Advertisers are now able to optimize their product titles even further in Google Merchant Center.
Google recently added a new optional attribute to Merchant Center called “short title”. This update allows you to be more concise and to the point with your products.
Where Will The Short Title Attribute Be Shown?
In comparison to the “title” attribute, which is required, the short title attribute is optional.
The main difference between the title and short title attribute are as follows:
- Title attribute: More accurately matches the product landing page, as well as a customer’s search.
- Short title attribute: A brief and concise identification of your product
Screenshot from google.com/merchants, February 2022.
Because the short title attribute is an optional feature, it won’t always be shown on all networks.
Currently, the short title attribute will be shown in places where users typically do a lot of browsing, including Discovery campaigns and Shopping Ads in Gmail.
What Are The Minimum Requirements For Short Title?
The current character limits for this attribute are 1-150 characters. However, Google recommends keeping the character count between 5-65 characters.
Google warns that if you do not follow the minimum requirements, they will disapprove your product. Some of the main requirements include:
- Use professional and grammatically correct language.
- Do not use foreign language words, unless they are well understood.
- More specifically, do not use foreign characters for attractive purposes.
- Do not include promotions in your short title.
- Avoid excessive capitalization.
Another requirement for using short titles is to describe the product on your landing page. While it doesn’t need to exactly match the title on the landing page, it should at minimum refer to the same product.
Regarding using capitalization in your short titles, it is still appropriate for abbreviations, phone numbers, countries, and currency.
Best Practices For Short Title Attribute Usage
There are multiple ways to optimize your short titles in your product feed. The main recommendations for short title optimization include:
- Staying under 65 characters
- List the most important details first
- Add the brand name (if it’s a differentiating factor)
The character limit is extremely important in more browsy contexts contexts. Because users are more likely to scroll in these contexts (such as Discovery and Gmail ads), keeping your short title to a minimum is better. After 65 characters, your title may be truncated, making the user experience less appealing.
Summary
In more scroll-heavy networks such as the Discovery tab or Gmail, less is more when it comes to showcasing your ads.
By providing a more concise title, you have the opportunity to capture a user quicker.
It would be worthwhile to test out using the short title in your product feed and compare the lift in traffic from those metrics. Be sure to follow the minimum guidelines and best practices from Google so your ads don’t get disapproved in the process.
Source: Google Merchant Center Help
Featured Image: Screenshot from google.com/merchants, February 2022.
