Google Shopping Feed: How and Why You Should Optimize It

Discover the best practices for effective Google Shopping feed optimization to help you achieve superior shopping ad conversions.

Creating a Google Shopping feed is the first step you should do after setting up an account with Google Merchant Center (GMC).

Also known as a Google Merchant Center feed or a product data feed, a Google Shopping feed is the list of products you want to appear and advertise across Google’s properties through GMC.

Table of Contents

How to Add Your Google Shopping Feed

Why Optimize Your Google Shopping Feed

How to Optimize Your Google Shopping Feed

Need Help With Google Shopping Feed Optimization?

How to Add Your Google Shopping Feed

Adding your feed to GMC is necessary and can be done in multiple ways. The first method is to create a spreadsheet file, which contains all the important information about your products and specific attributes, then manually submitting it to GMC.

The other method, which is the more commonly followed method these days, is by integrating your website, whether on Magento, Odoo, Shopify, etc., into GMC. Setting up your shopping feed via extensions or modules is the smarter way to do it for these reasons:

1. There is no need to manually create a spreadsheet file.
2. The website integration automatically pushes products to GMC.
3. Automation limits human errors.

Why Optimize Your Google Shopping Feed

Several factors dictate how frequent Google will display your products in search results. It can be the campaign budget you spend on the ads or users’ behavior when searching for your product. On top of these, Google also looks at how complete your product data is.

But Google is not the only one closely looking at product data. Users too. When users see your ad with comprehensive product data compared to other brands offering the same product, they will likely click on your ad, purchase from your website, and generate more sales on your end.

How to Optimize Your Google Shopping Feed

Your fate is truly in your hands. But worry not because we’re sharing foolproof ways you can optimize your Google Shopping feed and set it up for success.

Populate As Many Attributes As Possible

Logic dictates that only the required attributes, such as the product ID, title, and description, must be provided for each product. But here is the part where going beyond what’s needed is always better.

Don’t be afraid to add data for optional attributes. Instead, populate as many attributes as your product permits. Make sure you add the size, material, color, and others.

Including many attributes helps users filter and browse through your product feed, giving users an easy and desirable experience. Even better, presenting more product data to users upfront on the ads helps them decide whether or not the product meets their requirements.

Users tend to favor products with complete product data, which is key to having an edge against competing brands. This may lead to them clicking on the ad and increasing your chances of making sales.

Make Simple But Data-Rich Product Titles

The product title is one of the first elements customers see in a shopping ad, so optimizing it is a no-brainer.

Instincts may tell you to fit in as many details as possible in 150 characters, but ignore them. Your product title must be simple and easy to understand but should have the right keyword and enough key information to make your ad stand out.

How you write your title depends on the product. Starting with the brand name is recommended, especially if the brand is already popular. Otherwise, starting the title with the general product type with the keyword followed by product attributes and brand may work better. Here is the general Google Shopping feed formula that you can follow and tweak based on your product:

Brand + Product + Keyword + Attributes

Following this formula, your ad for a pair of shoes should show the brand, product name, keyword, size, and color:

Nike Air Force 1 Low Retro Men’s Shoes Size 11.5 (White/Blue)

Always place vital details at the start of the title so customers will easily identify the product on your ad. After all, these keywords will appear on the ad preview. Adding data from more attributes should prevent your title from becoming too short. Exceeding the maximum character limit, on the other hand, will truncate your title and look unpolished.

Add GTINs and MPNs to All Products

Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) is a series of numbers at the bottom of a barcode. It is a unique identifier that manufacturers assign to products.

GTIN is a required attribute because it enables Google to see the exact products your store carries, distributes, and supplies. It also helps Google determine when and where to serve your shopping ads.

For products with no GTIN assigned by a manufacturer except for vintage, custom, or hand-made products, provide the Manufacturer Part Number (MPN) instead. If the GTIN and the MPN are available, add them to your feed.

MPN, like GTIN, functions like a universal code for a specific product and will be the same for the same product carried by different brands. But unlike GTIN, MPN is commonly used on ecommerce sites and is more popular.

Adding the MPN is important because some users search for a specific product using the MPN instead of the general keywords. If you have MPN populated in your feed, then Google can easily match your product to users searching for that specific MPN.

Invest in High-Quality Product Images

The product image is just as essential as the product title. It may even be more important because many customers look at the picture more than the title. It is why a high-resolution, professional-looking product image is an absolute must-have.

But more than ensuring amazing images is the need to have appropriate content. Adding unnecessary texts or promotional overlays to your product images will lead to product disapproval from GMC. When a product gets disapproved from the feed, it will not be served on Google Shopping.

Besides prioritizing image quality and content, provide dynamic product views. Allow customers to view your product from multiple angles, zoom in and out, or rotate it 360°. Dynamic product views elevate the shopping experience and brand value.

To further encourage customers to purchase, provide additional images that show the product in a real-world application.

Include Product Highlights and Product Details

Product highlights are optional, but adding them increases the purchasing rate of customers. Adding the [product_highlight] attribute shows a bullet list of the product’s most relevant features in easy-to-digest sentence fragments.

Every product can feature at least two but not more than 100 highlights, with each highlight limited to 150 characters. To ensure Google approves your product highlights, follow the best practices, including:

Never duplicate attribute details
Ensure zero grammatical, spelling, or capitalization errors
Avoid using SEO keywords

Besides these, remember that using emojis, capital letters, symbols, and special characters is discouraged. Make sure each highlight is professionally written and describes the product itself. Adding links, using foreign languages, and mentioning product categories are other bad practices you should avoid.

You can also follow these best practices when writing product details. The [product_detail] attribute provides additional information or technical specifications of your product not mentioned or covered by other attributes. Along with highlights, these details will help customers learn more about your product, and Google match products to their searches.

Define Product Categories and Subcategories

The success of your shopping ads relies on a well-structured Google Shopping feed. One way to organize it properly is to determine the product categories and subcategories.

Although Google automatically sets the category if the [google_product_category] attribute is missing in the feed, assigning it yourself is always advisable. Aligning your products with categories and subcategories will guide Google in understanding your products. It will also help them identify which products to serve on the shopping ads based on a user’s search intent. When Google shows the relevant ads to users or specific demographics, ads become relevant to the user. It then results in a higher potential for boosted sales.

Ensure All Product Data Is Accurate and Updated

Misleading information about your product or incorrect pricing negatively affects your feed’s health. Worse, Google may penalize you and altogether cut short your campaigns.

Ensure you add only accurate and current product details. Be mindful of the information you include in the feed and regularly update it to keep all the info fresh. Manually changing product details requires extra time and effort, so go with an automated data feed solution for faster updates.

Need Help With Google Shopping Feed Optimization?

Creating and maintaining a Google Shopping feed requires time and effort. If you need a hand in optimizing your feed, trust that you can always count on Lumenvo.

Our digital marketing team has Google Merchant Center geniuses with proven successful shopping campaigns. We use the best practices to ensure your feed transforms your shopping ads that deliver conversions and sales. Reach out to Lumenvo and let us elevate your Google Shopping game.