General FAQ

A Comparison Shopping Service (CSS) is a website that allows users to search for and compare products, then redirects users to retailer sites to make purchases. In countries that are part of the European Economic Area (EEA), as well as in the United Kingdom and in Switzerland, merchants must work with one or more CSSs to begin placing Shopping ads.

Google Shopping is Google’s Comparison Shopping Service and a Google Premium CSS Partner. Google Shopping helps businesses grow by selling more and better across Europe, delivering outstanding Google quality service levels.

The CSS Partner badge and the Premium CSS Partner badge are granted to companies in the CSS Partner program who have qualified for Partner status. Partners who've earned either badge can add it to their website, other online properties, and offline marketing materials to show that Google recognizes their company as a certified CSS Partner.

Yes, only a CSS can place Shopping ads on the Google general search results page in countries that are part of the European Economic Area (EEA), as well as in the United Kingdom and in Switzerland. You can use Google Shopping or any other CSS of your choice. You can also participate via one or several CSSs at the same time.

Comparison Shopping Services (CSSs) can place Shopping ads on Google on behalf of merchants in countries that are part of the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom and in Switzerland. Shopping ads for CSSs are currently available in the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Google Shopping charges a fixed percentage markup on the cost-per-click (CPC) paid in the Google auction. This is our fee for placing Shopping ads. In practice, the margin is deducted from our bids before they are entered into the auction. The auction is set up so that merchants pay only what is necessary to beat the next highest bidder and don’t bid against their own ads delivered via another CSS. Google Shopping therefore recalculates and reapplies the margin on our bids after the auction process is over. Google Shopping does not charge any additional fees for its Google-quality consultancy services.

Google Shopping operates under a self service & consultancy model: Merchants manage their feeds and campaigns and Google Shopping may provide consulting services to the merchant.

The margin that Google Shopping applies for running your Shopping ads is added to your CPC bid in each auction (see "What's Google Shopping's pricing model") and is reflected in your overall campaign cost. There are no additional fees.

Google Shopping offers outstanding, Google-quality service, presence and experience across Europe with no extra fees for its consultancy services (refer to pricing model for details).

Google Shopping enables retailers and merchants of any size and type to place Shopping ads in countries that are part of the European Economic Area (EEA), as well as in the United Kingdom and in Switzerland.

Please refer to the Google Ads Help site for more details.

If you have been contacted by a Google Shopping Account Manager, you can contact them for support on the campaigns you run via Google Shopping as your CSS. You can also find support for self-service set-up, troubleshooting and best practices here.

If you have been contacted by a Google Shopping Account Manager, you can contact them for support on the campaigns you run via Google Shopping as your CSS. You can also find support for self-service set-up, troubleshooting and best practices here.

Google Shopping currently only supports individual clients. However, if an agency manages multiple clients who advertise through Google Shopping, we are happy to discuss optimisations at scale.

For specific technical or troubleshooting queries related to your campaigns, you can seek direct resolution via the Google Ads Help. If you have a Google Shopping account manager, you can reach out to them. If you don't know the name of your account manager or are not sure if you have one, please fill in this form and we will get back to you within 1-2 business days.