Google is transitioning its popular e-commerce service Merchant Center to a new, easier-to-use tool called Merchant Center Next.
As announced during the recent Google Marketing Live 2023 event, Merchant Center Next is not only getting a fresh coat of paint, it is being upgraded to automate tedious processes like updating product data and delivering better insights.
What’s Changing
While the original Merchant Center made retailers manually set up a product feed and add details like pricing, imagery, and descriptions, Merchant Center Next will do all this automatically.
Once the tool pulls product data, retailers can edit or update information as they need.
If they desire, brands can also opt out of using the automated features.
Along with this, Merchant Center Next will contain a streamlined version of the current Performance tab, which will include a range of new details like:
Overview
Competitive visibility
Pricing
Demand
Non-product website results
Merchant Center Next will also allow retailers with multiple physical locations to manage their products at all locations in one view.
Coming in 2024, or Earlier
Some businesses have already been given access to Merchant Center Next, but it may be some time before everyone can use it. Currently, the service is expected to be completely rolled out in 2024.
Once Merchant Center Next is available, retailers already using Merchant Center will be notified.
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ezgif.com-webp-to-jpg.jpg12001600Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2023-06-01 17:34:092023-06-01 17:34:11Google’s E-Commerce Service Merchant Center Is Becoming Merchant Center Next
Google is rolling out several new updates and features for Google Search aimed at making it easier for users to find the content they are looking for.
Among the announcements, the search engine revealed new ways to use augmented reality (AR) and Google Lens to shop for products and find information like how to get a dish you’ve been craving from a nearby restaurant.
Below, we will go over the announcements one by one to break down the details and when you can start using these tools to help users find your products and services.
Introducing Multisearch For Food
Google is working to unite its search tools including Google Lens and Maps so that users can seamlessly combine types of searches into one powerful search.
For example, using multisearch, you can now take a picture of a meal in Google Lens and add a text modifier such as “near me” to discover what restaurants serve that meal.
“This new way of searching will help me find local businesses in my community, so I can more easily support neighborhood shops during the holidays,” said Cindy Huynh, Product Manager of Google Lens.
This feature is rolling out for all English-language U.S. users today.
Search For Specific Dishes
Along with the announcement above, Google revealed that users can also simply search for specific dishes by name to find information including who serves this dish, pricing, ingredients, and more
As Google’s Sophia Lin says:
“I often crave comfort food this time of year — like truffle mac and cheese — but I don’t always know where to find it. Lucky for foodies, starting today, you can now search for the exact dish you’re craving and see all the places near you that serve it.”
The first way Google is doing this is by allowing you to see potential show purchases in your living space.
Starting today, shoppers can not only see high-quality 3D models of shoes. They can spin them around, zoom in on details, and even see the shoes as they would look in your typical surroundings.
Importantly, this is available for any brand with 3D assets of their shoes or home goods.
Additionally, Google has upgraded its AR shopping tools for makeup to include a broader range of skin tones and models with a more diverse set of features.
The search engine has added over 150 new models with a diverse spectrum of skin tones, ages, genders, face shapes, ethnicities, and skin tones to test cosmetics on.
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Blog_Post_Illustration.max-1000x1000-1.png4281000Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2022-11-17 20:38:112022-11-17 20:38:13Google Reveals New AR And Multisearch Features For Search
If you are an online retailer, you are no doubt familiar with Google’s wide array of special features built for online shopping. You are also probably aware of how confusing it can be to get included in these unique search results.
To help clarify this process and make it easier to get your products highlighted in Google’s search results, the search engine recently revealed some technical tips and tricks for e-commerce sites.
Why It Takes Extra Work To Get In Google Shopping Results
The first question most business owners or site managers might have when they start trying to get their products included in Google Shopping results is “why do I have to do all this extra work?”
Google’s whole thing is analyzing sites and automatically delivering that information in its search results, right? Why can’t they just pull your product info when your pages get indexed?
The simple answer is that Google knows online retail changes very quickly and shoppers get very frustrated with out of date or inaccurate information. If this became a frequent problem, users would likely stop paying attention to Google’s product-related search results.
While the search engine regularly re-indexes updated webpages, it can’t guarantee pages will be indexed fast enough to ensure information is up-to-date for searchers.
Additionally, there are some features which online retailers tend to provide to help shoppers which can make things a little confusing for search engines to understand.
For example, Google says it still struggles with accurately telling the difference between these types of information:
Original Price vs. Discounted Price
Related Products vs. The Main Product Being Sold
Taxes or Shipping Costs vs. The Actual Product Price
This is why the search engine asks online retailers to help provide this information for Google Shopping results.
Now, let’s get into the advice from Google Developer Advocate Alan Kent and how you can get your products into Google product showcases.
Two Ways To Give Google Your Product Data
In the latest Lightning Talks video, Kent discusses two different ways site managers can get their product information to Google.
The first method is by using structured data. This is essentially using special coding embedded into pages to provide Google with additional information typically not provided through regular site code or markup.
This is generally seen as the advanced approach because it requires significant knowledge of coding and the latest structured data techniques.
The other method covered by Kent is by directly providing product data through Google Merchant Center, which can be done with:
A feed of all product data manually submitted to the search engine.
An API developed to update products individually as changes are made on your site.
While providing product data to search engines is essential for appearing in these specific product-centric search results, the company emphasizes that these practices don’t replace traditional SEO.
“Remember that SEO still matters for organic search. Make your product details, such as images and descriptions, appealing to your customers.”
If you want to watch the full explanation from Kent, it is available below:
https://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/google_shopping_competitors_Img.png6001000Taylor Ballhttps://www.tulsamarketingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMO-Logo.pngTaylor Ball2021-03-25 15:56:272021-03-25 15:56:28Google Explains How To Get Your Products Featured In Search
