Google Adds Google Catalogs To Lightbox Display Format

Google announced it is adding Google Catalogs to the creative assets brands can include in Lightbox ads. Google introduced Lightbox ads, which appear as standard display ads and expand when the user hovers over them for two seconds, last October. The ads feature a “hover to expand” call-to-action button.

With Google Catalogs in the Lightbox, users can flip through a catalog without leaving the original page they’re viewing. The examples shown here are from the Brand USA’s Discover America beta campaign which featured a digitized version of their print tourism guide.

Like other Lightbox ads, ads featuring catalogs are priced on a cost-per-engagement (CPE) basis. Advertisers pay when a user “chooses to read” the catalog by hovering over the ad for two-seconds to trigger the expansion. Reporting metrics include page flips and product views.

To include catalog assets in Lightbox ads, retailers need to digitize and add their catalogs to the Google Catalogs system that is now part of Google Shopping. Advertisers can also create digital catalogs using existing PDFs and Google Merchant Center feeds.

About The Author

Ginny Marvin

As Third Door Media's paid media reporter, Ginny Marvin writes about paid online marketing topics including paid search, paid social, display and retargeting for Search Engine Land and Marketing Land. With more than 15 years of marketing experience, Ginny has held both in-house and agency management positions. She provides search marketing and demand generation advice for ecommerce companies and can be found on Twitter as @ginnymarvin.