Google CSS Partners: The ultimate guide
About the Google CSS program
About advertising via a Google CSS partner
CSS partners can place Shopping adverts on behalf of the vendors they represent. It is currently possible to run advertising campaigns through other Comparison Shopping Services other than those from Google. Using multiple CSSs simultaneously is possible. There are then several merchant centers and associated campaigns which advertise on behalf of the merchant.
The bidding advantage via a CSS partner
A CSS partner receives a 20% discount on the CPC (cost-per-click) charge to be able to “compete” against Google Shopping compared to Google CSS. Shopping campaigns work just like Google AdWords through an auction in which the advertiser can bid on the cost-per-click that he wishes to pay.
In practice, this means the following: a bid of €0.80 via Producthero CSS has the same value as a bid of €1.00 via Google Shopping CSS. This means that an advertiser has to bid 25% more via Google Shopping to match a bid via a CSS partner.
The switching to or connecting to a CSS partner
The following two processes must be implemented to advertise via a CSS partner:
- The Merchant Center which is being used must be associated with the CSS partner.
- All products advertised must be on the CSS partner's comparison site.
A new merchant can be created by the CSS partner, although if you want to convert your existing campaigns, the association of the current Merchant Center must be switched to the CSS partner. The advantage of this approach is in allowing you to simply continue your existing campaigns and for the Ad Rank (the quality score of products stored in the Merchant Center) to be maintained.
What about Producthero?
It is extremely easy to convert a merchant center to Producthero as well as to place products on our site. You can do this here: https://producthero.com/google-css
About Producthero
Joining Producthero CSS is extremely easy and can be done entirely online. Go to https://producthero.com/google-css. You can easily register there. We need your Merchant Center ID to submit a switch request to Google. Converting your Merchant Center to Producthero CSS takes no more than a week after you have submitted the request to us.