- Definition
- Shopping ads, also called product listing ads, show a product image, title, price and store name, built from a merchant's product data.
In plain words
Shopping ads are the product tiles with a photo, a price and a store name that appear on many product searches.
They are not written like text ads. They are built from a product feed that the merchant sends to Google.
Why it matters for brand and paid search teams
On brand searches, Shopping ads show who is selling the brand's products: authorized retailers, marketplaces and sometimes unknown sellers with prices that look too good to be true.
Channel and brand protection teams use them to spot unauthorized resellers and price problems. PPC teams watch them because they share the page with the brand's own text ads.
How it works
Google explains that Shopping ads use the merchant's Merchant Center product data, not keywords, to decide when and where to show. They show a product photo, title, price, store name and more.
More than one of a merchant's Shopping ads can appear for a search, and a Shopping ad and a text ad can appear at the same time. Shopping campaigns can show on the Shopping tab, Google Search, Google Images and search partner sites; Performance Max can reach more placements.
Because the listing is built from the feed, the title and price come from the seller's own data. A title that uses the brand's name describes the product the seller says it offers. That is not the same as a text ad that writes the brand into its headline.
Example
On northstar trail boots in Seattle, Google shows five product listings: two from Northstar, one from peakgear.example at the same price, one from a marketplace, and one from gearbargains.example at 60% less.
The channel team labels Peak Gear as an authorized retailer and opens a review of the cheaper seller.
Fictional brands and domains, for illustration only.
Common mistakes and misconceptions
Shopping ads are triggered by keywords. Google uses product data, not keywords, to decide when they show.
Text ad monitoring covers Shopping too. They are a separate format and need their own checks.
A low price in a listing proves a counterfeit. It is a reason to review the seller, not a conclusion.
How to monitor it in Ads Lighthouse
Shopping product ads are a separate monitoring source on the Growth plan and above, with their own checks. The Shopping report lists the sponsored product listings observed on your monitored keywords, with position, product title, price, merchant and destination.
Shopping listings do not create alerts, so review the Shopping report on a regular schedule or export it for your channel team.
Prices are saved as shown in the listing at the time of the check. They describe one observation, not the seller's current price.
Frequently asked questions
Can I monitor Shopping ads on Bing?
No. Shopping monitoring covers Google. Microsoft Shopping campaigns are not monitored.
Do Shopping checks count separately?
Yes. Shopping is its own source, so each Shopping search uses its own checks.
Why do unknown sellers appear on my brand searches?
Anyone with a Merchant Center feed that matches your products can be eligible. Monitoring shows who appeared so you can review them.
Official sources
Sources checked on .