Back in April 2020, Google announced that businesses would be able to list Shopping products for free. Google Shopping had free listings for US merchants, beginning with the Shopping tab which later expended to the main SERP.
Now Google has announced that the free listings in the Shopping tab are now launching across countries in other continents – including Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Google has the following to say:
Just as we don’t charge sites to be part of the Google Search index, listings for participating retailers are eligible to appear in these results at no cost to them. Paid listings will continue to appear in ad slots and will operate in the same way as Shopping ads do today.This change will take effect by mid-October 2020.
https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/10033607
So, how do you get your products features in the Shopping tab for free?
Quite simply, you need to opt in when you sign up for Merchant Centre. If you already have an existing Merchant Centre account, you need to head to “Growth” which is in the left navigation menu. Under here, click “manage programs”, and then you can view “Surfaces across Google” in order to find more information.
Essentially, this helps businesses get more eyes on products with increased exposure. For shoppers, it means that more products are available under the Google Shopping tab. You can also compliment free shopping lists with paid shopping ads.
If you need a helping hand or have any questions, feel free to get in touch.
