What are placeholders and how to use them?
Placeholders are used, for example, to automatically & dynamically include information directly from the product feed in an ad, e.g. product names, or prices. Placeholders are formatted with double curly braces {{ }} and can be used in both headlines and descriptions.
In Shopstory, they are mainly used in the ad templetes. The ad templete used when placing the ad is then already properly prepared, e.g. with the correct name or the correct price. This makes it possible to work more efficiently.
It also has the advantage that if information such as the product name or the price changes in the backend and this is sent via the product feed, then this information is also automatically updated in the ad text.
Here is an example of how placeholders can be used:
Headline: buy {{produkt.name}}.
Description: Visit {{project.domain}} for the best deals on {{product.name}}. Prices start at {{product.price}}.
In this example, the content for the placeholders (the domain, product, and price) is pulled directly from the product feed and used in the ad text.
In Shopstory, what can be fetched from the product feed and what is already received here is displayed live below the ad texts.
In the ad template, the information refers to the selected example.
When placing an ad for an item, this information already relates to the selected item
What are the commonly used placeholders in shopstory
Placeholders commonly used in Shopstory:
{{product.name}}: This placeholder is used to automatically insert the name of a product. In this case it is the example product name "Yellow Umbrella".
{{product.price}}: This placeholder is used to automatically insert the price of a product. In this case, the example product price is "19,99 €".
If the price were to change in the backend, it would be automatically adjusted in the display as well.
{{category.name}}: This placeholder is used to insert the name of a product category. In this case, the name of the example product category is "Umbrellas".
{{insertion.keyword.titlecase}}: This placeholder is used to insert a specific keyword in the ad. It is the keyword that was taken off by the searcher. When used with the "titlecase" suffix, all initial letters are capitalized. In this case, the example value is displayed as "example keyword".
Example:
In your keyword list you have the keyword "buy umbrella". A searcher enters "buy new umbrella" in Google search. You use {{insertion.keyword.titlecase}} as a placeholder. In Google, this search query triggers your keyword. Google shows your ad and uses the text of the triggered keyword in a headline, always capitalizing the first letters "buy umbrella".
This increases the searcher's confidence, as a very similar word is displayed in the search result and this increases the likelihood that the searcher will click your ad.
{{insertion.keyword.normalcase}}: This placeholder is similar to the first one, but for multiple keywords, the first word is written with an uppercase letter and all the others start with lowercase letters. In this case, the example value is displayed as "Example Keyword".
{{insertion.keyword.lowercase}}: This placeholder is similar to the first one, but the keyword is inserted in lowercase. In this case, the example value is "example keyword".
Other placeholders explained
{{project.domain}}: This placeholder is used to insert the domain name of a project or website. In this case, the example domain is "exampleshop.com".
{{project.countryCode}}: This placeholder is used to insert the country code of a project or advertisement. In this case, the example country code is "DE" for Germany.
{{project.id}}: This placeholder is used to insert the unique ID of a product. In this case, the example product ID is "123920".
{{product.displayName}}: This placeholder is used to insert the display name of a product if it has been overridden in the element. In this case, the display name of the example product is "Yellow Umbrellaó Umbrella".
{{category.parents}}: This placeholder is used to insert the parent categories of a product category, separated by the ">" symbol. In this case, the example product category is "Umbrellas" and its parent categories are "Accessories" and "Umbrellas".
{{category.displayName}}: This placeholder is used to insert the display name of a product category. In this case, the display name of the product category is "Umbrellas".
{{category.path}}: This placeholder is used to insert the full path of a product category, including all parent categories, separated by the ">" symbol. In this case, the example path of the product category "Accessories > Umbrellas > Umbrella" is.
{{category.lowestPrice}}: This placeholder is used to insert the lowest price of all products in a product category. In this case, the lowest price of all products in the "Umbrellas" category is "€12.30".
{{brand.name}}: This placeholder is used to insert the name of a brand. In this case, the example brand name is "Schirmó".
{{brand.displayName}}: This placeholder is used to insert the display name of a brand if it has been overridden in the element. In this case, the example brand name is "Schirmó Umbrellas".
{{brand.lowestPrice}}: This placeholder is used to insert the lowest price of all products associated with a specific brand. In this case, the lowest price of all products associated with the brand "Schirmó" is "14,30 €".
{{categoryBrand.lowestPrice}}: This placeholder is used to indicate the lowest price of all products of a specific brand within a specific category. In this case, the lowest price of all products associated with the brand "Schirmó" within the category "Umbrellas" is "15,30 €". This is a useful placeholder to show the best offer for a specific brand within a specific product category.