What: Yesterday on February 6th, Google announced Shopping ads in standard Shopping campaigns will be eligible to appear on Gmail, YouTube and Google Discover from the week beginning March 4th 2020. This update was also announced in an email sent out to advertisers.
Why: Google had already extended Showcase Shopping ads to Discover and YouTube last year, but Smart Shopping campaigns were the only way for advertisers to get Shopping ads on Gmail. Now, retailers will be able to shift more of their budget from text ads to Shopping ads, reaching more qualified customers that are further along the buying cycle.
The result: Advertisers will already see the option to include YouTube, Gmail and Discover in their Shopping campaign settings, and will be able to segment these campaigns by Network to see how they’re performing under Google Display. The email sent out to advertisers listed these steps to check if a campaign is opted into the Display Network:
- Sign in to your Google Ads account
- Click the Campaigns tab, then click the standard Shopping campaign you would like to check
- Click the Settings tab
- Under “Networks”, look for a checkbox next to “YouTube, Gmail and Discover”. If this is checked, your campaign is opted into this network
It can’t be said for certain how this update will impact performance, though it appears seemingly positive. Google has also directed advertisers to this forum for any help or further questions.