Google shopping priority settings (Low, Medium, High) determine how Google selects which Shopping campaign to use when the same product appears in more than one campaign. This feature is crucial for advertisers managing multiple campaigns targeting the same products but with different goals, budgets, or bidding strategies.
The significance of priority settings lies in their ability to help businesses more effectively organize their product promotions. Without clear prioritization, you may end up bidding unnecessarily highly for campaigns that don’t align with your business goals. Alternatively you may miss out on opportunities for key products to appear in front of the right audiences. Priority settings give you more control over your budget and can drive better results based on your strategy.
How Google Shopping Priority Settings Work
High Priority:
When a product is included in more than one Shopping campaign, Google will choose the campaign with high priority first. This is the campaign you want Google to show ads for most often. High priority campaigns are especially useful when you have specific marketing objectives, such as promoting time-sensitive offers, seasonal sales, or holiday promotions. By marking a campaign as high priority, you ensure your ads for these important products are shown before others. For example, if you’re running a flash sale or promoting bestsellers, setting the priority to high ensures these ads are pushed aggressively.
Medium Priority:
Google considers Medium priority campaigns only when no high priority campaigns are bidding on the same product. This is often used for campaigns that are important but not as urgent or targeted as those under high priority. For instance, you might want to highlight seasonal or trending items in a Medium priority campaign. These campaigns serve as a fallback when more urgent campaigns are not active, ensuring that products still receive visibility without competing with more critical ads.
Low Priority:
Low priority campaigns come into play when there are no high or medium priority campaigns competing for the same product. These campaigns are useful for broader or catch-all strategies, such as advertising your entire product catalogue or products with lower profit margins. Low priority campaigns often have lower bids, helping you conserve budget while still maintaining some ad presence. For businesses with extensive catalogues, Low priority campaigns are a great way to keep advertising costs manageable while still getting exposure for all products.
Practical Use Case for Google Shopping Priority Settings
Let’s consider a real-world example. Suppose you’re running an online store selling fashion accessories. You want to promote your bestsellers aggressively during the holiday season. In this case, you would create a high priority campaign specifically for your top-selling handbags and scarves, setting higher bids to ensure these products appear first in search results. Simultaneously, you might run a Medium priority campaign to promote your seasonal items, such as winter gloves or holiday-themed products, with more moderate bids. Lastly, you could set up a Low priority campaign for your entire product range, ensuring that less popular items, like belts or keychains, are still visible but don’t compete with your top performers.
By adjusting the priority settings in this way, you control which products are promoted based on your business goals. The high priority campaign drives holiday sales, the Medium priority focuses on seasonal offerings, and the Low priority maintains a presence for the rest of your catalogue. This strategy helps you allocate budget efficiently while ensuring that the most relevant products are seen by potential customers.
Conclusion
Google Shopping priority settings are an essential tool for managing multiple campaigns with the same products. They allow you to control which campaigns are given precedence, ensuring that your business goals are met without wasting budget. Whether you’re promoting bestsellers, seasonal products, or your entire catalogue, adjusting priority settings can lead to more effective and targeted Shopping campaigns. By utilizing this feature, you can optimize your ad spend and increase visibility for the products that matter most.
This approach not only helps streamline campaign management but also ensures that you’re driving the best results based on your promotional goals.
