Google is finally adding its coveted Trusted Store badge to free shopping listings in search results.
The badge has been available to reliable brands on the platform for nearly a decade at this point and has been proven to increase trust in online retailers by verifying your reputation.
Stores running paid shopping listings have been able to take advantage of this by showcasing their Trusted Store badge on their ads, however, this has not been an option for those whose free product listings get shown.
What Is The Google Trusted Store Badge?
The Google Trusted Store badge is a small icon representing that your business has been recognized by Google for delivering great products, fast shipping, and amazing customer service.
Though the badge is typically thought to represent pages with consistently high Google customer reviews, eligibility is actually determined by Shopping Experience Scorecard scores. These scores are determined by monitoring submitted data from online stores to assess the speed and quality of service.
If Google determines that you are an upstanding brand, you will then be notified that you are eligible to be a Google Trusted Store.
What Is The Benefit of Being a Google Trusted Store?
Beyond earning a badge that will now appear on both paid and free product listings, being a Trusted Store brings several benefits for brands, including increased product listing engagement, more prominently displayed product listings, and increased trust from potential customers.
Perhaps most notably, being a Trusted Store also gives brands the ability to offer free purchase protection for customers, up to a specific amount of money.
New Analytics Tools For Free Product Listings
Along with announcing that free product listings in Google search results may display the Trusted Store badge, the search engine launched a number of analytics tools for free listings.
These new reporting tools provide details across several metrics including:
- Total traffic
- Impressions
- Conversion rates
- Pricing competition
This marks the first time performance data has been available to merchants for free product listings.
The Big Picture
These upgrades to free product listings bring them more in line with paid shopping listings, making them potentially more attractive to online retailers. Thanks to the introduction of the new reporting tools, brands can also start refining their listings to improve click-through and conversion rates based on their recent performance and shopping trends.