Advertising with Comparison Shopping Services

CSSs can place Shopping Ads and free product listings on Google for merchants in the following countries:

Austria
Belgium
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Ireland
Italy
The Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Spain
United Kingdom

How CSSs work

Comparison Shopping Services can bid for Shopping Ads on Google's general search results pages. Google Shopping bids for the merchants it represents in the same way as any other CSS.

As a merchant you can participate in Shopping Ads via Google's general search results page in many ways. You can supply your product data to any CSS, including Google Shopping, and you can use several CSSs in parallel.

Each merchant a CSS represents is assigned a Merchant Center account. That account is used to upload inventory and run Shopping campaigns on the merchant's behalf.

All ads must follow the same Shopping Ads policies and product data requirements. Every Shopping Ad must direct users to the merchant's landing page where they can buy the advertised product.

Shopping Ads served via the CSS program show the CSS that uploaded the offer (the "By CSS" link at the bottom). Clicking that link takes users to the CSS's website.

Increase your revenue

If your Shopping campaigns already hit the ROI or ROAS you want and you are looking for more volume, leave your bids unchanged. Because your bids are effectively 20 % higher when you use a CSS, you will see impressions and clicks grow without touching the campaign settings.

Improve your profitability

If you want to save costs and improve profitability, lower the bids of your campaigns by around 10–20 %. Impressions stay roughly the same but you pay less per click. Cost per Acquisition drops and ROI and ROAS go up.

FAQs about CSS

What if I don't want to use a particular CSS to promote my products?

You decide which CSS represents you. You can switch CSS at any time or simply not work with a specific provider.

Is it better to advertise through one CSS or several?

Most merchants get the best result with a single trusted CSS. Multiple CSSs are possible but rarely worth the extra setup.

How can I find out how many CSSs have bid on my behalf?

Your Merchant Center and the report from your CSS partner show which CSS sub-accounts are linked and active on your inventory.

Will I pay more for Shopping ads if more than one CSS advertises for me?

No. Google's auction logic prevents you from outbidding yourself; only one ad per merchant wins the auction per query.

Are my products displayed several times together?

No. Google deduplicates ads for the same merchant so the same product is not shown multiple times next to each other.

Are ads placed by CSSs subject to Google's 20 % margin?

No. The 20 % margin only applies to Google Shopping's own CSS. A CSS partner like csspartner.io passes the full bid into the auction.

Can I use a CSS to place Shopping Ads on Google's general search results page?

Yes. That is exactly what a CSS does – place Shopping Ads and free listings on the general Google search results page on your behalf.