Why the feed matters
An optimised product feed is not just a technical requirement for Merchant Center. It is the foundation Google uses to understand your catalogue and decide when, how and to which users your products should appear in Shopping.
When your feed is incomplete, outdated or poorly structured, you can face loss of visibility, price errors or performance issues. On the other hand, a clear, consistent and well-structured feed makes campaign activation easier, improves catalogue quality and helps identify opportunities from the very beginning.
At Globerada, we review this before scaling campaigns because we see its impact every day. That is why we wanted to share this basic guide, which can be useful if you are starting to work with us or if you have an internal Google Shopping team.
Ensure consistency between the feed, landing page and checkout
One of the most common issues in Merchant Center happens when the information submitted in the feed does not match what Google finds on your website.
It is important to understand that Google does not only review the product file you upload to Merchant Center. It also crawls each product landing page and can check whether data such as price, availability, currency, language, shipping costs or taxes match the information visible to the user.
For example, if your feed shows one price but the product page displays another, you may run into a price mismatch issue. Or if a product appears as available in Merchant Center but is out of stock on your website, this can also create problems.
The consistency we are talking about needs to be maintained mainly across three points:
- Feed: the information submitted to Merchant Center.
- Landing page: the product page visible to the user.
- Checkout: the final price, availability, shipping and taxes before purchase.
This is especially important for ecommerce businesses with frequent price changes, promotions, limited stock or variable shipping costs. If your website updates before the feed, or the other way around, temporary discrepancies can appear and affect product approval or performance.
At Globerada, we recommend regularly reviewing:
- Price
- Availability
- Currency
- Language
- Shipping costs
- Taxes
- Information visible on the landing page
- Final price and conditions at checkout
Remember: the more consistent the information is across your feed, website and checkout, the fewer issues you will have in Merchant Center and the easier it will be to activate and optimise campaigns in Google Shopping.
Work on clear and descriptive titles
The title is one of the most important attributes in the feed because it helps Google understand what product you are selling and which searches it may be relevant for.
A common mistake is using titles that are too generic or written only for users who are already browsing the website. In Google Shopping, the title also needs to work as a search signal, especially now that users are searching in a more conversational way due to the use of AI. The clearer and more descriptive the title is, the easier it is to connect the product with relevant queries.
Avoid vague titles such as “trainers offer” or “new collection t-shirt” and include attributes that genuinely help identify the product: brand, model, product type, gender, colour, size, material, capacity or any relevant feature depending on the category.
It is also important to place the most important information at the beginning of the title. Google and users do not always see the full title, especially in certain formats or devices, so the first terms should communicate the essentials.
You should also avoid including promotional information such as prices, discounts, sale dates, “free shipping” or commercial messages. These elements do not help classify the product better and can create issues in Merchant Center.
Use correct product identifiers
Product identifiers are a key part of the feed because they help Google recognise exactly which item you are selling and connect it with searches, comparisons and similar products within Shopping.
The most important identifiers include GTIN, brand and MPN when applicable. These data points help Google better understand the product, classify it correctly and show it in relevant searches. But there is one important point: not every identifier is valid.
If you have the correct GTIN, include it. But if you do not know it or are not sure it is valid, it is better not to add it than to submit incorrect data. An invented, questionable or wrongly assigned GTIN can create problems in Merchant Center and affect feed quality.
The same applies to brand and MPN. They should represent the actual product, not be used as generic fields or filled in automatically without review.
At Globerada, we recommend checking:
- GTIN: use it only if it is correct and matches the exact product.
- Brand: it should match the real brand of the item.
- MPN: include it when the product does not have a GTIN or when it is relevant to identify it.
- Internal ID: it should be unique and stable for each product or variant.
Include all product variants
If your product is available in different sizes, colours, materials, capacities or versions, the feed needs to reflect each variant clearly and accurately.
A common mistake is submitting a single generic product when, in reality, the user can buy several different versions. For example, a t-shirt available in multiple sizes and colours, trainers in different sizes or a mobile phone with different storage capacities.
For Google Shopping, each variant needs to be properly identified because not all options represent exactly the same product. Important attributes such as size, colour, image, price, availability or even GTIN can change.
That is why it is important to check that each variant includes the correct information:
- Unique ID: each variant should have its own identifier.
- Clear title: it should reflect the specific variant when relevant.
- Colour, size, material or capacity: the attributes that differentiate one version from another should be completed correctly.
- Correct image: if the product changes colour or design, the image should match the advertised variant.
- Price and availability: each variant should show the real price and stock.
- Correct GTIN: if each variant has a different identifier, the corresponding one should be submitted.
- Appropriate landing page: the user should land on the correct product version or be able to select it easily.
For example, it is not the same to submit simply “men’s technical running t-shirt” as it is to submit a specific variant such as “men’s technical running t-shirt blue size M”. The second option helps both Google and the user better understand which product is being shown.
In addition, if several variants belong to the same model, they should be correctly grouped using attributes such as item_group_id. This makes it clear that all those products belong to the same family, while each one still has its own specific characteristics.
Take care of your images
Images are another key part of the feed because they influence both product approval and the user’s visual experience in Google Shopping.
The main image should show the product clearly and cleanly, without elements that could cause rejection or confusion. Avoid including promotional text, added logos, watermarks, discount badges, calls to action or any element that covers or alters the product image.
It is also important to take care of image quality and size. Google has already announced that, from 31 January 2027, all product images must be at least 500 x 500 pixels. Until then, the current minimums remain 100 x 100 px for general products and 250 x 250 px for fashion products. However, Google recommends using images of 1500 x 1500 px or higher whenever possible to achieve better performance across all listing formats. In addition, no image should exceed 64 megapixels or 16 MB in file size.
In practice, this means you should not limit yourself to the technical minimum. A low-resolution image may meet the current requirements, but it can look worse in more visual formats across Shopping, YouTube, Google Images or AI-powered experiences.
It is also not enough for the image to look good: the URL must be accessible to Google. If Google cannot crawl the image, if the URL is blocked or if robots.txt prevents access to Googlebot or Googlebot-Image, the product may not be shown even if the rest of the feed is correctly configured.
Review categories and product type
Beyond the basic feed attributes, it is important to review how you classify your products. Good categorisation helps Google understand your catalogue better and also makes internal campaign organisation easier.
Here it is useful to distinguish between two attributes:
- google_product_category is Google’s standard category. It helps Merchant Center classify the product within Google’s official taxonomy. In some cases, Google can assign it automatically, but reviewing and submitting it correctly can provide more precise signals about the type of product you are selling.
- product_type, on the other hand, is a structure defined by the advertiser. It does not have to follow Google’s taxonomy, but it is very useful for organising the catalogue, segmenting products and analysing performance by family, category or subcategory.
For example:
Clothing > Women > Shoes > Running
The more granular, consistent and organised this structure is, the easier it will be to work with the feed and identify optimisation opportunities.
And that’s it for our basic guide with recommendations for your product feed. Remember to contact us if you need help reviewing yours.
