Real-time auction in Google Shopping: What has changed?

[sakibkhan22197]

If you thought that your entire bid was included in Google's ad ranking calculation, I'm afraid I have to disappoint you:

Google now deducts a 20 percent margin from your bid – provided you promote your items through Google Shopping Europe. This is Google's way of ensuring its own profitability.

While Google hasn't officially confirmed the figure, it simply refers to it as a "fixed margin." In this respect, the figure is based on third-party reports.

A small case study:

You sell paddling pools (let's just stick with the example above) and bid €3 for this keyword. You haven't worked with CSS yet, so each auction carries a 20 percent margin.

The following invoice is issued:

→ €3 – (€3 x 0.2 margin) = €2.4

A €3 bid becomes an actual bid of only €2.40.

In the case of CSS, the effective bid would have remained at €3.

Mixed with the quality factor or ad relevance, expected click-through rate and user experience on the landing page, you get the usual “Google cocktail” that determines ad placements – cheers!


In the end, you somehow don’t know exactly what’s in it… or in what proportions.

But one thing is certain: CSS partners naturally boast margin advantages. After all, the full malta phone number data strength of your bid actually goes into the auction.

What's the catch?
You should first check with your preferred CSS partner to find out what costs may be incurred, such as a monthly usage fee.

Yes, comparison shopping services are not without their drawbacks.

The price per click is initially paid by the price comparison portal. The question, therefore, is how the comparison site passes these costs on to you. These vary from portal to portal; it's best to check directly with the provider.

It is not possible to say in general terms which CSS partner is most suitable.

This depends, among other things, on your products and goals, as well as the portals' service portfolio. However, you can get an overview of the available providers here:

Comparison Shopping Partners – Find your perfect partner

There you can narrow your search by country and language as well as by industry.

But are GSE and CSS absolute opponents, or can they coexist in friendly harmony? Or, to put it simply: Can both be possible?