What is Google Merchant Center?
Google Merchant Center is the hub for your product data. There you store products and shipping and return policies, and control the programmes in which your products appear. The data forms the basis for Google Shopping, meaning free listings and Shopping ads.
Since October 2024, all accounts have used the interface that Google first called Merchant Center Next. The classic interface no longer exists. Older guides may therefore use different menu names.
Setting up Merchant Center
You need a Google account. According to Google, an email address can only be used to create one Merchant Center account. Then follow these steps:
- Open the Merchant Center sign-up page. You also sign in there later.
- Enter your business information, meaning shop name and address, and choose whether you sell online, in store or both. Check the country carefully, as Google does not allow you to change the one selected during setup.
- Choose payment and shipping options. You can change these later.
- Provide product data, automatically from your online shop or by upload.
- State whether you use a platform such as Shopify. You can then sync your products from that platform.
The left-hand menu has areas for products, marketing, analytics and settings. Account data, data sources and links are in the settings. You can check whether free listings are active under Marketing, then Marketing methods. If your Google account is already linked to another Merchant Center account, Google says you can create a new Google account. A single user can be added to no more than 100 Merchant Center accounts.
Verifying and claiming your website
Google distinguishes two steps. By verifying, you prove that you own the shop. By claiming, you reserve the shop URL exclusively for your account. A URL can only be claimed by one account. To verify, open Settings, then Business info, then edit your online store.
Google lists these methods:
- a verification code by email to an address that belongs to the shop,
- the option provided by your e-commerce platform,
- an HTML tag on the home page or an HTML file on the server,
- Google Tag Manager with account-level administrator rights,
- Google Analytics with administrator rights for a linked account.
If the shop has already been verified in Google Search Console by a user of your account, you do not need to verify it again and can claim it directly.
Product data and feed
Products reach Merchant Center through data sources. You will find them under Settings, then Data sources. A feed is one such source in the form of a file.
| Method | How it works | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|
| Automatically from the online shop | Google takes the data from the structured data on your website | Small ranges with well-marked-up product pages |
| File | Upload or scheduled fetch from a URL, every 24 hours by default | Larger ranges with exports from the shop system |
| Google Sheets | Maintenance in a spreadsheet | Manageable ranges |
| Merchant API | Transfer via API, successor to the Content API for Shopping | Frequently changing prices and stock |
According to the product data specification, required attributes include ID, title, description, link, image link, availability and price. Brand is required for all new products except films, books and music recordings. GTIN is required for all products with a known GTIN, and MPN only where the manufacturer has not assigned a GTIN. Further attributes apply depending on the category. Our feed optimisation service covers how to write titles and attributes so that products are easier to find.
| Attribute | Requirement | Example |
|---|---|---|
id |
Unique identifier, up to 50 characters | SKU-123 |
title |
Up to 150 characters | Women’s rain jacket blue size M |
description |
Up to 5,000 characters | Waterproof rain jacket with hood |
link, image_link |
Addresses of the product page and main image | https://www.example.com/rain-jacket |
availability |
in_stock, out_of_stock, preorder or backorder |
in_stock |
price |
Number with a decimal point and currency code, including VAT in Germany | 59.90 EUR |
Example: a feed as a text file
A tab-delimited file is the simplest way to start. The first line names the attributes, and each further line is a product:
id title description link image_link availability price brand gtin
SKU-123 Women's rain jacket blue size M Waterproof rain jacket with hood https://www.example.com/rain-jacket https://www.example.com/rain-jacket.jpg in_stock 59.90 EUR Sample Brand 4012345678901New since 2026
According to Google, the attributes handling_cutoff_time for the daily order deadline, minimum_order_value for the minimum order value and video_link for product videos have been available since 14 April 2026. From 31 January 2027, a minimum size of 500 × 500 pixels applies to product images. Currently it is 100 × 100, or 250 × 250 for apparel. Check now whether corresponding warnings already appear on the Needs attention tab.
Finding and fixing errors
What used to be diagnostics is now on the Products page in the Needs attention tab. It shows issues at account and product level. Follow these steps:
- Check the cards at the top, which show the main issues and the number of affected products.
- Open the issue details. They list the cause, the steps to fix it and sample products.
- Correct the data in your source and upload it again. Individual products can also be edited directly.
- Check the processing report. You will find it in the data source on the “Last update” tab. The download also includes the affected line numbers.
Products with warnings continue to appear, but their performance may be limited. Disapproved products do not appear. You should compare recommended attribute values with your landing page before accepting them, because they overwrite earlier changes, for example from an uploaded file.
Common reasons for disapproval and what helps
Merchant Center Help names these points most often:
| Issue | What helps |
|---|---|
| Price or availability differ from the landing page | Update the feed more often and show the same values on the page. Automatic item updates reduce the risk of a pre-emptive disapproval |
| GTIN is missing, invalid or does not match the brand | Only enter valid manufacturer GTINs, and leave out the attribute if in doubt |
| Placeholder as the brand, such as “No brand” | Enter the actual brand. Handmade items can be marked as personalised products |
| Placeholder image, image too small, logo or text in the image | Upload a main image without overlays and meet the minimum size |
| Invalid Google product category | Enter the numeric ID or the full path |
| Excessive capitalisation in the title | Write titles in normal case |
| Missing required details for apparel | Add gender, size, colour and age group |
Warnings and suspensions
For most policy violations, Google first sends a warning by email with a deadline. Until then, products may have limited visibility; afterwards, Google can suspend the account. For serious violations, Google suspends immediately. A common trigger is the Misrepresentation policy, for example false contact details, undisclosed total costs or misleading product information.
Only request a review once the cause has been fixed, because a waiting period can begin after unsuccessful requests. How to proceed with a warning or a suspended Merchant Center account, and where we can help, is explained on our service page.
Linking Merchant Center to Google Ads
For Shopping ads, you link Merchant Center to Google Ads. In Merchant Center, the route is Settings, Access and services, Apps and services, Add service and Google Ads. In Google Ads, you will find the link via the tools icon under Data Manager.
- The request in Merchant Center and the approval in Google Ads both require administrator access. If you are an administrator of both accounts, the link is approved automatically.
- You connect a Google Ads account managed by someone else using its customer ID. Its administrator approves the request there.
- Google Ads manager accounts cannot be linked to Merchant Center.
- Check beforehand whether either account has account-level policy violations.
