According to DemandSage, as of 2024 Youtube has over 2.5 billion active users and is the second biggest social media platform in the world. Every day, people come to YouTube to shop. Not only do they watch their favourite creators and interact with them, but they also connect with brands and regularly check out product videos before making a buying decision. Are you drawing your viewers’ attention to what you’ve got in store yet?
Shopify merchants who link their stores can show and promote their products across their YouTube channel and take advantage of Shopify's real-time inventory syncing. For a seamless shopping experience, eligible merchants can even set up onsite checkouts so that viewers never have to leave YouTube to complete their purchase.
Why Are People Shopping on YouTube?
People might shop on YouTube for several reasons, including:
Convenience
Shopping on YouTube can be convenient because you can view products and make purchases without leaving the platform.
Product information
YouTube provides a visual platform for demonstrating products and providing detailed information about them. This can help shoppers make more informed purchasing decisions.
Influencer recommendations
Many YouTube creators promote products they love and use in their videos, which can influence their audience to purchase those products.
Product discovery
YouTube provides a vast library of videos that can help shoppers discover new products they might not have otherwise found.
Multimedia shopping experience
YouTube provides a multimedia shopping experience that combines video, images, and product information to help shoppers learn about and purchase products.
Overall, shopping on YouTube can provide a convenient, informative, and engaging shopping experience for consumers. By providing a visual platform for product demonstrations and influencer recommendations, YouTube can help shoppers make more informed purchasing decisions.
Why Market With YouTube Shopping Ads?
The decision to sell on YouTube Shopping ultimately depends on your target audience, business goals, and existing sales channels. Here are some factors to consider when deciding if YouTube Shopping is right for your business.
1. Target audience
If your target audience spends a lot of time on YouTube, then it may be worth considering selling on the platform.
2. Product fit
Some products are better suited for visual demonstrations and may perform well on YouTube. Consider if your products would benefit from a multimedia shopping experience.
3. Competition
Consider the level of competition for your products on YouTube and how you can differentiate your offerings to stand out.
4. Sales channels
Evaluate if selling on YouTube Shopping would complement or compete with your existing sales channels.
Ultimately, selling on YouTube Shopping could be a valuable sales channel for your business if it aligns with your target audience and product fit. Before committing, consider conducting market research and testing to see if YouTube Shopping is a good fit for your business.
5. Drive more conversions
By advertising your Shopify products with Youtube shopping ads, it allows more potential customers to see the product in action and click on product listings while watching videos. This creates a more positive buying experience and can lead to higher conversion rates.
6. Cost effective
Youtube shopping ads can be more cost effective since you are able to target audiences more precisely based on their demographics, interests and behaviours. This helps to minimise wasted ad spend and showcases your products to users who are most likely to buy.
Video content also drives higher engagement and increases the likelihood of conversions, improving the return on ad spend (ROAS).
With Youtube shopping ads, you only typically pay when a view interacts with your ad so you only spend money when a viewer clicks on a product link for example.
Am I Eligible to Sell My Products on YouTube Shopping?
To use YouTube Shopping you need to meet the following requirements:
- Your YouTube channel must have a minimum of 1,000 subscribers and be approved for monetization.
- You must be located in a country where the YouTube Partner Program is available.
- Your YouTube channel or any of its videos can't be labelled as ‘Made for Kids’ and you must not have a significant number of videos that violate monetization policies.
- Your YouTube channel must not have any strikes for violating YouTube's Hate Speech Community Guidelines.
How do I start selling on YouTube Shopping?
Ok great, you’re eligible to sell your products on YouTube. Now let's take a look at how to start actually selling.
Step 1: Add the Google sales channel to your Shopify store
Before you can use YouTube Shopping, you need to make sure that you set up the Google sales channel to sync your products. Simply install the app within your Shopify store.
Step 2: Connect your Shopify store to YouTube
Sign in to your YouTube Studio. Navigate to the Monetization tab and click Shopping. Connect your store within the ‘Add products from your store’ section. Select Shopify, and then click Continue.
Step 3: Set up YouTube Shopping
Within your Shopify store navigate to your Google sales channel app. In your Google account section, log in to your account, or verify that the correct Google account is connected. In the Your Google Merchant Center account section, select or verify that the correct Google Merchant Center account is connected. In the YouTube Shopping section, click Get started. Confirm that your store and YouTube channel meet all the requirements to use YouTube Shopping. Select your YouTube channel and confirm your Product feed settings. Review and agree to the YouTube Shopping terms and complete the setup.
How To Create Ads On Youtube Shopping?
1. Create A Merchant Center’s Product Feed
To do this you firstly need to link your Google Merchant Center to Google Ads. This will allow product information from Merchant Center to be used in your ads. You will need to go to the Google Merchant Center dashboard and click on the ‘Products’ section. Then click on ‘Feeds’ and find the ‘+’ icon underneath the Primary Feeds heading. Then fill the basic information fields and include all the countries in which your products are available.
You should include a minimum of four products and ensure product images meet the ad display requirements (aspect ratios between .6 to 1.4). Only the primary image will be used in the ad. For optimal performance with Video campaigns, we recommend adding more than 4 products to your feed.
Make sure to save this afterwards. Next you need to choose a language for your content and tick the boxes for ‘Free Listings’ and ‘Shopping Ads’. Lastly you need to name your primary feed, register a Google spreadsheet by creating a new one or upload an existing one, then finally select the ‘Access Google Sheet’ button and click on ‘Fetch Now’ to action the upload of your product data to Google Merchant Centre
2. Set Up Video Campaign
Go to Google Ads and click on ‘Campaigns’, ‘+ New Campaign’ and then choose ‘Sales, ‘Leads’, or ‘Website Traffic’ based on your goal. Then select the video campaign type you would like to use.
3. Select Your Campaign Settings
Define your campaign name, budget, bid strategy and networks.
4. Add A Shopping Feed
In the ‘video ad’ section, choose an existing video or upload a new one to serve as the creative. Then select the ‘Shopping’ ad format, which will allow products from your Google Merchant Center to appear alongside the video ad.
5. Targeting and Bidding
Set your audience targeting by demographics, interests etc and adjust your bid based on the audience you want to reach.
6. Product Selection
Select the products from your Merchant Center feed that you want to showcase in the ad. You can choose individual products or use dynamic remarketing to show relevant products to specific viewers.
You can also create custom filters to show products based on your custom labels in the ad.
If you do not select any products, all products from your feed will show by default.
Make sure any products with warning icons are addressed and ensure any errors are resolved so that they can be approved.
7. Review & Launch
Check the preview of your ad and do a final review for all of your campaign settings, targeting and product selections. Then click ‘Create Campaign’ to launch your Youtube Shopping ads.
Best Practices For Creating Youtube Shopping Ads For Shopify
- Add a call-to-action for all ad campaigns
- Make sure your product specifications are accurate in your feed
- Make sure that the products you showcase are available in the countries that you are targeting
- Bear in mind that new product feeds can take up to 3 days to be approved
- Include more than 4 products to your feed for video campaigns
- Use the highest quality imagery for your products for optimal performance
Get Expert Support With Your Youtube Ads For Shopify
If you need any support with your Shopify marketing or would like to know more Youtube Shopping ad tactics, drop us a line and our team of specialists will be more than happy to help.
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