Google Shopping Rankings: Key Factors For Retailers

A new study analyzing 5,000 Google Shopping keywords sheds light on the factors associated with higher rankings.

The researchconducted by Jeff Oxford, founder of 180 Marketing, reveals trends that could help e-commerce stores improve their visibility in Google’s free Shopping ads.

Amazon dominates Google Shopping

Amazon ranks first for 52% of Google Shopping searches, beating out Walmart (6%) and Home Depot (3%).

In addition to Amazon’s dominance, the study found a strong correlation between website authority and ranking, with higher-ranking pages often belonging to well-established brands.

To take away: Building your brand and gaining trust is key to ranking well on Google Shopping.

Backlinks, reviews and pricing

The study identified several trends that separate top-ranking sites from the rest:

• Recommended domains: Product pages in the top two positions had more backlinks than lower ranking pages. Interestingly, most of the analyzed product pages (98%) had no backlinks at all.
• Customer reviews: Product pages with customer reviews were ranked higher, and stores with ratings below 3.5 stars struggled to rank well.
• Prices: Lower-priced products tended to rank higher, while top-scoring listings often had prices below the category average.

To take away: Building backlinks, collecting customer reviews and offering competitive prices can make all the difference.

Meta descriptions Top signal

Among the on-page factors, meta descriptions had the strongest correlation with rankings.

Pages that included exact match keywords in their meta descriptions consistently ranked higher.

While the use of keywords in title tags and H1 headers showed some correlation, the impact was much smaller.

To take away: Optimize meta descriptions and product text with targeted keywords to improve rankings.

Structured data findings

Structured data showed mixed results in the study.

Structured product data had little or no correlation with rankings, and Amazon, despite dominating the top spots, does not use structured data on its product pages.

However, sites using peer-reviewed structured data performed better.

To take away: Focus on collecting customer reviews and using structured review data, which appears to be more influential than structured product data.

Shipping and return results

Google Shopping rates stores based on shipping, returns, and site quality metrics.

The study found that stores with “Exceptional” or “Great” scores for shipping and returns were more likely to rank higher, especially in the top 10 positions.

To take away: Prioritize fast shipping and clear return policies to improve your Google Shopping results.

What does this mean?

According to these findings, success in Google Shopping is associated with good customer reviews, competitive pricing, and fast service.

Optimizing for traditional SEO—such as backlinks and well-written metadata—can benefit both organic search and Shopping rankings.

Merchants should prioritize user experience because Google’s scoring for shipping, returns, and website quality affects visibility.

Finally, remember that correlation does not equal causation—test changes thoughtfully and focus on providing value to your customers.