There’s a tiny little setting inside Google Merchant Center that can seriously improve your Shopping Ads and almost nobody is using it.
I’m talking about Product Highlights.
It takes less than a minute to set up. But once you do, you give yourself a shot at higher click-through rates, more traffic, and ultimately, more sales.
What Are Product Highlights?
Inside Google Merchant Center, when you view a product’s details, you’ll find a section near the bottom under “Additional Details” called Product Highlights.
This section lets you add short, benefit-led bullets to your Shopping Ads. And yes, they actually show up in the ads. On mobile, for example, users will see a neat list of these underneath the product image and price. Think of it like ad copy for your Shopping feed.
Most ecommerce brands don’t even know this exists, so using it is a genuine opportunity to get ahead of your competitors.
How to Set It Up (Takes Under a Minute)
Here’s how to do it:
Go to your Google Merchant Center account.
Click Products in the left-hand menu.
Choose any product from your feed.
Click Edit Product.
Scroll down to Product Highlights.
Add 5–10 short, punchy, benefit-led bullets.
Hit Save.
Done. You’ve now improved your Shopping Ad creative in under a minute.
Why This Works
With Google Shopping Ads, you don’t get to write traditional ad copy.
Some levers you can pull though are:
Product titles
Images
Pricing
And… now, Product Highlights
That’s your creative. And your way to stand out.
Most of your competitors are probably doing the basics. But Product Highlights let you speak directly to your customer, highlighting benefits and USPs instead of just specs.
And with Google pushing this feature more and more (yet still very few people using it), this is your low-hanging fruit.
What to Write in Your Highlights
This is where most people go wrong. Let me save you from doing the same:
✅ Keep Them Short
There’s a 150-character limit, but that’s the ceiling—not the target. Keep each bullet as short and impactful as possible.
✅ Focus on Benefits, Not Specs
The goal is persuasion. You’re not trying to rank or stuff in keywords here.
Instead of: “Made of 100% cotton”
Write: “Breathable soft cotton with stretch”
Instead of: “Elastic waistband”
Write: “Flattering faux wrap with comfy waistband”
✅ Use Clear, Desirable Phrases
Here are a few examples that tend to work well:
“Ships Same Day”
“Free 30-Day Returns”
“Lifetime Warranty”
“Handmade in the UK”
“100% Vegan Leather”
“Sustainably Made”
❌ Don’t Do This
Don’t keyword stuff.
Don’t write paragraphs.
Don’t get fancy with emojis or salesy formatting.
Think clean. Think clear. Think useful.
My Personal Recommendation
Aim for around 10 per product. You can technically add up to 100, but that’s overkill and unnecessary.
Remember: Google usually only shows 3–4 highlights on the main Shopping listing anyway. So just make those top ones count.
Once you start adding these to a few of your top-performing products, keep an eye on CTR (click-through rate) in your Shopping campaigns over the following week.
Chances are, you’ll see an improvement. More importantly, you’ll gain better real estate in the SERP that actually speaks to your customer.
Final Thoughts
This is one of those rare Google Ads tricks that:
Is easy to implement.
Isn’t common knowledge.
Can deliver measurable improvements.
So give Product Highlights a go. Do it today. It only takes a minute and could seriously improve the performance of your Shopping Ads.
Summary
Product Highlights are an underused feature in Google Merchant Center that allow you to add benefit-driven bullet points to your Google Shopping Ads. These appear directly in the ad listing and can increase click-through rates and conversions.
To implement, simply go to your product feed in Google Merchant Center, edit a product, scroll to "Product Highlights" under Additional Details, and add 5–10 short bullets. Focus on persuasive, customer-oriented benefits, not specs or keyword stuffing.
Use this section to differentiate your products in the crowded Shopping results and keep an eye on CTR as you implement these changes.