Google just released 9 new features for easier shopping through search. As increasingly more customers start their shopping journey on Google, the search engine wants to present users with more product details without having them leave the list of results. 

It means that more and more shoppers will decide on a purchase even without actually visiting your website. With that in mind, you need to do your best for Google to understand your product data and present it in many different ways in the search.

❗ In a nutshell, you need to have a Google Merchant account and submit your accurate product data to Google Merchant Center. Plus, you should apply structured data on your store and include descriptive alt texts for product images. 
See what else is crucial for your appearance in search—check out the recent e-commerce SEO tips from Google. 

What is new on Google Shopping?

Here are the 9 new features on Google Shopping that makes the lives of customers easier and makes room for merchants to improve their product representation in organic search (note that most of them apply to apparel businesses and are currently available only in the US):

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• Visual feed for queries with the word “shop.” Google will show products, articles, and nearby inventory data for search queries that contain a type of product and the word “shop.”

Why is it important for you? You might get an even greater visual representation in search. To make the most out of it, make sure to set product feeds in Google Merchant Center. One of the Google Shopping apps for Shopify can help you automate this process. 

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• “Shop the look” section. In the best traditions of upselling, Google will show additional products that can be combined in an outfit.

Why is it important for you? If your product data is submitted to and understood by Google, you’ll have even more chances of getting proper exposure. On top of that, analyzing this section on Google can inspire you to create or improve your own “shop the look” offers or bundles. 

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• Trending products. The search engine will aggregate the most popular products in a given category based on user searches and reviews.

Why is it important for you? Again, it’s an additional chance to get views from search. 

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• 3D visuals. Google will be able to automatically create 360-degree spins out of your product photos. 

Why is it important for you? Even if you don’t have 3D visualizations on your website, you still can have 3D visuals in search—sounds fabulous, right? To increase your chances of getting a 360-degree spin, make sure that each product has enough photographs from different angles when optimizing images. Note that it works only with certain categories of products (for example, sneakers). 

Have you thought about incorporating 3D visuals into your store? Check out the list of Shopify 3D/AR apps for product visualization. 

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• Buying guide. Searchers can have a sort of FAQ section with details about the product they’re interested in: types, sizes, prices, etc. 

Why is it important for you? People will have an opportunity to make an informed decision right from the search results. You should care not only about providing valuable product-related information on your pages but also about submitting this information to Google Merchant Center. 

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• Page insights. Google will add the possibility to check what others say about a given e-commerce page from the results.

Why is it important for you? Searchers will be able to see the product’s pros and cons (taken from reviews), as well as their ratings in one view. For you, it’s an opportunity to leverage your reviews. 

Don’t overestimate the value of product reviews and find the best ways to present them on your store. Here’s a list of the best Shopify product review apps that will help you automate the process. 

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• More advanced filters. Google search will adopt typical e-commerce navigation tricks such as product filters, and customers will be able to filter products based on material, style, fit, etc. 

Why is it important for you? You can help Google serve users the results targeted to their needs and increase your conversions thanks to high-precision search settings. 

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• Personalized results. Google will learn what filters a user sets when looking for shopping-related information and will use that in further searches, adjusting the feed to the user’s preferences. 

• Suggested styles in the Discover feed. When users open the Google app, they’ll see a section of suggested products even before they start searching. The search engine will aggregate this data based on previous searches and user behavior related to shoppable results. 

Optimize your performance on Google

Getting decent organic traffic should always be on your goal list. Given that Google is constantly improving its search capabilities and users will have more options to narrow their product search and make a purchasing decision, you should take advantage of that. To do so, regularly submit correct product data to Google Merchant Center, use structured data on your website, and optimize your images. And stay tuned for other updates!

If you’re only starting with SEO, check out our guide to search optimization for Shopify and the list of the best Shopify SEO apps.