A new era for product promotion is here. Google has unveiled a significant evolution in product advertising with Merchant Center Next, a streamlined successor to Merchant Center. This revamped solution, unveiled at Google Marketing Live 2023, promises a simplified user experience and enhanced features.
Beyond a refreshed interface, Merchant Center Next introduces an innovative feature: automatic product population. In Google’s words, it is “ a simpler way for retailers of all sizes to more easily show their business and products to consumers, all across Google.”
A blog by Google reads, “Onboarding on Merchant Center Next is easier, with simplified flow for website verification through additional methods such as verifying by email. You will be able to use our simplified experience to automatically connect product information from their website.”
The blog added, “Merchant Center Next will give you control over how your products appear on Google, without the hassle of manually uploading a feed. You’ll also have insights on top-selling products and brands on Google, and guidance on performance improvements.”
Merchant Center Next has already started rolling out for new users. Over time, more sign-ups to Merchant Center will be introduced to Merchant Center Next and users with accounts in the classic Merchant Center will be invited to update their experience.
Google plans to complete the global rollout in 2024 and merchants will be notified when the new experience is ready for them.
What You Need To Know About Merchant Center Next
Merchant Center Next represents a significant step forward in simplifying product promotion for businesses of all sizes. With this new version, merchants can embrace the next generation of Google’s powerful tool and witness their products shine across the digital landscape.
The simplified evolution of the classic platform promises enhanced insights and smoother product management, removing the technical complexities that often plagued merchants.
One of the most notable changes is the user interface, where you will directly see insight reports in the Performance tab.
Some of the new tabs include:
- Overview
- Products (existed previously)
- Competitive visibility
- Pricing
- Demand
- Store on Search and Maps
- Non-product website results
Here are all the benefits you need to know about:
Automated manual feeds: Merchant Center Next elevates your feed by automatically detecting product information directly from your website, including titles, pricing, imagery, and descriptions. This streamlined approach empowers both technical and non-technical users to easily manage their product listings.
Additional Insights: Need deeper insights into your product performance? Merchant Center Next offers detailed data and actionable recommendations within its intuitive interface. This enables data-hungry retailers to identify critical areas for improvement, like fixing product errors, and optimise their online presence. The additional insights are definitely a welcome feature.
No compromises on functionality: Though simplified, Merchant Center Next doesn’t compromise on functionality. Larger retailers can be assured that familiar features will remain accessible. While some users have already made the seamless update, Google prioritises a responsible rollout which helps carefully migrate users.
Embrace the future: Merchant Center Next represents a significant step forward in product management. By simplifying feed creation and offering valuable insights, it empowers businesses of all sizes to showcase their products more effectively across Google platforms.
Streamlining Product Management With Product Studio
Attention-grabbing product images are crucial for online success, but creating them can be costly and time-consuming. At Google Marketing Live, Google unveiled Product Studio, a powerful tool that empowers businesses of all sizes to effortlessly generate unique product imagery using artificial intelligence (AI).
Key benefits of Product Studio:
- Free, AI-powered image creation: Design custom product scenes, remove distracting backgrounds, and enhance resolution – all within Merchant Center Next, our simplified platform.
- Increased engagement: Capture shoppers’ attention with fresh, visually appealing images, leading to 76% more impressions and 32% more clicks compared to single-image listings.
- Time and cost savings: Skip expensive photoshoots and effortlessly craft diverse marketing materials.
- Automated feed setup: New merchants can quickly showcase their products on Google by automatically syncing website information.
- Centralised performance insights: Analyse sales, competitor comparisons, and local engagement – all in one convenient tab.
- Unified inventory management: Manage both online and in-store products seamlessly in one comprehensive view.
Product Studio launches in Merchant Center Next for US merchants in the coming months. Shopify users will also gain access through the Google & YouTube app.
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