What exactly is a Showcase Shopping Ad?

So what exactly are they, and how can I use them in my campaigns?

Showcase Shopping Ads weren’t made to replace the original Shopping Ads, but to offer a unique customer experience and broader audience reach. Now, your ads can show a selection of products of your choice when a broad search term is used, such as ‘winter hats’, meaning customers can see a little more about your brand and what you have on offer. If that isn’t appealing enough, you are only charged when someone engages with your ad (cost-per-engagement) by expanding your ad and then either clicking on a product taking them to your site, or spending 10 seconds within the expansion.

As with every campaign type, Showcase Shopping ads have their pros and cons and there will be situations when they will be more effective than others. They can boost traffic, gain better qualified leads and reach a much larger audience. They are also very interactive and visually appealing, featuring three high quality images per ad, which the ads being shown in a carousel format. Therefore, if your main goal is to raise brand awareness, they are a relatively cheap solution that should provide meaningful results.

However, although still relatively simple, they are more difficult to create than your standard Shopping ad. It’s also useful to note that Showcase Shopping Ads are only available in the new AdWords Interface and are greatly optimised for mobile devices, as when appearing on a mobile device, the ads take up around 40% of the SERP.