GOOGLE OFFERS FEATURES FOR SMALL MERCHANTS

As part of the fourth largest company in the world (Alphabet, ranked behind Apple, Microsoft, and Saudi Aramco), it’s sort of endearing to see that Google is offering a helping hand to smaller merchants, just in time for the holidays. As one of the biggest opportunities for merchants to connect with new shoppers, showing up strong and authentic to your brand is key. This year, Google is introducing new features to help stores stand out to customers.

Add the new small business attribute

84% of people say supporting local and/or small businesses is important to them, so Google is making them easier to find. Starting November 1st, merchants can identify themselves with a new small business attribute on Search and Google Maps. Products in Search sold by businesses with that attribute will have a “small business” label on them, as will businesses on Maps. These new labels will make it easier for shoppers to narrow down their searches and be intentional about shopping with their favorite (or soon-to-be-favorite) businesses.

Small merchants using Merchant Center or Business Profile in the U.S., including those using the Google & YouTube app on Shopify, can add the attribute to their account. In Merchant Center, review the “business information” tab, navigate to either “details” or “about your business” and toggle on the “small business” attribute. In Business Profile, navigate to the “more” section within “Edit profile.” Google is also partnering with Etsy to include eligible sellers.

Google will automatically add the small business attribute to some merchants’ listings based on factors like how many products they offer, the number of locations they have, or how much web traffic they get. The attribute can be removed at any time.

Customize product images in Product Studio

To add a holiday twist to standard product imagery or experiment with a new viral holiday marketing trend, check out Product Studio, a set of AI tools to help merchants create and manage product imagery. That includes Google’s experimental AI-powered scene generation feature, which uses a text-to-image generative AI model to help you place products into any creative scene you dream up.

Show more helpful business information on Search

Shoppers may also hesitate to buy from businesses they haven’t heard of. But certain key information, like other shoppers’ experiences, can help them build confidence to try something new. To help build trust with unfamiliar businesses, Google is expanding the type of information shoppers see when they look for businesses on Search.

Starting this month in select countries, the knowledge panel that appears on certain retailer searches — which previously showed details like the location of a business’ headquarters or the number of employees — will start showing other helpful shopping information, like current deals, shipping and return policies, customer service information and ratings and reviews. The knowledge panel will also show for more merchants, offering a helpful snapshot of their business. Google will showcase information you’re already sharing on Merchant Center, as well as other authoritative information from across the web.

Update your deals

Google’s  Shopping Graph understands more than 35 billion listings from across the web and helps make sure shoppers see the latest and greatest information about your holiday promotions. Be sure to add your promotions to Merchant Center and review your settings if you’d like to make changes to where your deals show up.

Start experimenting with these tools, and check out our other AI-specific tips, to more authentically represent your business and put your best foot forward this holiday. (And please, share your experiences with these tech solutions with us here on MR! We want to know how everyone is making out.) 

Photo at top by RDNE Stock project.