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Which is Better, Google Shopping or Amazon Product Ads?

By Tinuiti Team

Almost as fierce as the Android vs. Apple debate is the Google Shopping vs. Amazon Product Ads debate. Brand loyalty aside, which comparison shopping engine is really the best?

Where does Google Shopping win?

Merchant tools

Amazon is so used to having a program that just goes, relying mainly on fulfillment and locking sellers in at a flat cost per sale, that they’re way behind when it comes to giving retailers control over their comparison shopping campaigns.

Currently to track Amazon Product Ads you need to use a third party tracking pixel, which is usually Google Analytics.

You can only increase bids by price bucket on the category level, a far cry from the flexibility Google gives you with Ad Groups.

That’s what makes Google Shopping so much stronger than Amazon’s Product Ads. The new built in control and a no-minimum bid means your grandma could manage a profitable Google Shopping campaign. Alright, maybe not your grandma but you get the picture.

Where does Amazon Product Ads win?

Quality traffic

Having high conversion rates is huge for the health of any shopping channel. Those high conversion rates mean that if Amazon does chose to invest into tracking and more extensive bidding tools for merchants, that they’ll pay off in the long run because more merchants will want access to such high quality traffic.

Being the most trusted company in America means a lot. That type of reputation means organic growth over time, which should help Amazon Product Ads continue to blossom.

At The End Of The Day We’re Comparing Two Exotic Luxury Cars Against Each Other

 

These two companies have created shopping engines that every merchant should be listed on. The quality of traffic they send is best of class and they’ve proven quarter after quarter their significance in a retailer’s online marketing portfolio.

We know Google is investing heavily into Google Shopping and we’ve heard rumors about management tool updates to Amazon Product Ads in the near future, so both of these quality-traffic-sending-bad-boys aren’t going anywhere soon.

Even without refined merchant tools, sellers list on Amazon because they know the shopper traffic is loyal and converts well. Google likewise is working towards refining its user experience with user friendly tools like shortlists and the Trusted Sellers program, which closely resemble Amazon’s features.

A lot of people like to play off the fact that Amazon and Google are more highly competitive than ever for dominance of the ecommerce market, and it’s true. Google and Amazon are competing in the music, video, literary, and mobile industries to name just a few. Not to mention Google and Amazon are both out to dominate the world, competing with other behemoths like Apple.

But the relationship between Amazon Product Ads and Google Shopping is more like a rivalry between the youth of second generation warring families. Sort of a Rome and Juliet situation if they never fell in love. Although Google Shopping has more than 6 years of a head start on Amazon Product Ads, both programs are relatively new, and constantly evolving.

These shopping engines aren’t the main events of these two giant businesses, but they are one indicator of where they stand in the ecommerce market.

 

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