How to Rank in Google Shopping and Increase Revenue
Until a few years ago, Google Shopping was strictly pay-to-play. In 2020, spurred by a surge in online shopping, Google made the shift to primarily show organic listings on Google Shopping. Since then, the Google Merchant Center (GMC) platform has undergone several changes, most recently making it easier than ever to optimize your Shopping feed and boost visibility.
So, what exactly is SEO for Google Shopping? Should you apply the same strategies you use for product pages, or does Google Shopping require a different approach based on how users search and shop?
How to Rank in Google Shopping
This is a question we’ve explored extensively here at Mason Interactive. Because this space is still relatively new, there’s limited industry guidance or published data on GMC SEO best practices. We set out to test various strategies with our eCommerce clients to determine the most effective ways to drive organic revenue from Google Shopping.
In the past, optimizing product titles for Google Shopping required a manual feed upload or a paid app (like those on Shopify). But now, syncing your feed is more flexible, and Google Merchant Center offers more options than ever for customizing your product listings directly.
Product Listing Customization
First things first: make sure your products are eligible for free listings. To do this, log in to Google Merchant Center, and on the left, you will see the ‘free listings’ tab. Follow these steps to enable this feature if it’s not already turned on.
Once that’s done, you can begin customizing your individual product listings. Navigate to the products tab, select a product, and click to edit. You’ll see a variety of fields you can optimize, including:
- Product title – up to 150 characters
- Product description – up to 5,000 characters
- Product images – GMC offers an AI tool to help customize your product images
- Product type (you can add multiple)
- Product category
- Product details – color, material, size, gender, age group, pattern
- Multipack/bundle information
- Product highlight – a list of features or common questions
Filling these fields with clear, keyword-rich, and customer-focused information can significantly improve how your products appear and perform in organic listings.
Don’t Overlook Product Reviews
Product reviews are just as important in Google Shopping as they are on your website. Depending on your website setup, you may have reviews automatically syncing to GMC via your review platform. Google lists all the review aggregators eligible to submit reviews to GMC, although a cost might be associated with it.
Another option is to opt in for Google Customer Reviews. Found in the “add-on” section of Google Merchant Center, this free feature allows Google to collect reviews from your customers on your behalf. In return, your store can display:
- Store ratings that show up on both Search ads and Shopping ads
- A Google Customer Reviews badge that you can add to your website
These elements help build trust and can lead to more clicks and conversions from Organic Shopping results.
How Mason Approaches Google Shopping SEO
As the SERP (search engine results page) continues to evolve, along with the rise of AI, our SEO strategies evolve with it. Google is placing increasing emphasis on the shopping experience, both in the Shopping tab and across main search results, and we’ve adapted accordingly.
We’ve found that refining product titles and descriptions using high-intent keywords, testing keyword placement (branded vs. non-branded), and expanding product attributes can dramatically increase both visibility and revenue.
One client saw organic Shopping revenue grow from $32k to over $600k year-over-year.
For that client, we tested keyword strategies based on shopping intent and optimized product titles accordingly. Immediate results included:
- +156 purchases on pink products after optimization
- +115 purchases on black items across categories
- +136 purchases from titles including the word “Travel”
The chart below compares clicks, impressions, CTR, and purchases from January to July 2025 with the same period in 2024, specifically for organic Google Shopping Listings after implementing our SEO strategies
Ready to Optimize Your Shopping Feed?
If you haven’t started investing in your organic Google Shopping presence, now’s the time. Relying on Shopping Ads and your brand recognition won’t be enough in this evolving search landscape. Learn more about our eCommerce SEO services and reach out today for an audit of your Google Shopping presence.