What is the CSS program?

The CSS program (Comparison Shopping Service) was created at the instigation of the European Commission. Based on the court’s decision, Google released part of the search results for commodity search engines. This initiative aims to increase competition in the Google Shopping Ads advertising space. As part of Google Shopping, e-shops can advertise their products through a CSS partner, which increases the visibility of their offers and potentially their sales.

What can e-shops gain from the CSS program?

1. Reduced advertising costs: Google offers lower cost-per-click (CPC) for campaigns run through CSS partners. This means that the e-shop can get more visitors at a lower price, which increases the effectiveness of Shopping Ads and Performance Max advertising campaigns.
2. Higher visibility of products: The products of the e-shop are displayed in the leading positions in Google Shopping. This means they get shown for more potential customers.

Involvement in the Heureka Group CSS program

You can use the PLUS and BASIC packages for connection. Each of the packages includes different benefits and levels of support from us.

PLUS: 5,000 CZK/month

• General discount in bidding,
• possible increase in the Shopping Ads click-through rate,
• VIP support for the involved e-shop,
• possibility to consult Merchant Center and Shopping Ads.

BASIC: 1,000 CZK/month

• General discount in bidding,
• possible increase in the Shopping Ads click-through rate.

Of course, both packages include a 30-day trial period, during which you can test how joining the CSS program will affect your Shopping Ads and Performance Max campaigns.

To connect to our CSS programs, please prepare the following information: Merchant Center ID, e-shop domain, selected package (PLUS/BASIC) and the preferred date when you would like to start connecting to the CSS program. On the day you choose, we will send a request to your Merchant Center to connect to the selected CSS program.

What to check before transferring:

1. Make sure there is at least one user with administrative rights in Merchant Center.
2. Verify that you are sending us your Merchant Center ID, not your Advanced Account (MCA) ID.
3. Check that Merchant Center is connected to an advanced account (MCA). If so, expect that the transferred Merchant Center will be disconnected from the given advanced account (MCA).

What will change after joining the program?

You will manage your campaigns as before, so nothing major. The visible change will be a new label in Shopping Ads that will appear after the conversion. When joining the Heureka.cz CSS program, the label “From Heureka website” will appear in your ads. This change can increase the credibility of your offers to customers.

How long does it take to switch to a CSS program?

We can convert you to our CSS program within 24 hours.

How does the one month trial work?

The one-month trial period begins on the date of acceptance of the connection under the CSS program by you. The duration is 1 month, and we will inform you about this fact before the end of the trial period.

Do I have to advertise on your price comparison websites in order to use CSS programs from Heureka?

No, you don’t have to. To use any CSS program from Heureka Group, it is not necessary to advertise on our price comparison websites.

Should I be concerned about the Google Ads campaign learning period?

You don’t have to worry. After converting to any CSS program, there will be a learning period for campaigns connected to your Merchant Center, but from our experience this phase does not have a negative impact on campaign performance and lasts only 1-4 days.

What to do after transferring to the Heureka Group CSS program?

After converting to one of Heureka Group’s CSS programs, we recommend monitoring campaign performance and waiting for changes for at least 3 days. This will allow campaigns to stabilize and ensure that all optimizations have maximum effect.

Set up a technical Merchant Center after the transfer

After conversion to Heureka Group’s CSS programs, we recommend creating a so-called technical Merchant Center. This Merchant Center will be under the CSS of Google Shopping and will allow you to manage your price comparator settings.

If you switch from CSS Google Shopping to another CSS program, the price comparator settings in Merchant Center will disappear. That’s why we recommend creating a technical Merchant Center that will be used exclusively to set up price comparators.

To create a technical Merchant Center, you will need a Google Account under which no Merchant Center is assigned. With this account, go to the Google for Retail page to start registration.

You don’t have to worry about losing verification and recovery – even if your Merchant Centers are under different CSS programs, there will be no loss.