Google Shopping

Overview

Google Shopping is the most popular product advertising platform for e-commerce. This guide covers setting up your feed for Google Merchant Center.

Creating a Google Shopping Feed

1. Go to WooCommerce → Product Feeds Pro
2. Click Add New Feed
3. Select Google Shopping as the feed type
4. Configure your feed settings (see below)
5. Click Generate Feed

Required Fields

Google requires these fields for all products:

Field	Description	Source
id	Unique product identifier	SKU or product ID
title	Product name	Product title
description	Product details	Short or long description
link	Product page URL	Permalink
image_link	Main product image	Featured image
availability	In stock, out of stock, preorder	Stock status
price	Product price with currency	Regular or sale price

Recommended Fields

These improve ad performance:

Field	Description	How to Add
gtin	Global Trade Item Number	Product Feed tab
brand	Manufacturer/brand name	Product Feed tab
mpn	Manufacturer Part Number	Product Feed tab
google_product_category	Google’s product taxonomy	Category mapping
condition	new, refurbished, used	Plugin settings
shipping	Shipping cost/method	WooCommerce shipping

Setting Up GTIN, Brand, and MPN

Per-Product

1. Edit a product
2. Go to the Product Feeds tab
3. Enter GTIN, Brand, and MPN values
4. Save the product

Bulk Import

For many products, use WooCommerce’s built-in product importer:

1. Go to Products → All Products → Import
2. In your CSV, include columns: meta:_gswc_gtin, meta:_gswc_brand, meta:_gswc_mpn
3. Upload and import

Smart Auto-Fill

Pro includes Smart Auto-Fill which can automatically suggest values based on product titles and categories.

Category Mapping

Map your WooCommerce categories to Google’s taxonomy:

1. Go to WooCommerce → Category Mapping
2. For each WooCommerce category, type to search for the matching Google category
3. Mappings save automatically as you type

See Category Mapping for detailed instructions.

Feed Settings

Update Frequency

Choose how often your feed regenerates:

• Hourly: Best for frequently changing inventory
• Every 6 hours: Good balance for most stores
• Daily: Suitable for stable inventory

Product Filters

Include or exclude products based on:

• Categories
• Stock status
• Price range
• Tags
• Custom fields

See Product Filters for details.

Submitting to Google Merchant Center

Getting Your Feed URL

1. Go to WooCommerce → Product Feeds Pro
2. Find your Google Shopping feed
3. Copy the feed URL

Adding to Merchant Center

1. Log in to Google Merchant Center
2. Go to Products → Feeds
3. Click the + button to add a feed
4. Select your country and language
5. Choose Scheduled fetch as the input method
6. Paste your feed URL
7. Set the fetch schedule to match your update frequency
8. Save and fetch the feed

Feed Validation

After submitting, check for errors:

1. In Merchant Center, go to Products → Diagnostics
2. Review any issues listed
3. Common issues:
   • Missing GTIN/brand/MPN
   • Invalid category mapping
   • Image too small (min 100x100px)
   • Price mismatch with landing page

Performance Tips

Optimize Titles

Google uses titles for matching search queries. Best practices:

• Include brand name
• Add key product attributes (size, color, material)
• Keep under 150 characters
• Put important words first

Quality Images

• Minimum 100x100 pixels
• Recommended 800x800 or larger
• White background preferred
• No watermarks or promotional text

Complete Data

Products with complete data (GTIN, brand, detailed descriptions) get better placement and lower CPCs. Use Smart Auto-Fill to fill gaps quickly.