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Etsy Investing in Google Product Listing Ads for Sellers

Frank Harris avatar Admin
Frank Harris 3:20 pm Sep 25, 2012 EDT edited
Updated: For the remainder of 2012, Etsy will purchase these ads for English-language listings that ship to the U.S. listing free of charge.

See the updated post:
www.etsy.com/teams/7718/site-help/discuss/10976856/page/53/?post_id...

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Starting October 2, 2012, US sellers with at least one active listing will automatically be included in relevant Etsy sponsored Google Product Listing Ads without any additional fees!

Traffic from Product Listing Ads will be reported in Shop Stats, so you can track the action in your neck of the woods.

Join the discussion in this forum thread. We hope these ads will help bring more members from the wider world of the web to the Etsy community!

Full post here: www.etsy.com/blog/news/2012/etsy-investing-in-google-product-listin...

Thanks,
Frank

18 Highlighted Responses

Nat S. avatar Admin
Nat S. from natalieschwartz 3:31 pm Sep 25, 2012 EDT
Please forgive me, if the answer is obvious but, how come just US sellers? :)
__________________
Hi Nikol,

Frank addressed this directly in the blog post: "Because of Google’s country specific restrictions, international shops will not be promoted in the Google Shopping experience; however we will monitor the expansion of Google Shopping to other countries in the event that we continue these ads next year, to make sure our international sellers are represented."
We'll keep you posted!
Nat S. avatar Admin
Nat S. from natalieschwartz 3:41 pm Sep 25, 2012 EDT
allisoneastmanbeads from allisoneastmanbeads says
Will the ads link to the product, that sellers shop, or generic search on Etsy?
Will the relevant search terms include the sellers shop name, or just be generated by the title/description of the item?
____________________

Good questions Allison,
The ads will link to the product listing page on Etsy. Unfortunately, we have limited insight into how Google matches items to search terms -- it's their ranking/secret sauce.
Nat S. avatar Admin
Nat S. from natalieschwartz 3:48 pm Sep 25, 2012 EDT
Eva from LadyArtisan says
Two questions:

1. You pretty plainly state that you will be evaluating how profitable these ads are with Google Shopping since Etsy is making such an investment. Makes a lot of sense. However, since international sellers are currently excluded (because of Google), when other countries are opened up for Google Shopping in the future, will you be adding them in and evaluating their profitability? In other words, what if you find out that it's not really a profitable ad campaign for US sellers? Will you still be willing to try it out for internationals when it becomes available for them?

2. The experimental modules that you'll be using on some listing pages--will those ONLY be visible if someone comes in through Google Shopping or are you intending on adding those for anyone who comes directly to a listing from offsite?

I notice the Product Listing Ads are optional and you state that if you do opt out that your items won't be included in the similar item module on other seller's pages but I just want to verify that these modules aren't going to show up if someone comes to one of my listings through an email link I send them or Google search, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
_________

Good questions.
1. We are dedicated to promoting our sellers in the US and abroad! We will look at the international offering from Google next year and revise our marketing strategy as appropriate, regardless of the performance of our US ads.

2. You are correct- experimental modules will only be visible on visits coming directly from Google Product Listing ads.

Thanks!
Natalie
Nat S. avatar Admin
Nat S. from natalieschwartz 3:52 pm Sep 25, 2012 EDT

Eva from LadyArtisan says
Ah, I didn't realize that Google didn't have Google Shopping for any international countries. In that case, I second what Cindy says--you should be looking at ways to advertise for internationals, as well. As much as I love being in the US and having access to all of these perks, you are seriously alienating your international sellers by not providing commensurate benefits to them.
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HI Eva!

As we mentioned in our post, this is just ONE of our marketing tactics. We advertise in multiple channels and markets including internationally!

Natalie
Rob White avatar Admin
Rob White 4:00 pm Sep 25, 2012 EDT
newhopebeading from newhopebeading says

question Frank or Nat... google shopping used to bump listings that said like "free shipping" or "sale" or "gift" in the title .... should we make sure none of our listings have these so we show up?

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This is still applicable, yes. Google Shopping does not allow listings with promotional or boilerplate text in the description, such as "free shipping." We recommend keeping information about shipping in your Shipping Profiles and Shop Policies.
Nellwyn Thomas avatar Admin
Nellwyn Thomas 4:02 pm Sep 25, 2012 EDT
Jo from StylinDollKnitz says
How do you determine what a US shop is? I see some shops with multiple locations (ex. London, Singapore and NYC). Will those shops be found in the ads?

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Hi Jo,

We use a number of signals to determine where a shop is based, including seller's billing address and where items ship from.

Again, we are invested in representing all Etsy sellers in online advertising; unfortunately Google policies limit our options in this particular case.

Thanks for your question,
Nell
Nellwyn Thomas avatar Admin
Nellwyn Thomas 4:15 pm Sep 25, 2012 EDT
Lisa from MoLGifts says

Another question:
"Sellers can always opt out of the free Product Listing Ads, but will lose the eligibility to be featured as a similar item on other sellers’ advertised listing pages."

What about those shops that can't even 'opt in'? Will the 'similar items' all be US based shops?

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Hi Lisa,

This is a great question. Yes, items from international sellers are are eligible to be featured as similar listings, even though we aren't able to syndicate those listings to Google Shopping at this time.

Hope that helps clarify!
Nell

Nellwyn Thomas avatar Admin
Nellwyn Thomas 4:25 pm Sep 25, 2012 EDT
allisoneastmanbeads from allisoneastmanbeads says
Ok, so another question-

My only products that come up in google are sold ones. So, if those are clicked on, the customer is going to be taken to a page full of my competitors similar items, correct?

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Hi allisoneastmanbeads,

Feel free to convo me with the example, and I'll look into it more. Sold out listings should be removed from Google Shopping relatively quickly.

Thanks,
Nell
Rob White avatar Admin
Rob White 5:26 pm Sep 25, 2012 EDT
newhopebeading from newhopebeading says

thanks rob... follow up question. To my knowledge google shopping does not look at any tags anymore. Is this still true?

The reason I ask is Etsy sometimes suggests the tag like "free shipping etsy" during black friday and cyber monday... you guys will promote that tag... it is usually like in an etsy blog SO I just want to double check before black friday whether or not having free shipping in TAGS is ok :)

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If you do not choose any subcategories when you list an item, Google Shopping will take your first two tags for the "product_type" attribute in order to categorize that item. Otherwise, this is something that Google doesn't share with us and so I can't give you the answer that I'd like to. I can show you what Google Shopping attributes Etsy supports, and those are here:

www.etsy.com/help/article/259

As well as how to ensure that your items appear on Google Shopping, here:

www.etsy.com/help/article/258
Rob White avatar Admin
Rob White 5:29 pm Sep 25, 2012 EDT
Krystal from ModernSwitch says
Is there a reference list for boilerplate words we should avoid in our titles? I know the obvious ones all related to free shipping, but what are the major keywords we should avoid?

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All I've got are the policies Google Shopping cites for how to ensure your items are listed on the service, which are posted in part here:

www.etsy.com/help/article/258

I was not able to locate a reference list of boilerplate words or text that you were looking for, but you may have more luck; there's a link to Google Shopping policies from Google itself at the bottom of that help article.
Frank Harris avatar Admin
Frank Harris 6:47 pm Sep 26, 2012 EDT
Thanks for your all your feedback and suggestions. As always, we’re listening and appreciate your honest opinions. We had the chance to speak with Google this morning, and wanted to give an update on some of the main concerns brought up in this thread.

1. “Why are non-US sellers left out of Google Product Listing Ads?”
After hearing your feedback, we spoke with Google in hopes of working out more inclusive terms, and are happy to announce that we can now include all English listings that ship to the US in Google Product Listing Ads! When Google Shopping launches in October, all English language active listings that ship to the US, irrespective of seller country, will be eligible to be syndicated. We will be making these changes over the course of the week. Google has requested that we remind all our sellers that to be included in Google Shopping you must abide by their policies around tax and shipping (support.google.com/merchants/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=188484#US).

2. “Etsy should only provide new features if everyone is able to benefit, not just the US”
We strive to make the Etsy experience consistent to all our sellers near and far, but there are many factors that influence our launch strategy, and which features are enabled for whom. Unfortunately, we cannot always roll-out features to everyone at once. However, we strongly believe that the entire seller community benefits from the additional traffic and new visitors.

3. “Etsy should be advertising just as much internationally as in the US”
While we typically don’t disclose how much we spend on marketing or our various ad placements, we shared this launch because we know there’s a sensitivity with Google Product Listing Ads since we are linking directly to sellers’ listing pages. Google Product Listing Ads is just a small share of the marketing we are currently running for the remainder of 2012. We’re also developing more marketing campaigns internationally and in US for the coming holiday season, and we’re dedicated to driving new Etsy users all over the globe!

Thanks,
Frank
Frank Harris avatar Admin
Frank Harris 6:55 pm Sep 26, 2012 EDT
@Swoon:
> Do you know whether 'everywhere else' will suffice, or does US have to be
> specifically mentioned when listing shipping costs?

Yes.
Frank Harris avatar Admin
Frank Harris 6:56 pm Sep 26, 2012 EDT
@Janne:
> Does that mean that after (just recently) being removed, my shop's
> Syndication and that of other International Sellers will be reinstated?

Yes, we will be making these changes over the course of the week.
Frank Harris avatar Admin
Frank Harris 6:57 pm Sep 26, 2012 EDT
@Swoon:
Yes, "Everywhere else" will suffice.
Nat S. avatar Admin
Nat S. from natalieschwartz 7:27 pm Sep 26, 2012 EDT
Marina from MariTStudio
Does that mean that we will have to change the selling currency back to US dollars in order to have the listings into google shopping if we sell in another currency?
_________

Hi Marina,
No need to change your currency on Etsy, this is handled automatically for you before given to Google.
Nellwyn Thomas avatar Admin
Nellwyn Thomas 7:34 pm Sep 26, 2012 EDT
newhopebeading from newhopebeading says Edited on Sep 26, 2012

Thanks for the update Frank that is great news.
I had a question last night. The Etsy attributes of "who is it for?" "Occasion" "style" I usually fill out second two but leave "who is it for?" blank because I don't want to limit myself. Does that matter now for google shopping? Like should we have all 3 questions filled out?

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Hi! Good question. We do syndicate gender based on 'Who is it for'. We don't syndicate the other attributes as structured data, however since they appear on listing page they may also be used by Google.
Nellwyn Thomas avatar Admin
Nellwyn Thomas 7:55 pm Sep 26, 2012 EDT edited
secretjewellz from SecretJewellz says
I never fill those attributes in either. I always thought them to be limiting. Should we be doing that now?

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Sorry if the language in my last post was confusing. You don't need to fill out those attributes to have your listing syndicated. If you do fill out 'Who is it for' that data will be used by Google, but it is by no means necessary. Hope that helps!
Audrey avatar Admin
Audrey 4:30 pm Sep 27, 2012 EDT
Hi!

We've been reading a lot of questions about customs. As some of you have read on Google's policy page, in order to be compliant with Google Shopping, shipping fees should cover custom fees for items sent from outside the U.S. Failure to do so runs the risk of violating Google's policy, for which your items and/or shop may be excluded from Google Shopping.

In general, we remind you that while we will be submitting all English-language listings that ship to US, unfortunately, we don't have control over which listings are displayed and in what order they appear. Google also reserves the right to not display items that violate their policies, which you can read more about here:

support.google.com/merchants/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=188484#US

Hope this helps!

877 Responses

hARTjewelry avatar
hARTjewelry from hARTjewelry 3:23 pm Sep 25, 2012 EDT
Wow! Thanks, Frank.

By the way, how will we know the views came from Google Product Listing Ads as opposed to google.com?
Nora avatar
Nora from ThePulparazzi 3:25 pm Sep 25, 2012 EDT
That is good news.
Nikol Wikman avatar
Nikol Wikman from NikolWikmanArt 3:26 pm Sep 25, 2012 EDT
Please forgive me, if the answer is obvious but, how come just US sellers? :)
Bizzie avatar
Bizzie from BizzieLizzie 3:26 pm Sep 25, 2012 EDT
Hot Diggity! Thanks, Frank!!
Madi avatar
Madi from Supplyology 3:27 pm Sep 25, 2012 EDT
Cool! Thanks....
Lego avatar
Lego from AllegroArts 3:28 pm Sep 25, 2012 EDT
woohoo!

*taps keg*
Jme avatar
Jme from Jalycme 3:28 pm Sep 25, 2012 EDT
Thanks for the heads up Frank!
hARTjewelry avatar
hARTjewelry from hARTjewelry 3:28 pm Sep 25, 2012 EDT
Good question, Nikol! :-)
Lynette avatar
Lynette from dishhandbags 3:28 pm Sep 25, 2012 EDT
Marking :)

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