Google Shopping is where every Google Ads marketer generates the majority of e-commerce revenue in 2024. The problem is every competitor to your business uses it too, which makes it hard to stand out against competitors and get potential customers to choose your products over others. 

If you’re looking for an EASY win to take your Google Shopping game to the next level, getting the “Top Quality Store” badge should be the next item on your list. This badge can boost customer trust, improve your visibility, and help you compete more effectively. Here’s how important this badge is and a step-by-step tutorial to increase your chances of getting the badge.

What Is the Top Quality Store Badge?

The Top Quality Store badge is a visible marker that Google awards to merchants who meet high standards for customer experience. It appears directly on your product listings, boosting user confidence by showing shoppers that your store is reliable and highly rated. 

This credibility marker helps your listings stand out, giving customers a reason to choose you over other options. Kind of like having a 5-Star rating or “Overall Pick” badge on Amazon.

Benefits of Getting the Badge

• Boosts Customer Confidence: The badge is a trust signal that reassures customers about your reliability, quality, and commitment to good service.
• Rank Higher in Search Results: Google says that stores with this badge have products ranked higher in Google Shopping results, so it’s a cheat code to putting your products ahead of the competition.
• Display it on Your Website: Users have trusted this badge so much that Google now lets you display the badge directly on your website, giving your store added authority beyond just Google Shopping.

How To Get The Top Quality Store Badge

If you’re aiming for the “Top Quality Store Badge” on Google Shopping, Google Merchant Center outlines exactly what you need to do across five main categories and 11 subcategories. Hitting “exceptional” in every category will increase your chances of getting the badge, though we’ve found that most businesses only need to hit the exceptional rating in 3 subcategories to achieve the badge.

We’ve broken down each category into what determines your Quality Score and given you the benchmarks you need to hit in order to achieve an exceptional ranking in each facet! One thing to note is that for each store, the actual metrics you need to hit may be different based off your industry and direct competitors. The numbers used in this below are to help illustrate how you would improve.

Return Experience

This category is all about making returns easy and cost-effective for your customers. The smoother the return process, the better you’ll rank here.

• Return Window: To rank as “exceptional,” your store should offer a 91-180day return period. Offering between 31-90 days will give you a “great” rating.
• Return Cost: There are no benchmark costs for this outlined by Google, which means you’ll need to be as low as possible to get a good ranking. Ideally, you’ll want returns to be free, but the lower the cost, the better your rating. Free returns are a key factor in getting top ratings here, but depending on your margins, you’ll want to decide how important this is in comparison.

Shipping Experience

Your shipping policies can make or break a customer’s experience. With competitors like Amazon offering fast shipping options, you’ll need to give customers a fast option too, or a good reason why it’s not. Here’s what you need to hit exceptional in shipping:

• Delivery Time: Google includes your handling and transit times based on your policies in Merchant Center. Aim to deliver within 0-3 days on average to hit an exceptional rating.
• Shipping Cost: Google favors stores with low shipping costs. While this will depend on your market and capabilities, keeping costs as low as possible will help boost your score.

Store Rating

Your store’s star rating is a direct reflection of customer satisfaction, and it’s a big factor in getting the badge. For an “exceptional” score, you’ll need an average rating between 4.9 and 5 stars.

Tips to improve your rating:

If you’re struggling to increase your review average, consider: 

• Encourage Customer Reviews: Reach out to satisfied customers and ask for reviews. A gentle reminder often goes a long way.
• Reward Reviewers: Consider offering incentives to customers who leave feedback. This can be a small discount or entry into a prize draw.

Purchase Experience

This covers the entire transaction process, from promotions to payment options. Google checks how seamless your purchase process is.

• Promotion Rejection Rate: Google wants promotions to be accurate and in line with policies. If you’ve had promotions rejected, work on fixing any violations. If you haven’t run any promotions, this metric doesn’t apply to you.
• eWallet Options: The more payment options you offer, the better your score here. To get an “exceptional” rating, your store should accept PayPal, Google Wallet, Apple Pay, and Amazon Pay. These options can be set up directly in Merchant Center.

Browsing Experience

Google wants to ensure a smooth browsing experience for shoppers. This category includes high-quality images, product listings, and fast website loading speeds.

• High-Resolution Images: To meet the top standards, make sure 87% to 100% of your product images are at least 1024 pixels. You can improve your images directly in Merchant Center using Product Studio.
• Images Per Offer: Ideally, aim for 5 or more images per product listing to give users a better idea of the product in use. Use Google’s AI Scene tool in Product Studio to create more visuals without extra photoshoots.
• Website Speed (Desktop & Mobile): Google favors stores with fast-loading pages, ideally under 2 seconds. This applies to both desktop and mobile and can have a big impact on your conversion rate. Not only should this help you get a Top Quality Store badge, it should help your website performance.

This goal is weighted heavily and can often give you an exceptional rating much quicker if your website is pulled faster by Google. 

Use Product Studio To Help:

If you need to improve your image quality but want to skip the hassle of expensive photoshoots, Product Studio is your go-to tool directly in Google Merchant Center. It lets you upgrade your images right in Google Merchant Center, helping you meet those high-quality standards with ease. Here’s what you can do with it:

• Enhance Resolution: Improve the clarity of your existing images to meet high-resolution requirements.

• Create New Images: Generate additional product images based on your existing ones—no new photoshoots required.

• Add Backgrounds & Angles: Use varied backgrounds and angles to make your products stand out.

These updates directly impact your browsing experience score and also give your listings an instant upgrade for better engagement, killing two birds with one stone. 

Achieving the Top Quality Store Badge can make your listings stand out, build customer trust, and improve your rankings in Google Shopping. For more help fine-tuning your store to meet these standards, get in touch with us today and let’s get that badge on your site!