Google’s Best Practice Insights on Shopping Ads for a Perfect Season Finale
Google CSS: adstrong 25% Google Shopping CPC Boost (CSS)
- adstrong CPC Boost equals a 25% increase of your Google Shopping CPCs without paying more
- Increased visibility of your Google Shopping Ads
- Free, fast and secure setup
- Additional product listing at the adstrong price comparison portal
Leverage Google CSS & sign up for adstrong's 25% CPC Boost now!
€ 35 / month
Prices excl. VAT.
Beat your competition with our 25% CPC Boost now!
adstrong is a certified Google CSS partner. This status raises the impact of all Google Shopping CPCs by 25% – i.e. your CPC settings stay the same but Google treats your CPCs as if they were 25% higher!
Sign up with adstrong CSS now and benefit from this 25% CPC Boost! Signup only takes 3 minutes and you can cancel our service at any time.
Get more traffic and start saving now!
- Free, fast & secure CSS setup
- Existing Google Ads Account(s) & Merchant Center can be used
- Setup is completely done by us - no help required from the merchant
- Works in all 21 CSS countries (see FAQ)
Get your adstrong CPC Boost without any risk now!
Trusted Partner
More than 1,500 merchants with over 50 million products are part of the adstrong CSS.
Secure Data
We follow high standards regarding data security and never pass customer data on to third parties.
Increased revenues
Make your campaigns 25% more competitive – with just one click!
Get double the support
Keep your Google support (incl. agency support) and benefit from the dedicated adstrong support on top!
Leverage Google CSS & sign up for adstrong's 25% CPC Boost now!
€ 35 / month
Prices excl. VAT.
Partners who trust adstrong
„The adstrong CPC Boost does what it promises - we get more conversions while spending the same. The support from adstrong is quick and competent and was able to clarify all our concerns immediately.“
Joseph Butler
CEO, Supernaturals
„Since using adstrong CPC Boost, my Google Shopping CPCs have dropped significantly but the performance stayed the same. The migration was extremely quick and straightforward and I still have access to my historical data.“
York Lindenschmidt
CEO, Rollerbearings
„adstrong has helped us to successfully implement all the advantages of the CPC Boost - and all at a very affordable price. We have a complicated setup with different tools in various markets which another CSS partner couldn't handle.“
Dr. Axel Brunn
CEO, Aesparel
FAQ: Why adstrong increases your CPCs by 25%
Why can adstrong offer a 25% CPC Boost to online shops?
The European Commission imposed a record fine of € 2.4 billion on Google in 2017 for unfair competition in price comparison. As a result, Google Shopping Europe (GSE) was separated from Google as a stand-alone company to compete fairly with other price comparisons. In order to have a right to exist as an independent company, GSE must generate profits. It does so by keeping 20% of the Google Shopping ad spends of merchants who use GSE as their CSS partner.
If a “GSE CSS Merchant” places a CPC bid of 1.00 € via GSE, he only participates with 0.80 € in the auction for the ad slots on Google. The remaining 0.20 € remains at GSE.
By default, each merchant center uses Google Shopping Europe (GSE) as their CSS partner. That means that 1.00 € bids of these merchants are treated as 0.80 € bids by Google. But merchants can migrate to certified Google CSS partners such as adstrong. Therefore, if you don’t do anything, 20% of your Google Shopping expenses will be wasted. It’s time to switch to adstrong CSS and leverage the CPC Boost!
adstrong is certified by Google as an independent CSS partner and doesn’t keep a 20% margin on any bids. When using adstrong CSS, your previously reduced 0.80 € bid participates as a 1.00 € bid in the auction. That’s a 25% CPC boost! As a result, you get more traffic or pay less for your traffic when using adstrong CSS.
What can I expect to happen when the 25% CPC Boost kicks in?
It’s impossible to exactly predict what would happen after you increased your CPCs by 25%. Our CPC boost is just like that except that you don’t have to actually pay the extra 25%. Therefore we cannot tell you how your specific campaigns will exactly behave. That depends on your bids, your budget and the competitive landscape.
That being said, generally you can expect your volume and your spending to increase. Because the 25% adstrong CPC Boost increases your visibility even if your CPC settings stay the same. You pay the same amount per click as before but because you win more auctions, you get more volume and therefore increase your spending (if your budget allows).
Can I just reduce all my CPCs by 20% to counterbalance the 25% CPC boost and save money?
In short: yes you can. This is the right strategy if your goal is to save money or to increase your margin while keeping your traffic volume steady.
If you want to increase your traffic volume and budget while keeping your margin relatively steady, it’s better to not reduce your CPC settings.
In which countries does the CSS program work?
The Google CSS program is currently active in 21 European countries and adstrong is certified in all of them. That means that the CPC Boost only works for campaigns that are active in these countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom.
Will my ads show up on the Google Shopping tab when working with adstrong CSS?
Some merchants are concerned that their Google Shopping ads won’t show up on the Google Shopping tab. Don’t worry – with adstrong CSS, your shopping ads are also displayed on the Google Shopping tab.
However, this does not apply to all other independent Google CSS partners – your ads might not show up in the Google Shopping tab if your chose to work with a different CSS partner than adstrong.
I'm using a Multi Client Account (MCA) - anything to be aware of?
The link between the Merchant Center & the Multi Client Account is lost with the CSS switch. Therefore, make sure that you also have direct admin access to the MC, so that you can continue working undisturbed.
What else changes with a CSS change from GSE to adstrong?
You get the 25% CPC Boost on your Google Shopping ads across all CSS countries. In addition, adstrong is listed as your “Comparision Shopping Site” in your merchant center.
Apart from that nothing changes: your Merchant Center, your account setup and your history remain untouched and you also keep Google Global Support and your Google Agency Support. As before, this does not apply to all other independent Google CSS partners – you might lose your Google Support when working with a different CSS partner than adstrong.
Does adstrong need access to my data or accounts?
No, we do not need access to your data or accounts to provide you with the CPC Boost. This is because the actual CSS change is done directly by Google.
What do I have to do to get the 25% adstrong CPC Boost?
Registration takes less than 3 minutes – just click on the “Try now” button and fill out the form. We will have your 25% CPC boost set up for you shortly and you will enjoy the full competitive advantage.