What is Google Merchant Center (GMC)?
Google Merchant Center (GMC) has become one of the most standard e-commerce platforms on the Internet, and it’s a key part of running Google Shopping Ads.
Google Merchant Center (GMC) is a great platform to upload your product information to make your products available to Google Shopping Ads.
Google Merchant Center (GMC) is a significant e-commerce marketing tool that helps to upload your product listings that can be used for Google Shopping Ads, Google Products Ads, and other Google services.
Google Merchant Center (GMC) is a quick presentation of your products and reaching the customers at the last step of the purchasing path.
You’ll be displaying your products directly in Google Search Ads by linking Google AdWords to Google Merchant Center account. Shoppers can see both your online store and online inventory through Google Shopping Ads.
Google shopping ads are created after setting up the Google Merchant Center account, and Google AdWords campaign.
It’s easy to convert your product details to the required feed values for Google. These feed values need to optimized to facilitate better rankings in the SERPs.
Google Search Ads which are managed in the Google AdWords interface, but Google Shopping Ads are managed through the Google Merchant Center.
Google AdWords can be used to structure campaigns, set-up product groups, and set bids for products.
Google Merchant Center product feed generates different search terms for shopping ads to appear and it needs the optimization for titles, images, descriptions, and promotions.
The most relevant data in Google Merchant Center has a bigger possibility to appear in the SERP with the product data, and into shopping ads.
What is Product Feed in Google Merchant Center (GMC) –
When you upload product listing on Google Merchant Center, you can keep optimizing product feed, and bids according to ongoing trends, and practices.
Google decides on which search query your product will be displayed based on the factors and the accuracy of the available information.
Google has defined a set of attributes to define each product, and it’s important to describe products precisely using one of the relevant attributes.
The product feed is a list of products with their attributes with some of them is required, and others are optional.
The use of each attribute and the frequency of data updates are subject to specific rules. Some of the attributes will have standardized values, and others can enter the value according to your requirement.
You also need to decide upon a file format prior to entering product data feed. You can create the file manually or enabling dynamic generation as a text (.txt), or XML (.xml) file.
You can simply create a feed manually using Google Sheets when you have only little product data. You can also create more than one product feed, and convert data in Google Merchant Center for better ad user-optimization.
# Create Product Data Feed – The product feed is a file that contains a list of your e-commerce store’s product uniquely. These feeds identify the products for your ads, and you need to perfect these files regularly.
The product data feed is a detailed spreadsheet, and this file has all of the product information that you sell. When a product data file or its URL is uploaded, it appears in Google Merchant Center, and the file processing begins.
You can either upload a direct file, FTP upload, SFTP upload, or schedule fetches to upload your data feed. The file sizes should be under Google’s recommendations so the process works seamlessly.
This process can take up to 3 business days to be reviewed because all the products detailed in the file are screened by a human.
You can access the Google Merchant Center diagnostics, and see which file attributes submissions are incorrect when the process is finished.
You’ll be able to verify that your data feed has been properly uploaded. Google will point out at your dashboard to make simple adjustments it there are issues.
# Primary Feed – A primary feed is the required data source that Google Merchant Center uses to display your product on Google Shopping.
Product data that doesn’t meet the Google Merchant Center requirements can be updated using the advanced feed features includes supplement feeds.
You can use supplement feeds to enhance or override your product data to improve the performance of your ads.
You can use primary feeds to add, or remove product data, set language, and country targeting, and set feed rules for your product data.
# Supplement Feed – A supplement feed is a secondary data source used to provide additional attributes that may be missing from your primary feed.
The supplement feeds can’t be used as the main data source. You can’t add or remove products through a supplemental feed.
It allows you to update existing product data, and provide additional information to one or all of your primary feeds.
A primary and supplemental feed can be linked together using the ID attributes using a feed rule in Google Merchant Center. The supplement feeds are used to add or override custom labels for campaign management.
You can also add, or remove promotion IDs for retail promotions, override titles, exclude specific products, and add missing GTINs.
# Basic Product Info – The product information that is submitted to Google is the foundation of your Google Shopping Ads.
Some of the attributes with their corresponding descriptions are:-
—— ID – The unique identifier of your product (Mandatory).
—— Title – The name of your product (Mandatory).
—— Description – The description of your product (Mandatory).
—— Link – The landing page of your product (Mandatory).
—— Image_link – The main image’s URL of your product (Mandatory).
—— Additional_image_link – The URL of an additional image for your product (Optional).
—— Mobile_link – Your product’s mobile-optimized landing page when you have a different URL for mobile and desktop traffic (Optional).
# Upload the Feed – There are two ways to upload your product feed to Google Merchant Center. You can manually add product data to a spreadsheet template provided by Google.
You can also create a data feed automatically using the plugin in supported formats. The Google product feed has the following available options to upload:-
—— Google Sheets – Google Sheets are the simplest way to upload your Google Product Feed to Google Merchant Center. You need to manually enter all the data regarding the various product attributes with file size up to 20MB.
—— Regular uploads using Google Storage Cloud, FTP, SFTP, or from a local file. You can upload it from your computer to Google Merchant Center.
—— Schedule Fetches – You can set-up a schedule to fetch the feed data from your hosting file. It works with the URL of your feed location at the specified time.
—— Developing Content API – The feed can be programmatically managed by the merchant with content API.
You can use the manual option for fewer products, and there is no requirement for any specific technical knowledge.
# Fill Key Info – The product ID, condition, price, shipping, MPN, and brand are some of the important category information to successfully launch a Google shopping campaign.
Setting-up Google Merchant Center (GMC) –
You must have a Google account to use Google Merchant Center tool. Now, you can go to merchant.google.com, and sign-in to configure your Google Merchant Center account.
# Configure Account – You must provide your e-commerce store details and claim the ownership of the online store.
The configuration process is split into different steps. First, you have to enter the details about e-commerce stores like location, name, URL, or website address, and customer service information.
Google Merchant Center also offers three ways to verify and claim your website:
—— adding an HTML Tag on your website.
—— using Google Analytics account.
# Create Product Feed – There are a few steps to create your product data feed after you met all the requirements:-
—— Import your products.
—— Map your fields.
—— Submit your feed to Google Merchant Center.
# Create Google Shopping Campaign – You can create a new Google Shopping campaign after submitting your product data feed:-
—— Press the Google Shopping link menu.
—— Click on Connect AdWords and authorize the app when you are asked.
—— You’ll be asked to select the Google AdWords account to use.
—— Enter your daily budget and click the submit button.
Your campaign will be created in Google AdWords account and your ads will start running when your Google Merchant products are approved.
Google might take up to 3 business days to review and approve them if it’s first time submission of products to Google Merchant Center.
# Integrate with GMB – You should link your Google My Business (GMB) account to your Google Merchant Center to show inventory information about business products that are connected to.
If you have one account manager common in both Google’s tools then you can have better control with your linked accounts together.
You can make sure about any failure in marketing activities. Google My Business (GMB) allows you to optimize Local SEO and help promote their brand and products accordingly.
Tips for Optimization of Google Merchant Center (GMC) –
Google Shopping campaign includes the optimization of the product feed through tests of different images of products, titles, and descriptions.
Google takes product information from product feed and then triggers search queries toward your shopping ads. You must keep updating your shopping campaigns with the latest products, and correct information.
Here are some tips to an optimized product feed in Google shopping ads:
# Titles and Description – The title is the first thing a buyer notices when searches for an online product. The title length must be kept within the set limit (70 characters) into Google feed rules and must contain keywords to be searched by buyers.
The title can be specific and descriptive and it increases the SERP rankings of your products with better sales.
The title is an integral part for scaling up your Google shopping campaign and strong matching title always match the users’ intent.
The description must contain specific keywords of the product, and you should write an accurate description that should match the target page.
# Images – The product images should match the title, and a good image shows the product that vibrates better within the buyers.
The image should match the specifications of your products such as model, color, etc that you provide. The images should be attractive that would make your customers click instantly.
# Keywords – Always use keywords in Titles and descriptions. First, you need to check the keywords you are using are ranking or not.
It’s a continuous process to update keywords in titles and descriptions while you notice new queries are appearing in Google AdWords.
# GTIN – The Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) is a unique number assigned to each product for global identification.
Google can utilize the product details and specifications given by the manufacturer of the product, and display them in shopping ads.
The GTIN is the most important attribute in the feed. It must have the same value as your competitors as a universal value. Google can use these values to group similar products.
# Product Categories – You should organize products into relevant categories, and these categories will help you bid more accurately. You should receive the most specific product category available for your products.
Google Merchant Center has a provision for adding product types to the product data feed. You can define products in relevant categories and it’ll be easier for you to get more visibility.
# Reviews – The ratings are a useful tool to push the customer to make a decision instantly. The reviews give your buyer a sense of security that the product has been used before, and it appreciates its performance.
The reviews are the form of star-based ratings that can help you to convince the customer to purchase from your e-commerce store.
Google customer reviews system collects the ratings from users who have purchased on your website, and it can be displayed on your website.
The high ratings can give confidence to users, and push more sales, and low ratings could signal possible problems.
# Special Offers – The special offers are the top-most attraction for buyers, and any special offer can be added to that section. You can also display a reduction in the price to show a price drop and free shipping to your buyers too.
Conclusion – Google Merchant Center (GMC) offers a lot more functionality than it gets credit for. Most of the Google Merchant Center features are often missed or ignored by advertisers. Google Merchant Center (GMC) is an ever-growing platform with various opportunities, and you can utilize it to its maximum potential to take your business to greater heights. You can see the increased traffic into your e-commerce store by following important guidelines set by Google Merchant Center (GMC).