Digital Recap: Google Shopping Goes Organic & More

Google Shopping’s Free & Paid Product Listings Explained

Google made major changes to its Shopping search in April by including both organic and paid listings in its results. In her article for Search Engine Land, Ginny Marvin answers frequently asked questions about Google Shopping and provides insights on what brands and retailers need to know to make their products visible on the service. Marvin’s article is thorough; she provides an illustrated, step-by-step guide to getting started with the new organic product listings. A must read for Google Shopping beginners and old hats alike!

Read Marvin’s full article here: “FAQ: All about Google Shopping’s free and paid product listings.”

Facebook Releases Report on COVID-19 Impact, Creates New ‘Shops’ Feature

Small businesses are some of the hardest hit by COVID-19. This week, Facebook released a study that examines what SMBs are seeing now and how they feel about their situations moving forward. Andrew Hutchinson examined this report for Social Media Today and found that while uncertainty is a prominent sentiment for business owners, there are indicators of future opportunity and potential, especially in the digital realm.

As Hutchinson reports, businesses are exploring e-commerce options, digital payments, and more opportunities to connect with partners and customers online. This is smart, as the data demonstrates that consumers are online more than ever. And with this societal shift to e-commerce, Facebook also announced this week that they are releasing a new shopping feature on both Facebook and Instagram and they anticipate that it will be a help to small businesses. ‘Shops’ allows businesses to upload a catalog of merchandise and allows shoppers to browse the products and make a purchase from within the Facebook app. Steven Melendez provides a summary of the new feature’s capabilities in his article for Fast Company.

For further insight on Facebook’s study on the impact of COVID-19 on SMBs, read Hutchinson’s article, “Facebook Publishes New Report on the Impact of COVID-19 on Small Businesses.”

Read Melendez’s work on Facebook’s new ‘Shops’ feature: “Facebook and Instagram are about to become small-business shopping hubs.”

YouTube’s New Premium Advertising Program

As previously reported, CTV viewing has increased substantially over the past few months. Even audio streaming has diverted to video, as data indicates users are consuming more music through music videos instead of pure music streaming platforms. YouTube is helping brand advertisers capitalize on these new viewing habits with a relaunch of its advertising program, now called YouTube Select. Ginny Marvin provides a review of YouTube Select in her article for Marketing Land. New features include:

• Lineups: Content on YouTube Select is packaged in ‘lineups,’ which are tailored by topic, like beauty & fashion, entertainment, technology, and sports.
• TV Audience Targeting: Advertisers in the U.S. will be able to target TV screen viewing for the first time.

For more detail, read Ginny Marvin’s article, “YouTube Select: YouTube’s new premium advertising program adds connected TV targeting.”