One of the basic rules for using Google Shopping for your e-commerce businesses is to use at least one comparison shopping service (CSS). You can use either Google Shopping itself or a third-party CSS platform or partner. Can an e-commerce business use multiple Google Shopping CSS? The answer is yes but there are advantages as well as downsides to coming with that.

The Reasons to Consider Multiple CSS for Your Google Shopping Ads

If you work with many CSS partners, you can allocate certain products or campaigns to different partners, based on their areas of expertise or performance track record. This helps you use each partner’s strengths to make your campaign better and reach more people. Also, having many CSS partners means you can reach more customers. Each partner might have their own partners and affiliates, which can help more people see your products and go to your website.

However, it is important to note that the use of multiple CSS partners requires careful management and coordination. It is crucial to have a clear plan in place to avoid conflicts or overlaps in product listings and campaigns. Regular monitoring and communication with all CSS partners is essential to ensure a seamless and successful integration of their services with Google Shopping. Let’s dig into the pros and cons of using multiple comparison shopping services for Google Shopping in more detail.

The 7 Benefits of Using Multiple Google Shopping CSS

Google supports the use of multiple CSS partners for Google Shopping. According to Google’s support documentation, businesses can use Google Shopping and multiple CSS partners simultaneously. This means you can work with different CSS partners and grab more opportunities to reach customers. Here are the key benefits of using multiple CSS for Google Shopping.

1. Increased visibility. More comparison shopping services means you appear in more Google searches. More shoppers see your brand while looking for products like yours. This, in turn, brings more traffic, and sales, and improves return on ad spend.
2. Access to a wider audience and improved targeting. Another advantage of using multiple CSS partners for Google Shopping is the opportunity to get access to different audiences. Each CSS partner has its audience, and by multiplying those you can reach different customer segments. This is especially useful for niche businesses or those with a specific customer base.
3. A/B testing opportunities. You can test different CSS providers to identify the most effective strategies for your products. In the context of using multiple Comparison Shopping Services (CSS) for Google Shopping, A/B testing involves creating different advertising strategies or approaches and then running them simultaneously to see which one generates more favorable results.
4. More products appear on Google search results for specific queries. One of the biggest advantages of working with multiple CSS partners that you can get is the ability to display more products in Google Shopping ads per search result. Getting more of your products into search results for a specific search term means that you improve the chances of making a sale. By using just one CSS, you won’t be able to do that—only a single product of yours may appear in the search result for a query.
5. Deeper data extraction and analytics. Using comparison shopping services unlocks valuable intel. You’ll see how your products fare in different markets and niches. This can help you refine your e-commerce strategy and tactics.
6. Improved competitor monitoring. Comparison shopping services let you see what your competitors are up to. You can see how they price their products, what kind of promotions they run, and uncover their marketing strategies to a certain extent. You can use this data to win over the competitors and attract price-sensitive customers looking for the best deal.
7. More opportunities for partnerships. Using more comparison shopping services means more opportunities for building partnerships or collaborations with other e-commerce businesses—this can help you reach new customers and increase sales.

Overall, Google acknowledges the benefits of working with multiple Google Shopping CSS. By leveraging the expertise and capabilities of multiple CSS partners, you can optimize your product listings, expand your reach, and ultimately drive more sales and revenue.

The Downsides of Using Multiple Comparison Shopping Services for Google Shopping

Using multiple CSSs also brings in challenges that you should be aware of.

1. Complex management. Managing multiple comparison shopping services can be complex and time-consuming, requiring businesses to allocate more resources to advertising management.
2. Increased costs. Using multiple comparison shopping services can result in higher advertising costs as businesses have to pay fees for each platform used.
3. Conflicting strategies. Different comparison shopping services may have different advertising strategies and approaches, which can conflict with each other and create confusion.
4. Difficult to track performance. With multiple platforms to manage, it can be difficult to track each platform accurately, making it challenging to determine the effectiveness of each service.
5. Risk of duplicate content. Using multiple comparison shopping services may increase the risk of duplicate content negatively impacting SEO and online ranking.

Weigh the benefits and drawbacks of using multiple comparison shopping services before implementing them in your e-commerce strategy.

How to Use BrightBid as a CSS

BrightBid’s AI engine for Google Shopping—Bidbrain—offers a combination of CSS services and Google Shopping tools to help businesses improve their e-commerce. Among the key features that BrightBid offers are product feed optimization, automated rewriting of product titles, advanced AI for bidding, extraction of unique insights, and activation of products without historical data. Other benefits of using Bidbrain for Google Shopping include

• better Merchant Center support
• ability to use price comparison data for automated bidding when running Bidbrain shopping campaigns
• easy self-service setup that is available in nearly every market in Europe.

Additionally, Bidbrain offers flexible interaction models for e-commerce businesses, allowing them to either use Bidbrain tools for Google Shopping optimisation without CSS or use CSS services without the Google Shopping tools.

More information about Bidbrain can be found on this page.

Final Thoughts

Using multiple comparison shopping services for Google Shopping can be a win for e-commerce businesses. It can increase visibility, reach different audiences, provide more opportunities to reach customers and display more products in Google Shopping ads. At the same time, using multiple CSSs should be done wisely to avoid potential challenges and issues. If you’re an e-commerce business looking to increase your presence on Google Shopping, you should consider working with multiple CSS partners but also take into account all the pros and cons of doing that.