Google has released a new video offering six tips on how to make e-commerce sites eligible for dedicated presentations in search results.

The video began by highlighting three key elements that help make ecommerce product pages stand out:

  1. Images help site visitors understand products
  2. Star ratings increase trust
  3. Prices and availability help buyers choose between sellers

Some of these elements rely on structured product data to make them eligible for rich listings, while others require participation in the Google Merchant Center feed.

1. Title tags

Kent discusses title links, links displayed on search engine results pages (SERPs) that are generated from a web page's title tags.

He explains that if a title element does not adequately describe the content of a web page, Google will rewrite it using the title content at the top of the page or even anchor text from the web page links.

He also advises taking extra care with automatic product title tags to ensure there is no duplicate content or missing information.

« A good link in the title can go a long way in helping users understand your offer, driving quality traffic to your site.

… Low-quality headlines can ruin the user experience of your site ».

Alan cautions against using dynamically generated title tags to add availability or price data to the title tag because there is a delay between the title tag being updated and the time Google ultimately displays the updated title link in the SERP. By this time, the information may be out of date.

He recommends using Google:Search to double-check what title tags might look like when displayed in search results.

2. Include high quality images

High-quality images are important to users because they help potential customers formulate an opinion about a product.

Alan Kent shared:

«We've found that users tend to respond well to high quality images and recommend that key images be at least 1200px wide».

He recommends checking the site for low quality images and replacing them with higher quality photos.

Kent also advised checking the Max Image Preview metadata because it tells Google how to display those images in the SERPs.

Finally, he recommends using structured product data to help Google determine the right images to display in search results.

Many companies look at things like images in terms of how they can improve their web page's ranking in search results.

But it's more productive to think about product images in terms of how they help users make decisions about purchasing a product.

This means that if there is a question about the size of a product, it may make sense to match the product with an everyday item of approximately the same size.

Different angles can be helpful, such as showing how clothing looks on a model, how furniture in a room might look, or how nice fencing in a yard might look.

3. Share rich product data

Structured data helps Google better understand web pages and allows them to be displayed in rich results, which it calls "special presentation techniques" in search results.

The following are the main elements of structured product data that should include:

  • The product's name
  • Description
  • Images
  • Ratings
  • Price
  • Availability

Check out Google's recommendations for structured product data,   to find out which properties are required and which are optional. Structured data guidelines are constantly changing, which can cause a product page to lose its rich listing in search results when the structured data no longer meets Google's requirements.

To troubleshoot, use the Search Console URL Indexing tool to check if the page is indexed, and then use the Rich Results Inspection tool to check for structured data errors.

4. Share price reduction data

Providing pricing information to Google can make a product page available for special price reduction presentation in search results, which can draw attention to it.

Appearance in search results with a special price reduction presentation is not guaranteed.

For the page to qualify for rich price drop results, you must include an Offer property in your product structured data that represents a specific price tier rather than a price range.

5. Define the products you sell

This tip recommends using precise product identifiers, such as GTINs, using a combination of Google Merchant Center feed and structured product data.

Following this advice can make the product suitable for listings such as product carousels.

6. Create a business profile

Finally, Kent recommends creating a Google business profile if the company has a physical presence.

“You can do this using Google Business Profile Manager.”

Following this advice, the site ends up in a special list along with the search results.

This type of listing is only available to businesses that have a physical store or indoor service area.

Resources Cited

Control your link titles in search results

Specification meta tag robots.txt

Google Search Gallery on Using Structured Data

Structured product data, including pricing information

Register your Google Business Profile

Watch the Google video on YouTube

How to Make Your E-Commerce Site Stand Out in Google Search (6 Tips):

How to make your ecommerce website stand out in Google Search (6 Tips)