Google Shopping Product Feeds Done Right
By CodexierPublished 5 min read
Google Shopping, both the free listings and the paid Shopping ads, is built on a product feed: a structured file with one row per product that your webshop sends to Google Merchant Center. Google has no other way to know what you sell, at what price and with what delivery. A thin or inaccurate feed means your products are shown for the wrong searches or not at all. This guide walks through how listings are chosen, the fields that matter, and how to clear disapprovals.
How Shopping listings are chosen
Unlike search ads, you do not choose keywords for Shopping. Google reads your feed and decides which searches each product is relevant for. For paid ads, the bid and the expected click rate then decide the order; for free listings, relevance and quality. In both cases the feed is the input you control, which makes it the main lever.
Required and recommended fields
| Field | What it does | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| id | Your unique product or variant ID | Changing IDs on a platform migration, which resets history |
| title | The main matching signal | Brand only, or internal product codes |
| description | Supports matching | Empty, or copied supplier text in English |
| link and image_link | Landing page and main image | Image with text overlays or watermarks |
| price and availability | Must match the page | Sale price shown on page but not sent in the feed |
| gtin, brand, mpn | Identify the product | Missing GTIN for branded goods that have one |
| google_product_category and product_type | Classify the product | Everything in one generic category |
| shipping and returns | Delivery cost, time and return policy | Not configured in Merchant Center |
Variants such as size and colour need item_group_id plus the variant attributes, so Google shows them as one product with options.
For your own brand without barcodes, set identifier_exists to false rather than inventing GTINs. For goods from other brands, the GTIN is usually on the packaging or in the supplier's price list; it is worth collecting because it helps Google match your offer to the right product.
Titles and images that perform
Shoppers search with product words, not with your internal naming. A title that starts with what the product is, followed by the details people filter on, is matched to more searches and gets more clicks. Write titles in Swedish for the Swedish market.
- Pattern for many products: brand, product type, key attribute, size or colour. For example: brand name, rain jacket for women, waterproof, navy, size M.
- Put the most important words in the first part, since long titles are cut off.
- Avoid promotional text such as free shipping or sale in titles; it is not allowed.
- Main image on a plain, light background, product filling most of the frame, no text or logos on top.
- Additional images for use, detail and scale can go in additional_image_link.
The same work improves your own product pages; see product pages that sell and product photos on a small budget.
Shipping, tax and policy settings
- Shipping: set costs and delivery times per country in Merchant Center, matching what checkout charges. Free-shipping thresholds must match too.
- Tax: in Sweden and the rest of the EU, prices in the feed include VAT. Separate tax settings are not used for Swedish listings.
- Returns: add your return policy, including the withdrawal period, so it can be shown on the listing.
- Business details: company name, address and contact information that match the website and your legal details.
- Checkout: the site must have working checkout, visible contact details and terms, or the account can be suspended for misrepresentation.
Fixing disapprovals
| Disapproval | Usual cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Price mismatch | Cache, currency or sale price out of sync | Send sale_price with dates; add structured data on product pages |
| Availability mismatch | Stock changed after the feed was fetched | Fetch the feed more often or use the Content API |
| Missing or invalid GTIN | Invented or mistyped barcodes | Use the real GTIN or identifier_exists false for own brands |
| Image problems | Placeholder images, overlays, too small | Replace with a clean main image |
| Misrepresentation | Missing contact details, terms or return policy | Add them to the site and Merchant Center, then request review |
Decision rule: if your platform's own Google channel produces a feed with few disapprovals and your catalogue is small, improve titles and images yourself. Build a custom feed when you need rules the plugin cannot handle, such as rewriting titles from product attributes, excluding low-margin products or syncing stock from several warehouses. When not to buy from us: a small shop with a working plugin should spend money on photos, not feed engineering. For the rest, our custom e-commerce features include feed work, and you can book a short call to go through your Merchant Center diagnostics. Measure the result with proper conversion tracking.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay to appear in Google Shopping?
No. Free listings show products from Merchant Center in the Shopping tab and other surfaces at no cost. Shopping ads give more placement in exchange for paying per click, and both use the same feed.
Is the Shopify or WooCommerce Google plugin enough?
For many small shops, yes, once titles, images and identifiers are cleaned up in the products themselves. Custom feeds make sense when you need rules, several markets or stock from several sources.
How often should the feed update?
At least daily, and more often if stock or prices change during the day. Mismatches between feed and page are the most common cause of disapprovals.
Should product titles in the feed differ from the website?
They can. The feed title can be optimised for search matching while the page keeps a shorter title. Keep them consistent enough that the shopper recognises the product on arrival.
Products disapproved or invisible in Shopping?
In a free 15-minute call we look at your Merchant Center diagnostics and feed setup, and tell you which fixes you can make in your platform and which need custom feed work.
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