What is a Comparison Shopping Service (CSS) and how do they work? Find out here.
CSSs are comparison shopping websites that collate prices and offers from different retailers and place Google Shopping ads on their behalf.
Retailers can use multiple CSSs for their ads, including Google’s own CSS - Google Shopping.
Merchants can participate in Google Shopping ads via one or several CSSs.
21 countries are currently eligible: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
A CSS can help in managing product data and campaigns on your behalf using their expertise, taking the stress off of you.
Merchants receive an approximate 20% reduction in CPC when working with a CSS to advertise on Google Shopping, giving you money that can be funnelled back into your campaigns.
Your ads can also appear twice in the same auction if you advertise via multiple CSSs simultaneously, giving you more visibility on the Shopping carousel.
The process will differ depending on the CSS provider you choose to work with. Some will offer a monthly fee and others may use a model based on spend.
Ads are displayed on the Google search engine results pages (SERPs) beneath the search bar. Shopping Ads are shown on a carousel, with the top bidder getting the first position.
Without a CSS it’s not possible to place Shopping ads. Keep in mind that Google Shopping itself is a CSS.
Your CSS provider will pay Google on your behalf for the ads that they place, and your CSS will then invoice you following their own particular process.
There are many different CSS models on the market, so this will depend on the CSS partner you decide to work with.
It all comes down to expertise. Some may have better targeting, and others may have more success maximising visibility.
Shopping around and seeing what different CSS partners can offer you is crucial. Since you can advertise with more than one CSS at a time, a combination may be the winning formula for your business.
Using more than one CSS can cause your ads to appear more than once in the same auction.
However, if two different CSSs place bids on your behalf, the winning offer and the cost paid by the winning CSS will be the same as if those bids had been placed by one and the same CSS.
Your offers will not be repeated and Google won’t charge more for a click.
Google tries to avoid showing multiple instances of the same offer next to each other. This is dependent on Google’s detection of these offers.
We offer Bidnamic CSS free of charge to any ecommerce retailer who is permitted to use a CSS on Google Shopping.
