Why choose a third-party CSS over Google Shopping?

If you are an e-merchant and use Google Shopping, you may have already heard of CSS, the famous “Service Comparateur de Prix” (or Comparison Shopping Service in English) that determines how your product listings are displayed. By default, Google offers its own CSS, which is integrated, simple, and automatically enabled. But is this really the best option?

Since 2018, European regulations have opened the door to alternative CSSs, with a direct impact on campaign performance. In this article, we explain why more and more advertisers are choosing to use third-party CSSs, and what this means in practical terms.

What is a third-party CSS?

A third-party CSS is a Google-approved price comparison service that can display your Shopping ads instead of Google’s native CSS. It acts as a technical intermediary between your Google Merchant Centre and the sponsored results on the search engine.

By default, if you haven’t changed anything, you are using Google Shopping CSS. But you are perfectly entitled (and it’s in your best interest!) to use another CSS, known as a ‘third party’ or ‘partner’ CSS. And you can do so without changing your campaigns, budgets, or product feed.

Google’s openness to other CSS

In 2017, the European Commission fined Google €2.42 billion for abuse of its dominant position in the price comparison sector. In response, Google implemented a system allowing other CSSs to access its Shopping search results and even display ads in place of its own service.

This has created a new competitive arena and, above all, a strong incentive to use a partner CSS, thanks to a major economic advantage.

The real benefit: an immediate effect on your auctions

Google applies an internal adjustment to campaigns run through a third-party CSS: your bid is considered more competitive, with an estimated ‘bonus’ of up to 20%.

In practical terms, if you bid £1, Google treats this bid as if it were £1.20. This means you are more visible for the same budget compared to an advertiser using Google CSS.

This gain is not a myth: it can be measured in campaign performance from the very first days after migration. This often represents a decrease in CPC, or an increase in click volume at a constant cost.

What does this mean for an e-commerce merchant?

It’s simple: no extra work, just extra performance.

Switching to a third-party CSS does not involve any technical redesign, new channels, or changes to your Google Ads campaigns if they are well structured. All you need to do is link the right CSS to your Merchant Centre account, a change that can be made in less than 24 hours.

Then, all your products will be displayed under the name of this CSS and will benefit from favourable bid adjustment.

Third-party CSS: what are the options and costs?

There are currently around twenty CSS partners certified by Google operating in France. Some are run by agencies or technology platforms (Channable, Producthero, Feedonomics, etc.), while others are run by long-standing comparison sites such as Kelkoo and Shoparize.

Their models vary:

• Some CSSs are free (often to encourage users to try out their solution),
• Others are paid services, with subscriptions ranging from £20 to £60 per month,
• Some integrate CSS into a complete software suite: flow management, reporting, automation,

In a competitive market with high acquisition costs, every optimisation lever counts. Choosing a third-party CSS is undoubtedly the simplest and most cost-effective way to improve the performance of your Google Shopping campaigns without changing your strategy.

At FeedMax, we believe that this advantage should not be reserved for those with the largest budgets. That’s why our CSS is 100% free for three years, with no commitment, to allow all e-merchants to regain this forgotten lever… and take back control of their performance.

Section below: CSS subscription form (same as the one for the dedicated LP)