google shopping ads today have become one of the most powerful advertising channels that actually generate real and high-volume sales for eCommerce stores. And here at Boost & Rank we say it openly and clearly: this is a platform you cannot afford to ignore, not anymore and not at this stage of digital commerce.
To the extent that most retailers worldwide now treat Google’s ad network as a golden zone for launching PPC shopping campaigns. And according to a recent global study, 98% of people said they shop online, and from the total clicks on ads related to shopping, 85.3% of them were on eCommerce ads inside google shopping ads.
Boost & Rank exists to close this gap completely for you and make the entire path smooth step-by-step. And in this article, we are giving you a complete A-to-Z checklist on how to set up google shopping ads campaigns the right way so you can see the full picture without fog or confusion.
What Are Google Shopping Campaigns (google shopping ads)?
Google Shopping campaigns are a type of Google Ads campaign that allows you to show your product’s image, price, and offer directly inside the search interface before the user even visits your site.
Meaning the user sees essential information before landing on your store.
The result?
Anyone who clicks is usually a person with a much higher purchase intent because the price and the image are shown upfront.
This is exactly why ad spending on google shopping ads increased by 41% compared to traditional text ads in Q1 of 2019.
How Do Google Shopping Ads A ctually Work?
They do not work like keyword-based campaigns.
google shopping ads do not contain manual keyword targeting inside ad groups.
What powers these ads is your Product Feed that lives inside Google Merchant Center.
Meaning you MUST have:
- A working Google Merchant Center account
- A correctly structured and approved Product Feed
- A connection between Merchant Center and Google Ads
Only after this you can start building campaigns. The main control is done by splitting products inside the campaign not by keyword bidding.
The Difference Between Paid and Free google shopping ads
Free listings are nice to have, but they do not give you any control over:
- Where your product appears
- Who you compete with
- How strong your impression share is
Paid google shopping ads on the other hand give you FULL control:
- Flexible bids per product or per product group
- Strongest positions at the top of search results
- Clearly higher clicks & conversions
So if you genuinely want sales you MUST rely on paid Shopping ads.
A Complete Checklist: How To Build Google Shopping Campaigns Properly
Your starting point is always setting the foundation BEFORE launching campaigns:
- Open a Google Merchant Center account
- Build + connect the Product Feed
- Prepare products to be crawl-ready
- Build Shopping campaigns inside Google Ads
- Add remarketing audiences for potential buyers
At Boost & Rank we fully understand that linking Merchant Center + Google Ads + Product Feed may become overwhelming for many store owners especially non-technical ones.
That’s why we organize the process step by step in a structure that ANY store owner can understand.
google shopping ads at Boost & Rank
At Boost & Rank, google shopping ads are one of the strongest tactical tools we rely on to create real impact in:
- eCommerce store growth
- Shopping campaign results
- Increasing eCommerce advertising performance
Below are the practical steps of building google shopping ads properly starting from the foundation.
1. Setting Up Your Google Merchant Center Account
Your Google Merchant Center is the main data control hub for all your products.
On the home interface you will find:
- The status summary of approved vs disapproved products
- Paid shopping ads clicks
- General updates
Your first task is to update your Business Information settings.
This includes:
- How your brand name is displayed
- Your website URL
- Physical business address
- Authorized users
Then you must:
- Verify and claim your website
- Ensure you comply with Merchant Center guidelines
- Configure tax + shipping settings (depending on your country)
After completing the fundamentals you MUST link Merchant Center with Google Ads so your Product Feed flows into the ad platform.
After this step is done you are now ready for the most crucial part of building google shopping ads:
→ Building the Product Feed
Also Read: Top 10 Google Ranking Factors for 2025
2. Creating and Connecting Your Product Feed
This is where the actual “fun” starts.
Before optimizing product data or making decisions based on campaign performance, you first need to build a Product Feed that aligns with Google’s requirements because Google uses the feed data to match your products with relevant user search queries.
First: Meeting Google’s Product Data Requirements
Requirements differ depending on product category, but some universal mandatory attributes include:
- ID = unique product identifier
- Title
- Description
- Link (direct product page not homepage)
- Image Link (clear image)
- Availability status
- Price
- Shipping Cost
- Tax (US only)
- Condition (new / used / refurbished)
- Adult content flag
Extra attributes for non-media products:
- Brand
- GTIN (if available)
- MPN (if no GTIN exists)
- Multipack
- Age Group
- Gender
- Size
- Pattern (optional)
- Material (optional)
- Item Group ID (for variants: sizes, colors, etc.)
Uploading the Feed
Google provides multiple ways to upload feed data depending on:
- Product count
- Stock update frequency
- Whether you have dev resources or not
The easiest method:
→ Use a Google Sheet connected directly to Merchant Center
Merchant Center allows:
- Primary feed
- Supplemental feed
After choosing Target Country & Destination, select feed type.
You can:
- Use Google’s template (recommended)
- Or choose an existing Sheet
Always enable automatic upload scheduling because Google requires a FULL feed upload at least once every 30 days.
Using Feed Rules
Merchant Center includes “Feed Rules” that can auto-fill, correct, or map missing fields without manual editing.
Examples of what rules can do:
- Static values
- Map fields
- Create product groups
- Fill missing brand/material
- Attach promotions
Result: cleaner feed → stronger & more accurate targeting in google shopping ads
3. Preparing Product Data for Conversion Success
The most critical feed element is: Product Titles
Because Google reads from left to right, and gives higher ranking weight to the first words.
Best practices:
- If your brand name is unknown don’t put it first
- If model number matters put it early
- Don’t include SKU unless people actually search for it
- Focus on high-intent purchase keywords
- Use Search Query Report insights to rewrite titles
4. Structuring Google Shopping Campaigns
The most common mistake we see:
ONE campaign → ONE ad group → ALL products dumped inside it
This destroys your budget and removes control.
The proper strategy is to build a campaign structure that segments by:
- Demand level
- Profitability
- Search intent
- Product category
That is what delivers:
- Better performance
- Better bid control
- True eCommerce advertising improvements
Final Note
This is the foundation of how you professionally build, optimize, and scale google shopping ads campaigns without confusion and with a full understanding of how the system works end-to-end.