E-commerce success today hinges on mastering your product feeds and campaign setup. A pristine product feed – with clear titles, rich descriptions and flawless images – ensures your items show up for high-intent shoppers across Google Shopping, Amazon, Walmart and other ad channels datafeedwatch.com . In this post, we’ll share practical tips and real brand examples for both beginners and advanced advertisers. You’ll learn how to audit and optimize your feed data (titles, images, attributes), set up campaigns and bids, and plan keywords that drive conversions. We’ll even cover lesser-known hacks – like Google’s alternate title fields and “bid-for-profit” strategies – to give you an edge. Let’s dive in!

Optimizing Your Product Feed (Titles, Images & Attributes)

A high-quality feed is non-negotiable. Google, Amazon and Walmart all rely on your feed data to match products to buyer searches, so every detail countsdatafeedwatch.com

• Craft better titles. Your product title is prime real estate. Include key attributes (brand, product type, size, model) in a concise way datafeedwatch.com. For example, “Acme Wireless Noise-Cancelling Headphones – Over-Ear, Black, Built-in Mic”. Use all relevant title fields in Google Merchant Center: aside from the main title, there are now two optional fields – short_title and display_ads_title – which you can use to create alternate headline versions zatomarketing.com. The short_title (up to 150 chars, ~65 recommended) can show in discovery ads or mobile contexts, while display_ads_title can replace your main title in Shopping ads when needed zatomarketing.com. In short, feed all three titles so you’re not “over-stuffing” one line.
• Provide complete attributes. Fill every mandatory and relevant field: brand, GTIN/UPC, MPN, product type, Google product category, color, size, material, gender, etc. These details help the platform classify and filter your products. One expert notes, “a properly optimized feed helps Google prioritize your products” by including “descriptive title, a description oriented on features, product type, product identifiers like GTIN/SKU, color, size, gender”datafeedwatch.com. If you skip a field, Google may misclassify your item or mark it disapproved. (For instance, Code1Supply’s shopping feed had many disapprovals due to missing GTIN, Brand and other IDs – once fixed, visibility and ROAS surged webdesksolution.com.)
• Use high-quality images. Images dominate Shopping ads – users often decide by the picture, then scan price/title datafeedwatch.com. Always use clear, high-resolution photos on a plain white background (no clutter or extra objects)datafeedwatch.com. Google’s minimum is low (100×100px), but in practice go bigger – at least 800×800px. Data shows larger images get more clicks datafeedwatch.com. Ensure the product fills ~75–90% of the frame datafeedwatch.com. Hire a pro if needed or retouch to remove artifacts datafeedwatch.com. Add multiple images: use the additional_image_link attribute to include up to 10 extra views or lifestyle shots datafeedwatch.com. More angles help buyers feel confident. (If any item lacks a good picture, temporarily exclude it from your feed until you have onedatafeedwatch.com.)
• Feed categorization and data hygiene. Map each item to the correct Google and retailer categories (even deep subcategories), and use clear taxonomy. For products with variants, ensure your parent/child setup and images match correctly – mismatches (e.g. showing a red shoe for a blue variant) confuse customers. Feed tools like DataFeedWatch can enforce rules so each variant uses the right imagedatafeedwatch.com. Regularly audit your feed for errors: fix or remove products disapproved for policy or data issues (missing brand/GTIN, prohibited content, etc.), and update availability and pricing. For example, SparkleInPink (a kids’ clothing store) found its Google feed was “disorganized and incomplete, limiting visibility.” After rebuilding the feed via a direct Shopify-Google integration, visibility exploded, driving 58% more conversions and 40% more revenue in seven month suproer.com. Tools like Google Merchant Center diagnostics or Feedonomics can flag broken fields or mismatches. In short: lean data is clean data – remove HTML tags, duplicates or outdated fields, and sync stock/inventory so ads don’t show sold-out items.
• Bonus tactics: Use all optional Google fields (e.g. “short_title” and “display_ads_title”) as mentionedzatomarketing.com. Consider custom labels for internal bidding reasons (e.g. label “Season” or “HighMargin”) to group products by seasonality or profit tiers. Some advanced advertisers even calculate profit margins into a custom label so bids align with profitability datafeedwatch.com (more on that below).

Campaign Setup & Structure

Once your feed is robust, set up campaigns to reach buyers effectively:

• Google Shopping campaigns: Beginners should start simple. One common structure is: 1) a campaign for branded products, 2) one for non-branded (generic) products, 3) a “Catch-all” or Performance Max covering everything. Use Google’s dynamic ad groups or product group splits to separate top sellers. For example, Code1Supply created a dedicated high-priority campaign for their best-selling items and scaled it aggressively – this boosted ROAS 110% in 3 months webdesksolution.com. As a beginner, you can let Google optimize broad campaigns (Smart Shopping/PMax) once your feed is solid. Experienced advertisers can drill down: segment campaigns by price, product type, or profit margin (via those custom labels). Consider a priority-based structure where a broad campaign captures most traffic and higher-priority campaigns target the most valuable keywords or products datafeedwatch.com. Always review search queries: if a particular keyword drives many sales, create a dedicated ad group or campaign so you can bid harder on it.
• Amazon Sponsored Products: On Amazon, start with one broad automatic campaign per account to gather keyword data. Then mirror the Filterway case study: launch manual campaigns targeting your top keywords, refining by match type sellerapp.com. Initially launch ~5 broad campaigns (for different product segments), then expand to 20+ niche campaigns as Filterway did sellerapp.com. Use a mix of broad, phrase and exact matches, adjusting bids by match type (and by seasonality). Harvest high-performing search terms from automatic campaigns (or from Amazon’s Search Term report) and add them to manual campaigns. Also experiment with product-targeting ads: target competitor ASINs or complementary items to steal market share – Filterway, for instance, used ASIN-targeting ads to boost visibility against rivals sellerapp.com. Beginners can keep it simple: one auto campaign plus one manual campaign for bestsellers. Advanced sellers should break campaigns by product line or price range, and add negative keywords to avoid wasted spend (e.g., if broad match brings irrelevant traffic).
• Walmart Connect Sponsored Products: Walmart’s ads work similarly to Amazon’s. As with Built Brands’ example, use automatic campaigns to discover search terms, then build manual campaigns on broad/phrase/exactwalmartconnect.com. For bidding, Walmart suggests starting with broad match at a low bid to build volume, then raising bids on top phrases. Built Brands saw big gains by staggering bids: they left budgets uncapped to capture holiday demand, then applied higher bids on broad vs exact matches for efficiencywalmartconnect.com. (They ran an evergreen campaign on keywords like “protein bar” during New Year promotions.) Like Amazon, use negative keywords to filter irrelevant clicks as you scale.
• Separate Brand vs Generic: Across all platforms, it’s wise to split branded and generic traffic. Branded queries (your company or product names) have high intent and usually convert cheaply. Non-branded queries (like “running shoes” or “organic protein”) bring new customers but can be more expensive. In the Cart.com case study, a DTC skincare brand initially only bid on its own brand defensively. By contrast, Cart.com’s team launched a “four-pillar” strategy to actively target new-to-brand users (bundles, gift guides, non-brand terms), while still maintaining high ROASselleractive.com. This shift attracted more organic growth without sacrificing return. The lesson: do not rely only on branded keywords. Set separate campaigns for “discovery” or generic searches, and allocate budget there.

Bidding Strategy & Keyword Planning for High-Intent Shoppers

Your bidding and keywords should target shoppers closest to buying:

• High-Intent Keywords: Focus on specific, purchase-ready terms. Instead of “wireless earbuds”, target “wireless earbuds noise-cancellation under $50” or “organic protein powder buy online”marketplacevalet.com . Low-intent terms (like “best protein powder” or “men’s running shoes”) are broad/researchy and often convert poorly marketplacevalet.com. On Google Shopping, you can’t set keywords per se, but you ensure these terms are embedded in titles/descriptions so the feed matches them. On Amazon and Walmart, choose exact/phrase bids on those high-intent searches. Use tools and reports: Amazon’s auto-campaign suggestions or Google’s Keyword Planner to find those long-tail phrases. Use negative keywords aggressively: if data shows certain searches (say, “cheap” or “wholesale”) never convert, exclude them from all your ad groups.
• Smart Bidding: For Google Shopping, consider automated strategies like Maximize Conversion Value or Target ROAS once your feed is solid. But remember: a high ROAS metric can be misleading if a product’s margin is low. In fact, one agency points out that “ROAS might sound good, but if the profit margin of that product isn’t matching the ROAS target, then the client won’t profit off Google Ads”datafeedwatch.com. Savvy advertisers solve this by using a Profit-on-Ad-Spend (POAS) approach: calculate product profit margins in the feed (via a custom label) and bid more on higher-margin items. In one test, adding profit-based labels and “bidding for profit” boosted conversions +96% and conversion value +140%datafeedwatch.com datafeedwatch.com. In practice, start simple (target ROAS or tCPA) but consider refining bids with custom segments (e.g. add +10% bid for products with 50%+ margin).
• Bid Adjustments & Budgets: Schedule your spend around demand. If sales data show weekends or evenings convert better, increase bids or budgets then. For seasonal spikes, launch new campaigns (as Built Brands did for New Year) or use Google’s ad scheduling. On Walmart and Amazon, removing budget caps on holiday campaigns (like Built Brands did) can capture all potential orderswalmartconnect.com. For beginners, a single daily budget per campaign is fine. Advanced users can deploy portfolio bid strategies or automation (like Amazon’s “dynamic bids – down only”) for tighter control.

Feed Audits & Ongoing Hygiene

Think of feed audits like oil changes: do them regularly. Check for:

• Disapproved or missing data: Use Google Merchant Center’s Diagnostics and fix errors (GTIN/brand missing, policy violations, wrong availability, etc.). On Amazon/Walmart, monitor listing status for strikes. In Code1Supply’s case, a thorough audit found missing GTIN/Brand causing disapprovals – once they corrected these, visibility improved immediatelywebdesksolution.com.
• Duplicate or incomplete entries: Remove any duplicate SKUs or near-identical listings. Make sure every product has price, availability and shipping settings updated.
• Stale or irrelevant products: If items are seasonal or discontinued, either pause them or mark them “out of stock”. No sense wasting ad spend on expired models.
• Consistency checks: Ensure your pricing, sale tags, and promotions in the feed match your site. Use feed rules or a tool to validate data formats. If you sell across multiple channels, harmonize fields (e.g. “material” vs “fabric”) so they sync smoothly.

Conduct a mini-audit monthly. Every time you add new products or run a sale, re-submit and spot-check the feed. Fresh, clean data means your ads are never rejected for trivial reasons – and your rankings on the shopping carousel stay high.

Lessons from Real Brands

• SparkleInPink (DTC Clothing): This kids’ apparel brand had a broken Google feed and off-season ads. An agency rebuilt their feed (migrating from a flawed DataFeedWatch setup to a direct Shopify-to-Merchant integration), fixing missing categories and images. The results? Conversions +58%, revenue +40% within 7 monthsuproer.com uproer.com. The key was accuracy: once every product had the right title, image and attribute, Google could show them to the right shoppers.
• Code1Supply (Medical Supplies): Code1Supply saw their initial Shopping campaigns with ROAS ~2.36. After an audit, the team reorganized their product groups (separating top sellers, healthcare vs training equipment) and fixed feed errors (added all GTIN, brand info). They then switched to a Max-ROAS bidding strategy on high-priority campaigns. Within 3 months, ROAS jumped to 5.0 (a 112% lift)webdesksolution.com, and new user conversions nearly tripledwebdesksolution.com. This shows even established stores get big gains by tidying up feeds and structuring campaigns.
• Built Brands (Walmart Marketplace): A protein bar brand scaled up Walmart ads through both seasonal theming and smart match targeting. By pulling top terms from auto campaigns into manual ones, and using broad/phrase/exact mix with tiered bids, they drove 40% of sales from ads and 50% new-to-brand orders, achieving a 130% year-over-year lift in digital sales walmartconnect.com. Their tactic: run evergreen campaigns with uncapped budgets for holidays, then dial down until the peak passedwalmartconnect.com. This multi-match strategy balanced reach (broad keywords) with efficiency (higher bids on exact searches).
• Filterway (Amazon DTC Brand): Filterway’s agency case study shows the power of mass-scale ad testing. They launched over 20 Sponsored Product campaigns, each focused on a different product line, and continuously refined them. They also used the titles and descriptions as part of targeting (improving listings helped their auto campaigns find relevant bids). Critically, they added competitor ASIN targeting ads – that is, they literally bid on searches for rival products. This raised overall visibility and share of voicesellerapp.com. The lesson: don’t leave any storefront un-touched. Use every ad placement (search, product pages) to intercept high-intent shoppers.
• Cart.com (Amazon Retail Media): In one luxury brand’s case, the first step was to stop “defensive” bidding only on branded terms. Cart.com broadened the strategy to include off-brand shoppers, bundle deals and custom products. By reallocating budget toward “attract new-to-brand users” while maintaining a healthy ROAS, the brand expanded its audience without hurting profitabilityselleractive.com. In practice, this meant setting up separate campaigns for generic keywords and promotions. The takeaway: always test beyond your own brand name, and track “new-to-brand” orders as a metric.

Beginner vs. Advanced Tactics

For Beginners:

• Feed: Start with mandatory fields. Ensure every product has a clear Title, Description, Image, Price, Brand and GTIN/UPC. Use simple, consistent language (e.g. “Men’s Red T-Shirt” instead of “The Shirt Magician’s Red T-Shirt!”). Apply the same categories as your site. Don’t worry about fancy stuff like custom labels yet – just nail the basics.
• Campaigns: Use single Shopping or sponsored-product campaigns at first. On Google, an Easy Way is a Smart Shopping (Performance Max) campaign set to maximize conversions with your whole catalog. On Amazon, create one Auto campaign and one Manual campaign for top products. Let the algorithm learn.
• Bids/Keywords: If available, use Google’s tROAS or maximize conv. On Amazon/Walmart, start with suggested bids and monitor. Focus on your brand and immediate keywords, then gradually expand. Use the search term report weekly to cut irrelevant terms and add new winners.
• Audits: Check Merchant Center for any errors or disapprovals, and fix them right away. Make sure your site’s prices and stock match the feed. At least once a month, scan the feed for blanks or weird symbols. A little cleanup goes a long way.

For Advanced Advertisers:

• Feed Hacks: Use all optional Google fields. Add the short_title and display_ads_title to craft catchy headlines for Discovery or mobile adszatomarketing.com. Employ custom labels (like “HighMargin”, “Holiday”, or dynamic flags) to slice products by profit or season. For example, calculate each item’s profit margin into a custom label and then set campaigns to target high-margin products – a technique shown to boost ROI significantlydatafeedwatch.comdatafeedwatch.com.
• Precision Structuring: Split Google Shopping into granular campaigns: separate high-volume brands vs mid-range vs clearance, each with tailored bids. Use campaign priorities to funnel searches (e.g. a high-priority campaign covers everything, then lower-priority ones bid aggressively on best-sellers). Experiment with Google’s new features (Performance Max now allows channel-level reporting and asset optimization).
• Competitive Tactics: On Amazon, run Sponsored Brand or Display ads to complement Products. On both Walmart and Amazon, bid on competitor product pages (product targeting) and use negative match against your own brand terms in generic campaigns.
• Continuous Testing: Use A/B testing for feed elements – try different title formats or promotional text. Try bid adjustments by location or device if analytics show shifts. Consider offloading heavy feed management to tools like DataFeedWatch or Feedonomics for rule automation (e.g., block any feed entry with an expletive or out-of-stock status).
• Advanced Bidding: Beyond target ROAS, test “Maximize Conversion Value” with ROAS guardrails, or use Google’s new bid adjustments by audience (e.g. 20% higher bid for returning site visitors). On Amazon, try “Dynamic bids: up and down” if you have room for scaling, or the new campaign budgets. Set alerts if spend spikes by 50% so you don’t blow budget on a bad match.

Key Takeaways

• Feed Quality = Visibility. Every extra detail in your feed improves relevance. Rich titles, correct categories and multiple professional images make a direct impact on CTR and conversionsdatafeedwatch.comdatafeedwatch.com.
• Audit Regularly. Don’t let feed errors slide – they silently kill your reach. Brands that fixed broken feeds saw dramatic uplifts in sales (e.g. a 40% revenue jump for one clothing retaileruproer.comuproer.com).
• Segment and Target. Structure campaigns around product groups and shopper intent. Separate brand vs generic, new vs returning customers, top sellers vs long-tail. Use negatives to refine. Walmart’s Built Brands and Amazon’s Cart.com both saw big gains by splitting traffic and adjusting bids strategicallywalmartconnect.comselleractive.com.
• Optimize Continuously. This isn’t “set and forget.” Review search terms and performance data weekly. If a product starts trending, give it a dedicated campaign or higher bids. If something flops, pause it. Keep iterating your strategies and feeding new data back into the feed (price changes, updated descriptions, new promotions).
• Think Profit, Not Just Spend. Beyond ROAS, aim for real profitability. Some advertisers add profit-margin fields to their feeds and bid accordinglydatafeedwatch.com. If you only chase the highest ROAS product, you might ignore a lower-ROAS product that still nets more profit because of its margin. Use custom labels and smart bids to align with your true KPIs.

Are you maximizing every opportunity in your shopping ads? Book a strategy call or feed audit with our experts to uncover quick wins and advanced optimizations for your Google Shopping, Amazon and Walmart campaigns. Let’s turn your product feed into a growth engine!