous battle of quality versus quantity, presents a hurdle for many advertisers. 

![CBL-BlogImage-2.png](https://media.graphassets.com/Tc1cwDwdSwGDh1vI2UtN)

The solution is to streamline the process with a fully integrated tool like Channable that will give you the visibility you need to run smarter multi-channel campaigns. 

Like what you’ve read so far? **[Start your free trial](https://www.channable.com/signup)** with Channable.

### 2. Don’t burden resources unnecessarily 

You already know that expanding your eCommerce presence is a guaranteed way to connect with more customers. However, with multiple channels come multiple challenges. 

Most advertisers find that the variable, specific information formats that each channel requires take up a disproportionate amount of time. Without the option of manually copying over data from your product feed, such tasks put needless strains on resources.

![CBL-BlogImage-3.png](https://media.graphassets.com/6SdulTwfQIlFAbT2oBop)

The solution here is to automate this process with a [feed management tool](https://www.channable.com/blog/blog-what-is-feed-management-and-why-do-you-need-it). This will allow you to manage your ads across multiple platforms from a single interface. 

Not only will automation get your ads up and running faster, it:

- Reduces the risk of human error 
- Provides flexibility to change ads as and when you need to
- Saves time for your team. 

The time saved here allows for a greater focus on other fundamental areas such as your overall strategy or budgets.

### 3. Keep your product data feed in tip top shape

It’s one thing to implement automated feed management but it’s another thing entirely to effectively maintain your data feed. With over [3,500 sellers joining Amazon](https://www.junglescout.com/blog/amazon-statistics/#:~:text=5.,party%20businesses%20selling%20on%20Amazon) alone each day, advertisers are entering an increasingly competitive landscape. 

The more relevant your information output, the greater the chance is that your ad will be shown when matched with a customer’s search query. An [optimized product feed](https://www.channable.com/blog/product-feed-optimization) helps your chosen platforms better understand your ads or product listings. 

![CBL-BlogImage-4.png](https://media.graphassets.com/PlbhyIgITcaCivi25mLI)

### 4. Be hyper-relevant 

The average American sees [4,000 to 10,000 ads daily](https://www.redcrowmarketing.com/2015/09/10/many-ads-see-one-day/), which means that standing out is no easy task. Every advertiser knows that thumb-stopping, clickable ads are the goal, but catching the right consumer’s eye can seem like an uphill battle. The place to start is hyper-personalization.

![CBL-BlogImage-5.png](https://media.graphassets.com/0JrvrdXERQmQN73E9zNl)

Scaling up dynamic ad campaigns across your platforms allows you to segment and target your audiences based on not only their data as consumers, but also third party data. This presents an unmissable opportunity to show your customers that you understand their needs through a highly customizable campaign structure.

A [PPC automation tool](https://www.channable.com/products/ppc-tool) will help streamline your keywords and URL strategy, both of which have a huge impact on your ad relevance and click-through rate. 

### 5. Read the data properly

If you’ve worked in digital marketing long enough, you’ve probably grown to love (and maybe hate) the term ‘data-driven decision making’. You already know that updating and optimizing your ads based on real-time data is the most effective way of managing your ad spend. 

However, the reality is that a lot of advertisers possess the data but not the automation power to lift digestible and, crucially, actionable insights. By choosing an [analytics dashboard](https://www.channable.com/products/channable-insights) that you can easily navigate, you’ll start to see the real power of harnessing key trends.

![CBL-BlogImage-6.png](https://media.graphassets.com/ubs0810dSjaupSFS0or5)

Once performance measurement is automated, where and how to optimize your ads becomes obvious. Campaign goals can be backed by data, meaning a better ROI. This data decision harmony is especially important when managing campaigns across a number of platforms as you learn which channel is most profitable. 

## Channable, the all-in-one solution 

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a platform that could do all of the above and more? With Channable it’s easy to launch, scale and manage your [campaigns](https://www.channable.com/products/product-feed-management-tool) across multiple marketplaces, platforms, and price comparison sites. Unlock eCommerce growth with our efficiency-boosting automation and get the visibility you need to optimize your ads and supercharge performance. 

If you’d like to start optimizing your ads today, [request a demo](https://www.channable.com/demo) now! 



How to optimize your ads in 2023

##  Why Do Customers Choose Competitors' Products Over Yours, Despite the Better Value for Money?
You run an online shop, and since you are conversant with e-commerce trends, you have chosen to send your products to online marketplaces to expand your customer base.
You put a lot of effort into putting things up, and your products have been listed on Amazon or Google Shopping for a while now, but you're starting to feel disappointed by the number of orders you're receiving. It's annoying.
Why do customers choose your competitors' products over yours, despite yours offering better value for money? 
Let’s see what could be the source of the problem:

### 1- Your Products Are Not Well Categorized
Your women's jeans will not sell if placed in the kid's caps category because the right customers are not seeing them. Plus, if a consumer still chooses to click on them, you'll have to pay for a pointless click.
### 2- You Are Exporting Every Single Product
Less can sometimes be more. Your conversion rate will increase if you only submit 150 of your best-performing products to marketplaces rather than all 1,200 of them (half of which you've never sold). Reduce the number of ineffective CPCs by concentrating on the products that have the best chance of selling.
### 3- Your Shipping Costs Are Too High
In an atmosphere where e-commerce is becoming increasingly competitive, merchants are fighting to offer the best service possible to draw online customers. Potential customers will slip through your fingers if you provide the same item at the same price as your competitors but charge extra for delivery.
### 4- Your Products' Titles and Descriptions Are Not Optimized
You lowered the price of your Dr. Martens shoes from €170 to only €110 two weeks ago, yet sales are still not growing? Online customers are really into discounts, so why don’t they seize the opportunity?

In this instance, you may have optimized the title or description of your product improperly. The length of the title is crucial, as is the selection of the appropriate keywords. Choose your keywords wisely, then use them in your titles and descriptions.
So how can you make this better?
Now that we've discussed the potential causes of the decline in sales of your products, all that's left for us to do is provide you with a solution!

To save your budget, we've analyzed the tactics of the best-performing sellers. Some of them are basic, and some are new. Read the article to learn seven ways to [increase your store visibility](https://www.channable.com/) and revenue on top marketplaces!

## 12 Strategies to Optimize Your Marketplace Sales in 2023

### 1. Check if your products match a chosen marketplace

It would be challenging for a handcraft products reseller to succeed on Newegg. That's because each marketplace has a different audience, products, and rules. For example: 

1. Etsy is a place for vintage and handcrafted products.

2. eBay is best for selling refurbished or used items.

3. Newegg is perfect for tech.

So, make sure you start at the right place. Here is a short guide for you on how to choose a marketplace that matches your products:

1. Do you sell to businesses or consumers? Depending on that, you may need features like bulk orders or quantity discounts.

2. The products you sell are new or used? 

3. Where are your competitors? Think about a general product category, but not your competitors’ names. 

4. Compare the fee structure of different marketplaces. Is there a listing fee? Do you have to pay a percentage of the final sale price? Do they offer discounts to professional merchants?

5. Compare the logistics and seller support services.

6. Does a chosen marketplace have a good reputation?

7. What kind of security does it provide?

Test them to find out what works best for you.

### 2. Keep your pricing up to date

Pricing isn't a decision you only get to make once, especially in the marketplace. Whether you have a cost-plus, competitors', or value-based model, it needs regular updates to stay competitive. For instance, [Black Friday SaaS deals](https://helpcrunch.com/blog/black-friday-cyber-monday-software-deals/) or [Amazon ](https://www.amazon.com/)prices change every 15 minutes.

So, here is a list of factors to consider during your following research before repricing: 

- Your product's value and a business's total operating cost.

- The revenue target you have set.

- How much your buyer personas can spend on your products?

- Your brand positioning. Do you belong to the premium segment?

- Does your product or service have enough [market demand](https://www.printful.com/blog/how-to-market-a-product) at the price point you're aiming for?

- Pricing of competitors.

- Trends in the market.

That sounds like a lot of work. Good to know that marketplaces allow businesses to adjust their prices automatically based on algorithms and machine learning, taking competitor pricing into account. 

While it isn't designed for every business, there are many companies that can benefit from it. Sure thing, there are third-party services to automate your pricing updates.

### 3. Optimize product page content

Product info is a vital element of your store’s success. Just imagine a champagne lover who   would purchase this sweater: 
![ Optimize Product Page Content.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/ov6WP6bTsC50Rq5ljaWb)
The sweater material and size are a mystery since there’s no description.

We’re sure your products have great content. But there is always room for improvement. Thus, here are expert tips to make it even better: 

1. Does your Call-To-Action button sound clear?

2. Are your product photos high-quality?

  - Do they fit a product description? 

  - Do they highlight the essential parts of a product from multiple angles? 

  - Can your shoppers zoom product photos?

  - Do you link photos to product variants (scents, colors, etc.?)

3. Do you provide all possible details of your product materials, origins, features, etc.?

4. Is your product page well-branded? In addition to logo and graphics, consider your copy tone of voice.

5. Do you highlight the value of your product for customers? What is the problem it solves?

6. Is your copy easy to read? Does it have long paragraphs or cliche?

7. Do you have an FAQ section?

8. Are there any social proofs on your product page? It is about customer testimonials with photos from Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

There are basics of how you can improve your product page. Check if your product page meets them.

### 4. Provide Superb Customer Service

[81%](https://cdn2.assets-servd.host/paltry-coyote/production/exports/2194a329d6f053118e42d885fe38fae7/zendesk-cx-trends-2022-report.pdf) of consumers say a positive customer service experience increases their chances of making another purchase. Ensure you meet their expectations:

- Opportunity to contact you on the preferable channel: socials, live chat, [email](https://www.sender.net/email-marketing-campaign/), etc.

- Reply within [four hours](https://www.toistersolutions.com/blog/how-quickly-should-you-respond-to-email) to email, and even less on other channels.

- Both self-service and human support opportunities. So provide FAQs, a Q&A section, help articles, [IVR system](https://getvoip.com/ivr-systems/) as well as a live chat or a phone number to support shoppers.

- Meeting the mentioned shipping deadlines.

Some marketplaces even publish customer support guidance to help their sellers. Here’s [Walmart’s example](https://marketplace.walmart.com/customer-service-communications/), but you can follow them on your marketplace too:

<table markdown>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">**DO**</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">**DON’T**</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Reply to customer queries within two days, including weekends. (It depends on the marketplace.)</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Sound robotic. Personalize your messages to a human-like conversation. </a>.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Listen to customers, and show that you care when solving their issues.</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Overpromise, or mislead.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Use ready-made templates to reply faster. Check your grammar.</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Provide customers with inaccurate contact data.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Check your spam folder.</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid #cccccc;">Ignore the marketplace message center.</td>
</tr></tbody></table>

In addition, look through your marketplace guidance. It can include specific requirements.

### 5. Offer payment methods according to a region's preference

E-store visitors are more likely to go through with their purchase if they can pay using the preferred method. Just look at the list of BestBuy options:
![Offer Payment Options That Are Preferred in Each Region.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/wbRvaLf9Q3C7772EMiJZ)
There are debt and credit cards next to the PayPal system.

Now check if your consumers can make payments in the way they prefer. For example, maybe you provide only a debit/credit card option when they use [Apple Pay](https://clario.co/blog/is-apple-pay-safe-and-secure/) mostly.
  
It is easy. Analyze your customer base shipping addresses and combine that info with regional payment systems preferences stats. For example:
![Regional payment system preference statistics.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/1MB8xGT9SJiKN3Y3sRaS)
Supporting payment methods aligned with shoppers' preferences is extremely important when you sell globally. Good to know, marketplaces provide you with the relevant info automatically.

### 6. Categorize products

Take a look at these sleeping bag categories. There are filling and shape ones that should be in the filters list instead.
![Sleeping bag classifications.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/lTRUYNynQ9SFx4pIT3wr)
Such an over-categorization led to an [80% site abandonment rate](https://baymard.com/blog/ecommerce-over-categorization).

This is only one of the categorization issues that may influence your sales. So, check if your taxonomy works at the best possible level. Here are some tips to help you:

- Avoid duplicated categories like “sports” and “athletic” apparel.

- Automate your product attributes organization to prevent category misidentification.

- Rethink your hierarchy structure if your main product categories exceed 15.

- Implement geo-categorization if there are locations you don’t ship some products to.

- Guide shoppers with a product quiz.

Sure thing, you can check it all manually. But if there are thousands of items in your store? Good to know there are automated [product categorization solutions](https://www.channable.com/blog/blog-improve-your-categorization) with up to 97% accuracy to help you.

### 7. Provide an opportunity to buy directly from any socials

The easier it is to buy your products, the more sales you have. What is more, it is one of the most [effective lead generation strategies](https://profitise.com/growing-business-with-lead-generation/) as a big number of users are active on social media these days. That's why businesses tend to shorten the sales cycle.

One of the best ways to do that on a marketplace is [by integrating it](https://www.channable.com/products/marketplace-integrator) with your socials and providing shoppable content. Here is how it looks:

![Integrate your marketplace with social media.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/44b3xGdER1y5btVg7G5Z)
The tap on the Pinterest story or Instagram post will show a link to a marketplace product page. In addition to the mentioned platforms, such a feature is available on Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube.

### 8. Get More Client Testimonials
On most marketplaces, positive reviews significantly impact rankings and can quickly move your products to the top of the search results. Encourage your customers to post thorough, positive thoughts that contain images or videos of them using your products if you want to enhance your marketplace sales.
Your online store's sales are highly dependent on reviews. According to studies, 77% of consumers regularly read reviews while looking for things online, and 49% of consumers say they trust online reviews as much as recommendations from their friends and social network connections. 
Customers are more inclined to choose the product with more favorable ratings when presented with two identical products.
So how can you replicate it?

- Manually ask each customer to provide a review. Most marketplaces let you ask for reviews via a specific review button (like Amazon) or by contacting the customer directly.
- If your subscribers have purchased your products, send them emails requesting them to post reviews.
- Send each product with a handwritten review request.

The majority of markets don't let you incentivize reviews. However, you may still encourage your customers to share their insights, particularly if you thank them personally and offer an outstanding customer service experience.

### 9. Perfect Your Branding
There are millions of merchants on Amazon, Walmart, and other major online marketplaces, all of which are vying to be the best. 
So how can you persuade a typical online shopper that you're unique, trustworthy, and deserving of their business? 
By providing a unique brand experience, communicating your brand values, and luring the right clients.
What makes it effective?
According to a recent study commissioned by Google Cloud, [82% of consumers](https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/consumer-packaged-goods/data-shows-shoppers-prioritizing-sustainability-and-values) prefer to patronize businesses that share their fundamental values. Additionally, 39% of consumers said they would boycott their favorite brands if their values conflicted. 
For this reason, e-commerce marketplaces allow vendors to develop a unique brand experience.

### 10. Create Content to Attract Visitors
A marketplace is a rented space; you don't own its inventory. 
Therefore, your marketplace approach should concentrate on developing the content you can use to attract traffic to your products to ensure the lowest possible fluctuation in your e-commerce sales.
And why does it work?
The platform's search algorithms and paid advertising are how most e-commerce marketplace sellers generate sales. 
This strategy is effective as long as your products appear for the right keywords and draw organic traffic. But the instant your rankings go down, you have nothing to fall back on.
Therefore, share information that is valuable, actionable, high-quality, relevant to your target market, and optimized for search engines.
This content will be hosted on your website's blog rather than the marketplace where your products are offered for sale.
But what do you stand to gain? 
According to Conductor's investigation:
After reading an informative blog post from a company, consumers are 131% more likely to make an immediate purchase from that company.
People have a 74% greater sense of optimism after reading a brand's educational content.
But that's not all. 
Your brand will become more well-known thanks to the traffic that content marketing helps you generate from organic search results, which can then be directed to your product pages on various marketplaces to boost sales.
### 11. Filter Your Relevant Products
Less can sometimes be more. You can improve your conversion rate and prevent "shelf-warmers" by sending only your best-selling products to marketplaces rather than your whole inventory. Reduce the number of ineffective CPCs by concentrating on the goods with the best probability of succeeding. 
Using Channable's automatic criteria, it is possible to eliminate seasonal products that should only be added during a specific time period, marginal sizes, and less popular versions. 
When you incorporate analytics data into your feed management solution, it becomes much easier to define the products that actually belong in your marketplace product catalog. User sessions, transactions, conversion rate, bounce rate, and revenue per item are all visible at a glance. For example, this is how item-level performance is visualized within Channable:
![Filter Your Relevant Products.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/6ojgeDMRlahgTTZgYxAZ)
Even large and dynamic product catalogs can be maintained and managed based on item performance with the help of rules based on analytics data. Knowing an item's performance helps you actively incorporate data insights into your business operations. The rule in the example below adds the static text "Top seller!" to any product title with a defined revenue of more than 1000 euros.
![Filter Your Relevant Products.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/Ca4Wtv1aQpaWUwN2Ykk6)
The second performance-based rule example shows how you can easily exclude any products from your marketplace export that have conversion rates that you deem to be (too) low.
![Filter Your Relevant Products.jpg](https://media.graphassets.com/d563OzY2Q62JDnnAjQsn)
### 12. Synchronize Your Data
Instead of wasting time manually managing orders and updating stock levels, sync order data from numerous marketplaces to the backend of your online store. Real-time stock adjustments will be pushed to some markets and platforms, and shipping information will automatically be updated. 
By integrating your eCommerce platform (such as Shopify) into Channable, you can automatically manage your inventory across channels and make sure that your products are accurately and timely listed on your eCommerce marketplaces. All orders may be controlled from your eCommerce platform once your data has been optimized and the marketplaces have been connected within the feed management tool. 
Say goodbye to copying and pasting, and welcome to receiving order information instantly!

## So how can you improve all of this?
Now that we’ve been through the possible reasons for the lack of sales of your products, all that’s left for us to do is provide you with a solution!

### [Data Feed Management](https://www.channable.com/products/product-feed-management-tool)
A data feed manager is a complex name given to a very simple solution. This online tool allows you to import the products from your online store and resolve all of the above-mentioned aspects in a single place. As its name suggests, the tool works with data feeds, meaning it imports the product catalog of your website.

Once your products are imported, you will be able to categorize them, optimize their title and description, adjust their shipping cost, exclude some products, and much more. All of this can be done by creating straightforward ‘if/then’ rules, such as, for instance, “if stock is lower than 2, then exclude product”. Once you’ve selected and optimized your articles, you will be able to directly send them to the platforms of your choice.

Are you ready to boost your online sales? Then start your free [trial now](https://www.channable.com/signup)! Our technical team would be happy to help you set up your first feed, all for free!

## Final Words
There are ways to increase sales on marketplaces, stand out, and boost conversions in a highly competitive retail environment.
Are you ready to increase sales on marketplaces?
Channable is here to help. 
You can easily manage and optimize your product feeds by using our product feed management tool. More than 2500 connected advertising platforms are available, or you can make your own custom feeds. 
What are you waiting for?
[Start your free trial now! 
](https://www.channable.com/pricing)Our technical team would be happy to help you set up your first feed, all for free!



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