Updated: 30th April 2024

As ease of access to e-commerce setup continues to grow, Google Ads is the perfect platform to use alongside your Shopify store to better target your customers, grow your brand, and create advantage in a competitive market. On Shopify, standing out from the crowd is essential for success. From global retailers with higher product margins to competitors with different features, countless online businesses are constantly vying for a customers' attention. It is crucial to adopt strategic marketing approaches to drive traffic, boost sales, and grow your brand & business.

In a crowded marketplace, how far can you get shouting in a room with everyone else shouting as loud, with the same message? How do you open the door and let your message out? How do you make sure that message reaches the right people? There are many digital marketing channels and tools you can use to achieve your Shopify goals. One such powerful tool at your disposal is Google Ads.

In this blog post, we'll explore how Google Ads can significantly benefit your Shopify store and contribute to its growth.

Understanding Google Ads

Google Ads is an online advertising platform that not only provides opportunity on typical Google search engine results pages (SERPs), but across most platforms and networks you can think of. It allows businesses to create and display ads across Google's vast network, including its search engine, websites, email, apps, and even YouTube. These ads can take various forms, from text-based ads to visually captivating display ads, and can be shown to users who are actively searching for relevant keywords or browsing content related to your products.

Aligning Google Ads With Your Shopify Goals

With many different networks available on Google Ads, it is important to remember that not every network will be suitable for your goals. Certain networks will grow brand awareness, while others are more suitable for generating warm enquiries. Others are there specifically to create sales opportunities, which are the most likely to use with your Shopify store. Understanding what you want to achieve with Shopify is the first step to using Google Ads to your advantage on your Shopify store.

Fair warning… Google Ads is an easy platform to start but a very hard one to master. This is a broad reference guide to what can be achieved with the platform, but it is always best to discuss your strategy with a certified professional to have the best chance at a positive return on investment!

Benefits of Google Ads for Your Shopify Store

Every business must invest to grow, and Google Ads gives you a tremendous platform to promote your message and offering in your own style. The opportunities exist within Google Ads to dramatically increase your revenue & audience size, to re-engage site visitors, but ultimately to do so on your terms at a scale & speed you are comfortable with.

1. Increased Visibility and Reach

Billions of searches are conducted daily on Google. You may have used Google Search to find this helpful guide! By running Google Ads, your Shopify store can appear at the top of relevant search results, putting your products in front of potential customers actively looking for what you offer. If you have low organic positions, this can catapult your Shopify store in front of relevant eyes. This increased visibility can significantly boost your brand's recognition and drive more qualified traffic to your online store.

2. Highly Targeted Advertising

Google Ads provides advanced targeting options that allow you to define your audience based on factors such as location, demographics, interests, and even the devices they use. This precision targeting ensures that your ads are displayed to users who are most likely to be interested in your products, increasing the likelihood of conversions and sales.

3. Flexible Budgeting

Whether you're a small business with a limited budget or a larger enterprise looking to maximise your advertising spend, Google Ads offers flexible budgeting options. There are many bidding strategies which are important to achieving your goals, but you only pay when someone clicks on your ad (pay-per-click), which means you can control and leverage your spend at the most profitable times, increasing value for your investment. The granularity of the budgeting within Google Ads means that even you can make every penny you spend on Ads accountable, and maximise the return on ad spend for your Shopify store.

4. Performance Tracking and Analytics

Within Shopify, you have a wealth of reporting metrics to review your site’s overall performance. Google Ads itself however provides comprehensive tracking tools that allow you to monitor the performance of your campaigns. You can track metrics such as click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, and return on investment (ROI). Google Ads also has a feature called 'Solutions' which can help break your metrics down and display them in spreadsheets ready for monitoring.

This data empowers you to make informed decisions about your ad strategy and refine your campaigns for better results. You can also utilise attribution models differently on Ads to review how your campaigns are affecting the overall user journey, particularly where a purchase may be a multi-visit or multi-touchpoint decision.

5. Remarketing Opportunities

Another fantastic benefit to your Shopify store within Google Ads is the ability to retarget users who have previously visited your Shopify store but didn't purchase. Through the power of remarketing, you can display tailored ads to these users as they browse other websites or platforms within the Google Display Network, reminding them of your products and encouraging them to return and convert. The Google Display Network covers approximately 90% of the internet, so you have a huge opportunity to ensure users return.

Seamless Integration of Google Ads & Shopify

One of the major advantages of using Google Ads for your Shopify store is its seamless integration. Shopify offers an easy integration process that enables you to link your Google Ads account directly to your store. This integration can simplify tasks like tracking simple conversions and basic management of your product feed, giving you more time to focus on other aspects of your business.

Depending on what network you use on Google Ads, you may need to create a Google Merchant Center account, which will process your Shopify product data feed into Google Ads. This is relevant when you are using Shopping Ads on Google, or if you want to utilise more of the new Performance Max campaign styles. 

Getting Started with Google Ads for Shopify

Keyword Research: Identify relevant keywords that potential customers might use to find products similar to yours. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner to discover high-traffic keywords - or just search your terms on Google and see what appears.

Compelling Ad Copy: Craft engaging and concise Google ad copy that highlights the unique selling points of your products. Use compelling language that resonates with your target audience.

Landing Page Optimisation: Create a landing page for your ads that is relevant, user-friendly, engaging, and well optimised to convert.

Review and Strategise: Regularly monitor the performance of your ads. You can use A/B testing to determine which strategies provide the best results.

Conversion Tracking: Implement conversion tracking to measure the success of your campaigns accurately. This can involve setting up tracking codes to monitor specific actions on your website, such as completed purchases, newsletter sign-ups, or contact form submissions.

Common Issues With Google Ads & Shopify

As with any channel, Google Ads must be closely monitored to achieve success. There are many common mistakes which frequently occur with first-time Google Ads users on Shopify:

• Without proper maintenance, a campaign could target the wrong people, or create a bad experience, which will cost you money with no return
• Budgets not set correctly can spend considerably - always check the decimal point when setting a budget!
• Inaccurate conversion tracking will leave you with no way of truly gauging the success of campaigns
• Product ranges with tricky variant breakdowns or shipping parameters may be unsuitable for the standard Shopify & Google App linkage, meaning a data feed app may be required
• Products may not be made available for sale on the proper channels within Shopify
• Associated terms with no relevance to your product range can dilute your results and again cost you money as people may click on your ads that are not actually within your target audience

Google Ads & Shopify Are a Great Link When Used Well

As the e-commerce landscape continues to evolve, harnessing the power of Google Ads is a natural strategic move for your Shopify store. With its unparalleled reach, precise targeting capabilities, and actionable insights, Google Ads can drive meaningful traffic, increase brand visibility, and ultimately contribute to the growth of your e-commerce business. By understanding its benefits and implementing a well-thought-out strategy, you can unlock the full potential of Google Ads and propel your Shopify store to new heights of success.

Working With Experts in Google Ads & Shopify

At Mucky Puddle, we are Google accredited Ads experts across each network on Google’s Ads platform. We have created and managed countless campaigns for clients across a range of industries, from initial startups to established global businesses; from quick to buy purchases to more considered multi-channel & multi-touch point investments.

As we said, Google Ads is easy to start but hard to master, and often the smallest of details which can cause a campaign to fail or block can be missed. If you are looking to truly maximise the impact of Google Ads with your Shopify store, our dedicated and knowledgeable digital marketing team are on hand to help plan, execute, & manage your advertising account. At Mucky Puddle, we are Shopify experts as well as marketing experts, and we can help bring your campaigns to the next level. Contact us today to discuss your needs, wants, and desires!