Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Helping small businesses reach new customers with Google Shopping

When it comes to attracting customers, small businesses know that showcasing their products online can help them get in front of more people -- even when their physical store doors are closed. In fact, one-third of small business owners said new or existing clients engaged with them through their e-commerce websites at least once daily.1

But getting started with a website is just the beginning. Google Shopping helps small businesses like you tap into the power of customer intent to reach the right people with relevant products ads, when it matters the most. Here’s how two local businesses, Paper Culture and PUBLIC Bikes, used Google Shopping to gain a competitive edge and spark shoppers’ interest across the country by leveraging their strengths: unique designs and inspired products.

Paper Culture uses Shopping ads to connect with design lovers online

Unique, modern design is a top priority for Paper Culture, an environmentally-conscious stationery company that sells 100% post-consumer recycled cards, coasters, and other personalized products online. To complement their AdWords text ads, Paper Culture turned to Google Shopping to put their product designs front and center, and reach new customers with rich, visual ads that jump off the search page.

“One of the toughest challenges for us as a small business is that we don’t have the brand of our larger competitors,” says Chris Wu, CEO and co-founder of Paper Culture. “Google Shopping helps us tell our story through showing searchers our unique product designs, right on Google search.”

By coupling customer intent with Google Shopping’s image-focused approach, Paper Culture was able to highlight their designs in a cost-effective way -- ensuring that each shopper that clicked on a Google Shopping ad was an already-interested buyer. Through Shopping campaigns, Paper Culture decreased their cost-per-lead (CPL) by 50%, and saw 3x ROI overall when compared to their other online channels.

PUBLIC Bikes reaches more searching cyclists with Google Shopping

Multi-channel retailer PUBLIC Bikes is in the business of selling colorful, trendy city bikes with a mission to help people fall in love with urban biking. But as a small business that designs, manufactures, and sells their own merchandise, the team often found themselves short on time and resources.

“With a small team, it’s challenging to do everything we want to do and get our brand and products out there,” says Dan Nguyen-Tan, founding executive of PUBLIC Bikes. “We need a way to scale our marketing efforts and get in front of potential customers where they can discover and engage us. That’s why Google Shopping is so important: it helps us reach customers looking for our products across the country.”

PUBLIC Bikes used Google Shopping to find new customers beyond their brick-and-mortar stores. Bidding by product allowed them to more easily prioritize those products that were new or on sale, turning once low-converting search terms into profit. For every $1 invested in Shopping campaigns, PUBLIC Bikes was able to see 2x the ROI as compared to their other online channels.

A new hub for retailers, large and small

Whether you’re an ecommerce business or a multi-channel business, the new Google for Retail offers a one-stop hub to learn more about Google’s solutions for retailers of all sizes.

If you’re a small business like Paper Culture or PUBLIC Bikes, we’re introducing a new Shopping Campaigns page as a go-to resource to help you get up and running on Google Shopping and make the world your storefront. Here, you’ll find product overviews, success stories, tutorial videos, and help resources to show how Google’s various retail tools work together to let you find your shoppers, wherever they are.


Posted by Kim Doan, Product Marketing Manager, Google Shopping


1eMarketer, Do Small Business Websites Drive Client Engagement?, Feb 2015

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Ordering food? Let Google Wallet help you with faster checkout.

After a long day, you're on your way home, phone in hand and click on your favorite app to have food delivered in no-time. Sound familiar? You're not alone. People are ordering food and drinks through their smartphones more and more, everyday. But having to type all your credit card information through that tiny keyboard can be a hassle. So we’ve joined forces with many of your favorite food and beverage brands to add Google Wallet at checkout, allowing you to place orders in as few as two clicks.

This week, we welcome Dunkin’ Donuts and Seamless, who have integrated with Google Wallet, bringing fast, convenient and secure checkout to their Android users.

You can get your cravings filled fast by placing your order using Google Wallet on a variety of apps and mobile sites, including:


Dunkin’ Donuts now brings its guests a faster way to purchase and recharge their mobile Dunkin’ Donuts Cards in the Dunkin’ Donuts Mobile® App on Android. By simply selecting Google Wallet at checkout, Dunkin’ Donuts guests can recharge their cards with a couple of clicks—no need to type in credit card information anymore. And hungry Seamless customers will start to see the Google Wallet payment option available in their Android app, helping them get their grub – a delicious array of 80+ cuisine types – in a snap.



Papa John’s is also excited to have integrated with Google Wallet in November last year.  "In today's digital economy, consumers are increasingly turning to their smart phones for online purchases, highlighting the importance of convenience and payment security," said Bob Kraut, Papa John's chief marketing officer. "Google Wallet was Papa John's first venture into mobile payments, and now with more than 50 percent of our sales taking place on mobile or computer, the partnership provides our customers a better and more secure ordering experience."

Download the Dunkin’ Donuts,  Seamless and Papa John's Android apps today to order using Google Wallet.

A recipe for business success
Having to type shipping and billing information on mobile devices can be a difficult experience—it's one of the ​main ​reasons mobile shoppers abandon their shopping carts. Google Wallet ​helps make checkout simpler so we've been partnering with platforms like Shopify, ChowNow and Shopgate to bring faster checkout to thousands of stores and restaurants.

Next time you're shopping on your mobile phone, look for Google Wallet and you're done! 

Posted by Hana Chang, Head of Commerce Platforms