Google Launches Product Listing Ads in Image Search

It’s official. Google Product Listing Ads (PLAs) are now visible in image search. As discussed in our previous post, these ads started to appear towards the end of last year, however, the official launch took place on Monday.

According to Google, product images are the most used shopping feature for those who shop on their smartphones at least once per week. And with 34% of online retail purchases coming from mobile devices alone in 2016, this is a big deal. Not to mention that Google images make up nearly 33% of search results.

What does this mean for your product listing ads?

Image searches are included in the Google Search Network. To ensure that your PLAs are eligible to appear in image search, make sure your shopping campaign is opted in to search partners.

Once that is complete, consumers browsing through related Google image searches may now stumble upon your product ads. With the click of a button, they will be directed to your site to complete the purchase.

We tried out this new browsing feature and searched for ‘diamond ring’ in Google's image search. The product listing ads, which we have outlined in red, show up above the regular images. When you click on the various options available such as ‘woman’, ‘heart shape’ or ‘pink’ the ads change accordingly.

We also snapped a screenshot of the same search from a mobile device. To see more products, you can swipe left.

With this recent announcement, it's time to take a better look at your product images to ensure that they are optimized. Check out our previous blog post for some quick tips on making your PLA images Google-Shopping friendly.

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