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Collaboration with Comparison Shopping Services (CSS) from Google

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Daisycon offers advertisers the opportunity to generate additional visibility, reach and revenue through product ads in the Google network by working with Google Comparison Shopping Services (CSS).

Within Daisycon, CSS publishers that run Product Listing Ads can usually be found under the media type PLA (Product Listing Ads). Advertisers can work with one or more of these media through their affiliate campaign.

CSS publishers can complement your existing Google Shopping activities or provide an additional way to promote your products through affiliate marketing.

Working with a Google CSS partner can offer the following benefits:

  • Additional visibility for your products in Google Shopping.
  • Access to additional Shopping strategies and expertise.
  • No higher click price when several CSS partners bid on the same offer.
  • No duplicate display of the same offer within the same ad unit.
  • Payment based on completed sales through Daisycon.

In this article

How does working with a Google CSS partner work?

A Google CSS partner promotes products from your product feed through Google Shopping. The CSS publisher manages its own Shopping campaigns and pays the associated click costs.

As an advertiser, you pay the applicable CPS commission through Daisycon when the CSS publisher generates a completed sale. The CSS publisher therefore carries the CPC investment, while your costs are based on the results generated through the affiliate campaign.

Working with multiple CSS partners

Google allows merchants to work with several CSS partners at the same time. Google also states that combining the strengths of several CSS partners can increase the overall performance of Shopping ads.

This does not mean that connecting as many CSS partners as possible will automatically produce better results. It is not uncommon for affiliate programmes to work with four, six or even more than ten CSS partners, but each additional publisher should have a clear purpose.

Every CSS partner operates its own Google Merchant Center and Google Ads environment. Product feed optimisation, campaign structure, bidding strategy and accumulated campaign data can therefore differ between partners. Google has not publicly documented that campaign-level historical performance, such as click-through rate or conversion history, is automatically shared between CSS partners.

Multiple CSS partners are most useful when they complement each other. A partner may, for example, focus on:

  • A specific country or market.
  • A particular product category or product range.
  • A different bidding or campaign strategy.
  • A specific product feed optimisation approach.
  • Different search queries or customer segments.
  • Standard Product Listing Ads, CSS Product Listing Ads or a combination of both.

No self-competition in the Shopping auction

Multiple CSS partners can place bids for products from the same merchant. However, Google confirms that a merchant will never be second-priced against itself for the same offer, regardless of the number or identity of the CSS partners being used.

This means that an additional CSS partner does not increase the auction price simply by placing another bid for the same product from your webshop.

No duplicate display of the same offer

When Google identifies that several CSS partners have uploaded the same product from the same merchant, Google only displays that offer once within the ad unit. Working with multiple CSS partners therefore does not cause the same product offer to be repeated.

Google also confirms that having several CSS partners place ads on your behalf does not mean that your offers are repeated or that Google charges more for a click on them.

Different products from the same webshop may still be displayed alongside each other when they are relevant to the same search. Multiple CSS partners can therefore contribute to broader product visibility, but they do not create duplicate coverage for an identical offer.

Product Listing Ads and CSS Product Listing Ads

A CSS partner can use different ad formats for the same advertiser. Standard Product Listing Ads show your offer and send users from the Shopping ad directly to your webshop.

Some CSS partners also use CSS Product Listing Ads. These ads show a product from the CSS partner's own comparison website, with the price and the number of offers. The visitor first lands on the product page of the comparison website, where offers from several merchants can be compared, and can then click through to the webshop of their choice.

CSS Product Listing Ads are the successor to Google's earlier Comparison Listing Ads. Comparison Listing Ads appeared in a separate section, but CSS Product Listing Ads appear in the same Shopping carousel as the Product Listing Ads of merchants. According to Google, CSS partners compete with merchants there on a non-discriminatory basis. More information is available in Daisycon's article about CSS Product Listing Ads.

Within Daisycon, publishers that primarily use CSS Product Listing Ads are most often registered under the media type Comparison websites. The same CSS publisher may operate both PLA media and comparison website media when it uses both ad formats.

Why more CSS partners is not automatically better

Adding CSS partners does not create more space in Google Shopping. Your product is shown only once per ad unit, so every additional CSS partner competes for the same position as the partners that are already active on your programme.

Which CSS partner wins the ad position?

Google decides which ad is shown based on Ad Rank: a combination of the bid and the quality of the ad, such as expected click-through rate and ad relevance. The landing page is the same for every CSS partner, because each one links to your webshop. The difference between partners therefore mainly comes from how well they optimise your product data and match it to search queries.

Conversion rate in your webshop is not part of Ad Rank. A CSS partner with weaker product data can still win the position by bidding higher. In that case the click goes to a less relevant ad, which usually results in a lower conversion rate.

Campaign data is split across partners

Every CSS partner builds its own campaign history and bids based on its own data. When many CSS partners promote the same products, the available clicks and conversions are split across all of them. Each partner then has less data to optimise its bidding, which can make all partners less effective.

Traffic shifting instead of growth

On programmes with many CSS partners, we regularly see traffic move from one partner to another from month to month, without clear growth in total sales. A new partner that enters with aggressive bids can take volume from an established partner. If its conversion rate turns out to be low, the earnings disappoint and it scales back again. In the meantime, the established partner may have lowered its bids as well. The result can be lower total sales for the advertiser.

When several CSS partners use broadly the same strategy for the same products and markets, the additional value may be limited. Adding more partners can then mainly create more reporting, evaluation and relationship management without delivering clearly differentiated results.

The number of CSS partners should therefore not be a goal in itself. Evaluate each medium based on its individual performance and only add another publisher when it offers a distinct strategy, audience, market or optimisation approach.

Our quality requirements for CSS partners

CSS partners differ a lot in experience, technical setup and results. Not every CSS medium in our network performs at the same level. For new CSS partners that want to run Product Listing Ads, we therefore apply stricter requirements:

  • New CSS partners must have Google Premium CSS Partner status.
  • New PLA media are reviewed and approved centrally by our Publisher Management team.
  • The CSS partner must have a correct tracking setup, including parallel tracking in line with Google's requirements, so that sales are measured reliably.
  • The CSS partner must process the product feed efficiently and keep product data up to date.

Before approving a CSS partner on your programme, check whether it is listed as a Premium CSS Partner in Google's CSS partner directory. Not sure whether a CSS partner fits your programme? Contact your Daisycon contact person for advice.

How do I choose the right CSS partners?

Choosing the right CSS partners is more important than simply connecting a large number of CSS media. Focus on publishers that match your products, markets and campaign objectives.

Start by checking whether the CSS partner is listed as a Premium CSS Partner in Google's CSS partner directory. Not sure whether a CSS partner fits your programme? Ask your Daisycon contact person for advice.

Product feed and query-matching quality

A high-quality product feed forms the foundation of successful Google Shopping campaigns. Complete, accurate and well-structured product data helps CSS partners optimise Shopping ads and match products to relevant search queries.

For best results, ensure that your product feed is complete, accurate and regularly updated. Read our article about submitting and optimising your product feed for practical requirements and optimisation tips.

Experienced CSS partners usually go further than the feed they receive. They enrich product titles and attributes, match products to the right search queries, use negative keywords, exclude products that do not convert and base their bids on conversion data instead of clicks alone. This leads to ads that better match what the user is searching for. More information about the factors Google uses is available in Google's explanation of Ad Rank.

Evaluate CSS partners individually

Every CSS partner manages and optimises its own Shopping campaigns. As a result, different partners may achieve different results even when they promote the same products.

Monitor each publisher's traffic, transactions, conversion rate and overall contribution to your campaign. Also look at your total Shopping results: if a new partner mainly takes over sales from an existing partner, it does not add value. Focus on CSS partners that demonstrate added value through strong results, relevant traffic, effective optimisation or a complementary strategy.

Where can I find CSS partners in Daisycon?

CSS publishers that run Product Listing Ads can usually be found in Daisycon under the media type PLA (Product Listing Ads).

Publishers that primarily run CSS Product Listing Ads, which link to their own comparison website, are typically registered under the media type Comparison websites.

A CSS publisher may have multiple media in Daisycon. For example, one PLA medium may be used for ads that link directly to your webshop, while a comparison website medium may be used for traffic generated through the publisher's own comparison website.

These media can request access to your affiliate campaign in the same way as other publishers. Before approving a medium, review its media profile, media type, target markets, campaign approach and any applicable programme conditions.

After approval, the CSS publisher can use the product feed made available through Daisycon and promote eligible products in accordance with your campaign conditions, brand guidelines and commission model.

What do we recommend?

Working with multiple CSS partners can be beneficial, but only when the partners have a clear and complementary role.

  • Start with a small group of strong CSS partners. For most programmes, three to four partners is enough.
  • Only add another partner when it offers something the others do not, such as a different country, product category or strategy.
  • Evaluate each partner after around three months, based on conversion rate and its contribution to your total sales, not on clicks alone.

Some examples of Google CSS partners in our network

In addition to the CSS partners above, other PLA and comparison website media may be available within the Daisycon network. Contact your Daisycon contact person to discuss which CSS partners suit your product range and Shopping strategy.

How to join a CSS?

Contact your Daisycon contact person or the publisher management department. They will make sure that the right CSS is contacted and assist you with the onboarding process.

Publisher Management Daisycon
T: +31 (0) 36 548 37 80
E: support@daisycon.com

Need advice or support on setting up a Google Shopping campaign or optimizing your product feed, please contact:

Vincent Weening (Product Owner E-commerce)
T: +31 (0) 36 548 37 72
E: v.weening@daisycon.com

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