Google Introduces Product Ads with Short Titles

In a recent announcement – and one that has been much welcomed by the marketing community – Google Merchant Centre has now introduced short titles for product ads, a new and exciting tool that signals the deviation from the present ‘Title’ tool in favor of what is simply known as the ‘Short Title.’

This news has been welcomed by many Google Ads agencies and PPC experts as marketers can now optimize their product titles even more than they could do previously in the Google Merchant Centre, which, again, is good news for the wider advertising community and its subsequent clients.

So, with this in mind, let PPC Geeks take a more in-depth look at this new tool and what the introduction of short titles for product ads means for the world of B2B and B2C marketing.

What Are Short Titles for Product Ads?

Best used to briefly and concisely identify the product you want to advertise, short titles for product ads should be short and clear, as the name suggests. As these titles will appear in the context of someone quickly browsing the internet, it’s important to catch your potential customer’s attention as soon as possible.

Indeed, Google’s recent introduction of this new, albeit optional attribute to the Merchant Centre, allows ad managers and business owners to be more concise and to the point when writing about their products.

While the introduction of short titles for product ads has been warmly received, there are a number of essential points marketers need to be aware of: one is that your titles should be between 5-65 characters long.

Despite being short to write and therefore freeing up time, this new tool has not necessarily made copywriting any easier. Those who are not adept at the discipline may find it even harder to be concise.

Nevertheless, whether a PPC agency in Manchester or a PPC agency in London, short titles for products could, in fact, significantly improve the optimization of all ads across the Google Ads network, especially Google Display Ads, which could see the biggest improvement out of all the ad types.

Where Will Short Titles for Products be Shown?

These new short titles for products will mostly be shown in places where users typically spend a significant amount of time browsing the internet. This mainly includes shopping ads served up by a Google Shopping agency, Gmail campaigns, and a large proportion of Google Discovery ads.

In comparison to the much larger ‘Title’ attribute, which is required to be set up during the ad building process, short titles for products are entirely optional and should only be considered if they are fit for purpose.

Indeed, though the key differences between the ‘Title’ and ‘Short Titles’ are somewhat self-explanatory, it’s vital you understand how to apply this tool correctly.

A basic ‘Title’ more accurately matches the product landing page to a customer’s keyword search because it’s meant to be as all-encompassing as possible, while a short title, on the other hand, acts more like a vehicle for a brief, concise, and descriptive identification of your product.

That said, though this new feature is optional, it’s important to stay vigilant as your products won’t always be shown across the entire Google network when ‘Short Titles’ have been used.

Short Titles for Products Ads: Best Practices

These best practices serve as a guide to all Google Ads specialists and expert marketers. By meticulously adhering to these points, you can transcend basic advertising models and requirements and optimize your product data and creative output in terms of tangible performance.

Limit Your Short Titles to 65 or Fewer Characters – Most customers predominantly only see the initial 65 characters of a short title. With this in mind, it’s vital that you limit your short titles to 65 or fewer characters. Furthermore, depending on their screen size, customers may even see fewer characters than the initial estimate, making being concise hugely important. Prioritize the Most Important Points – The average person’s attention span has now dropped to eight seconds – decreasing nearly 25% in just a few years. When taking this into consideration, the likelihood of a user reading your entire product title is extremely low. So, with this in mind, it’s important to be as concise as possible and prioritize your most important points when writing a title, especially as people will mostly be scrolling through your products at speed.Include the Brand Name – If your brand name is a significant, differentiating, or enticing selling point, then you need to include it in all of your short titles for product ads. Include your brand name so that users can understand what makes your product unique. Moreover, people are extremely loyal to brands, so including your brand name could be a defining factor in whether you sell a product or not.

These best practices are extremely important as short titles exist within a culture that is defined by its quick turnaround, and so it’s highly likely that users may scroll past your ads if you don’t adhere to the above, no matter if you’re a Google Ads expert or have carried out a thorough PPC audit.

PPC Geeks: Google Ads Specialists

This update is set to redefine how the industry describes its products and creates its ads. If you work in PPC management or for a Google Ads company, it would also be extremely useful to test using short titles in your product ads and compare those insights accordingly.

Ad testing matters as it provides ideas for further improvement and gives you data to back up your future decisions.

Nevertheless, if you require any help with this or want to improve your Google Ads campaigns, then why not invest in a comprehensive, 100% free Google Ads audit.

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