Product titles are one of the most important attributes in your product feed, and one of the biggest levers you can pull to improve your Google Shopping Ads‘ campaign performance.
You see, according to Google, “your product data shapes the way your ads and free listings behave and perform on Google surfaces”. In other words, your product data has a direct impact on how and when your ads are shown to potential customers.
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In some cases, small changes to product titles can have a massive impact on overall campaign performance, impression volume, and revenue.
Why Should You Optimize Your Product Titles?
Your product titles have a direct impact on how Google indexes your products, and how it matches them to relevant search queries. As such, an optimized product title will increase your chances of having your ads shown to users who’re more likely to convert.
In other words, properly optimized product titles will result in…
- More Impressions: keywords included in the product title will impact which search queries trigger your ads. As such, when higher volume keywords are included in the title, you’ll get more impressions.
- More Clicks: by closely matching a user’s search query with a product title, clickthrough-rates will increase and result in more clicks.
- More Conversions: when a users’ search term is aligned with the product, and when most of the products’ information is easily visible in the product title, conversion rates will naturally be higher.
So, how do we actually write properly optimized product titles?
How to Write (Great) Google Shopping Product Titles
Now that we’ve covered why you should optimize your product titles, let’s take a look at some tips to write optimized product titles.
1. Include Your Most Valuable Attributes
To ensure your product titles are as relevant as possible, make sure to include your products’ most valuable attributes in the title.
Now, the most relevant attributes to include in your title can be different from vertical to vertical. For instance, if you’re running ads for Nike Shoes, your product attributes can include:
- Brand
- Model
- Size
- Color
On the other hand, if you’re advertising orthopedic shoes from a smaller brand, the brand attribute may not be as important since very few people are searching for the brand.
Instead, you could include the main keywords for your products for the added exposure such as “orthopedic shoes”.
2. Include Your Main Keywords
As we’ve mentioned, the actual words that are included in the product title are used by Google so it knows which search terms should trigger your ads.
As such, you’ll want to make sure your most important keywords are included in the product title.
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Now, there are some considerations to have in mind before you write your product titles. Most importantly, how users search for your products.
In the case of the shoes, a restaurant worker with plantar fasciitis (a common condition for runners or people who stand for long periods of time) won’t likely search for a brand, but rather for the issue in itself.
As with everything in PPC, the keywords to include in the product title should come as a result of extensive research and adequate data.
In this case, if “Shoes for Plantar Fasciitis” was a keyword with high search volume and high conversion rates, it would make a great addition to the product title.
3. Your Most Important Keywords Near the Front
Now, once you’ve added your keywords into the product title, you will also want to make sure to include them as close to the front as possible.
The reason for this is that after around 70 characters, Google will truncate your product title and some of your information won’t be shown unless you hover over the product, or click on the ad itself.
When you add your most relevant keywords and attributes near the front, it will ensure users understand that your product matches what they’re searching for, and make your product stand out from the competition.
4. Don’t Exceed the 150 Character Count
On that same note, when you write your product titles, you should ensure not to go over Google’s 150 character limit for product titles.
As we’ve mentioned, anything over the initial 70 characters will likely be truncated, so try and keep your most important information within this count.
You also want to make sure to follow Google’s policies on character length, as non-compliance may result in a lower-quality feed and lower results for your campaigns.
5. Do Not Include Prices & Promotional Text
One of the most common mistakes we see in accounts we audit is to include promotional text in the product titles.
According to Google’s official documentation, information such as “(…) price, sale price, sale dates, shipping, delivery date, other time-related information” should be included with other attributes such as sale price, or shipping.
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Some of the most common scenarios we see this mistake done include the Black Friday, Mother/Father’s Day, and other similar seasonal promotions.
As a result, you may have your product feed penalized by Google and have your costs increase over this mistake.
6. Avoid Capitalization
Unless your product includes acronyms or other words that are required to be capitalized, avoid using capitalization in your product titles.
Unnecessary capitalization can lead to Google flagging your product as not trustworthy or even coming across as spammy to your users, which will negatively impact your results.
7. Avoid Words & Characters From Foreign Languages
Words and characters from foreign languages can cause confusion to shoppers and should be avoided at all costs – unless they’re commonly used and understood, that is.
For instance, while “sushi” is a Japanese word, it is still a common word used and understood by most people, even outside of Japan.
Uncommon words and characters can come across as spam, untrustworthy, or simply make it harder for customers to understand whether your product is what they’re searching for, or not.
8. Structure Your Title According To Your Vertical
As we mentioned earlier in this article, products in different verticals have different attributes that need to be communicated, and included in the product titles.
For example, seasonal products should include the occasion or different season that’s relevant for that product. On the other hand, electronics and other similar products may need to include the product model, type, or category.
In short, put yourself in your customer’s shoes and think: how would I search for this product?
Here are a few ideas we created in this short infographic.
9. Research Your Competitors
Take a close look at your competitors for inspiration, or so you can write your product titles in a way that makes your products stand out.
One easy way to do so is to access the “Growth” tab in your Google Merchant Center, and then click on “Best Sellers“. You can then use the filters on the top to find products in your country, and category, and look for the most popular products or brands.
It should now be relatively easy to come up with new ideas for your product titles, and different ways to structure them.
10. Test, test, test!
Product titles are arguably the most important attribute to get right in your Google Shopping product feed.
Once you’ve created your product feed, and launched your first campaign, make sure to run different experiments and identify which tactics have the most impact on your performance. For example, try re-ordering the sequence of your attributes, or changing some of the keywords based on their performance.
If you’re using Product Feed Management Tools such as Feedonomics or DataFeedWatch, you can easily set up A/B tests to find out which tactics drive the best performance.
Closing Thoughts
Getting your product titles right in Google Shopping won’t (likely) happen on your first try.
Google Shopping product title optimization will require a continuous effort in order for you to understand what works best, and what doesn’t.
As one of the most relevant factors in Google Shopping campaign optimization, it is critical for you as a marketer to understand how to properly optimize your product titles, and get the best results possible for your campaigns.
Do you have any other tactic you’d like to add? Let us know in the comments below and let’s talk!
