Product ads have become quite the trend in online marketing. It’s that case where you’re not advertising a whole category or range of products, but rather a specific item, complete with a picture, price, promotion, and detailed features.
Why has product advertising taken off so quickly?
The answer is simple - maximum conversions usually come from product-specific queries, and users are taken directly to the product page, rather than a general category page. This combination maximizes efficiency and gives you a great cost-per-conversion with a high sales rate. As a result, product ads have spread across the most popular digital platforms, including:
- Google Shopping
- Instagram Shopping
- Yandex Market
- Hotline and other marketplaces
It all started with smaller marketplaces like Hotline and Yandex Market, but over time, product ads have seen massive growth. Some platforms grew into giants like Amazon, while Google built an entire independent arm focused on product ads, which we’ll dive into further.
Let’s break down the features of product ads across these platforms:
➊ Google Shopping
Google Shopping displays product ads across at least five different channels.
1.1 Search results
1.2 The "Google Shopping" marketplace
1.3 YouTube video placements
1.4 Display Network
1.5 Google images
Loading of goods is carried out through a special service - Google Merchant Center. After its registration, you need to pass moderation, consisting of several steps. We wrote about how to launch advertising in Google Shopping earlier.
➋ Facebook product ads
Facebook product ads show up across the entire social network.
Products are uploaded via the Facebook Catalog, which is set up through Facebook Business Manager. Once registered, you’ll need to configure the pixel with six events and fine-tune your product feed.
Ads can be shown based on external targeting or to the audience that has already visited your website. Here’s an example of what a Facebook product ad might look like:
➌ Instagram Shopping
This direction is already actively working in many countries. Review video, interesting pictures in the feed with a transition to the Instagram store, product cards with basic characteristics and a button for going to the site have been added.
For more detailed instructions on how to set up product ads on Facebook and Instagram, check out our video:
➍ Yandex Market
Yandex Market shows products primarily in Russia, through the Yandex search network and its partner networks. It was one of the first product advertising platforms built into a search engine but has since fallen behind some of the more advanced international players.
➎ Hotline and other marketplaces
These platforms display products on niche-specific sites. Marketplaces like Hotline are highly effective for products that are frequently compared, such as electronics or specific models of consumer goods.
These are the main platforms for product advertising. Of course, there are also platforms like Amazon, OLX, and eBay, but they’re mostly used for private sellers. We focused here on product ads specifically for e-commerce stores, where you can advertise anything from one product to thousands.
For more details, feel free to contact our agency.
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