In this article, we will explain the benefits of working with Shoparize CSS managed service model within an affiliate network.
Introducing Shoparize
We are Shoparize – a Premium Google CSS partner offering managed service CSS. Shoparize was founded in 2013 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where the company started as the price comparison website Kiesproduct.nl. The 2017 court ruling regarding Google’s monopolistic practises seen throughout the EU gave Shoparize a platform to rise above the standard industry sales proposition leading to superior customer service for our merchants. In that same year, we became one of the first CSSs to be accepted into the Google CSS partner program.
As a result, Shoparize quickly became an international player, being active in all of the 21 countries where Google’s CSS program is available. Today, Shoparize accounts for 23% of the Benelux region’s market share.
The difference between Managed and Self-service
There are two main ways of working with a Google CSS partner: self-service and managed service.
With self-service, the merchant gets access to both the Google Ads and Merchant Center accounts and manages feeds and campaigns themselves.
With managed service, the merchant receives a Merchant Center and Google Ads account created by the CSS partner. The merchant shares product data with the CSS, and the CSS in turn optimizes the merchant’s feed and manages their campaigns.
What’s an affiliate network?
So, what is an affiliate network? An affiliate network acts as a liaison between affiliates (CSSs) and merchants. Through an affiliate network, merchants can find a CSS partner that is relevant to their business.
An affiliate network helps you choose the best CSS partner(s) from their network that suits your target group. Working with multiple CSSs can be beneficial if you work with the CSS as a managed service model. Working in a managed service model can result in incremental sales by running the CSS’s channel in parallel with your existing Shopping campaigns. The CSS optimizes the merchant’s product data, resulting in bids on distinct terms and impressions that do not occur in other campaigns. This can lead to more traffic and conversions based on the different bidding strategies.
Besides more traffic and conversions, there are numerous benefits to working with a CSS in a managed service model.
The advantages of a Managed CSS service
Incremental sales
Are you already running Google Shopping campaigns?
Perfect! This means we can deliver incremental sales by running our Shoparize CSS channel in parallel with your existing campaigns. Using our expert insights and market knowledge, we will optimize your product data, which results in bids on distinct terms and impressions that do not occur in your other campaigns. Do not worry; multiple CSSs can advertise on your behalf, and this will never inflate your CPCs.
Commission based sales only
Within managed service, it is possible to work with a commission-based model. With this model you only pay for actual sales, not clicks or impressions that don’t increase your ROI. This performance-based way of working ensures that a campaign generates sufficient return, which is better than a fluctuating CPC model.
Increased visibility on Google Shopping
Merchants report better visibility for their webshop and higher total revenue from Google Shopping when they use a managed service model by running their Shopping campaigns in parallel with multiple Google CSS partners.
Shoparize manages feed & campaigns
Working with a managed service is convenient and saves time. You can hand over your entire Google Shopping campaign and trust Shoparize to run your Shopping campaigns successfully for you.
CPC will not increase
Your CPCs will not increase due to working with multiple CSSs, because you will never compete against yourself when working with multiple CSSs. If there are two or more CSSs placing a bid on your behalf, the winning offer and price paid by that CSS will be the same as if the bid was placed by only one CSS. For more information on this topic, read our article or our case study on this topic or visit this Google support page.
Remain in full control over your ROI with transparent analysis
Set your desired CPA (cost per acquisition) commission (%) for Shoparize CSS, so that you retain control of your ROI in Google Shopping. You can find transparent analysis in Google Analytics which measures the additional value (additional turnover, profit and incremental sales). Upon request, we can share a campaign performance evaluation of your results.
Not convinced? Test it first!
Most merchants make their entire product feed available for a CSS’s managed service model. But if you want to test the model first, you can start with a custom feed, such as a feed containing lower-priority product groups. If you are considering working with Shoparize CSS, you can give us the specific feed you want to use for managed CSS — this can be different from the standard affiliate feed.
The advantages of working with Shoparize CSS managed service
You can expect the following benefits from Shoparize’s feed and campaign management:
- Product title optimization based on search data from Google
- We will generate higher quality scores in Google Shopping with continuous updates to product data within our database that contains over 60 million products.
- Bidding strategy optimization based on product price (lowest price), search term, device, location, and productEAN, to stay competitive with other advertisers.
- Audience targeting to optimize Shopping ads with about half a million monthly unique user data from our CSS websites.
What does working with a CSS managed service model on an affiliate network look like?
The CSS partner of your choice will set up a Merchant Center for you and manage the product feed that you make available on the affiliate network. The CSS partner uses your product feed to create Shopping ads to bid in the ad auction on your behalf.
You can have a new campaign up and running on Google Shopping within 1–2 weeks. Contact your CSS account manager to discuss your campaign’s performance to make the necessary adjustments. Shoparize shares campaign data and auction insights with you, and you can retrieve data about additional turnover and profit, and incremental sales.
The CSS partner pays for the traffic that the Shopping campaigns send to the merchant’s webshop. After a sale is completed on the merchant’s website, the CSS partner receives compensation through the performance-based (or No cure, No pay) business model.
This compensation is made through the affiliate network interface.
Conclusion
The main reason for merchants to use a managed service is to increase reach and turnover while saving time. It is best to collaborate with one or more CSS partners alongside your own Google Shopping campaigns to drive incremental sales.
The affiliate network matches you with a CSS that has a portfolio of campaigns within a similar industry as you, therefore you can count on relevant expertise from your CSS partner. The risk remains low because you can choose to test the services of a CSS by starting with a custom feed or taking advantage of the trial period.
Payment is based on a performance model of actual sales. This ensures sufficient return on your investments.
In conclusion, working with a CSS managed service through an affiliate network is a win-win situation! If you are interested in joining an affiliate network, check out our partners: AWIN, Webgains, TradeTracker, Partnerize, and Daisycon.
We hope this article has been helpful. If you have any questions regarding Shoparize’s managed service model, feel free to reach out to us at css@shoparize.com.
