How to set up a Google Shopping product feed

Google Shopping ads (and free shopping listings) require a structured product feed submitted to Google Merchant Center. This guide walks through generating a compliant feed from WooCommerce or Shopify, submitting it, and dealing with the common disapproval reasons.

1. 1

   Create a Merchant Center account

   Go to merchants.google.com and create an account. Enter your business name, country, and time zone. Verify and claim your website (Google walks through this).

2. 2

   Choose a feed-generation method

   For Shopify, install the Google channel app — it generates the feed automatically from your products. For WooCommerce, use a feed plugin (Product Feed Pro, Woo Feed) or generate via the Webanto sync to Google Merchant Center.

3. 3

   Configure required attributes

   Every feed needs: id, title, description, link, image_link, availability, price, brand, condition, gtin (or mpn), and google_product_category. Missing required attributes will block items from appearing.

4. 4

   Optimise titles

   Google ranks shopping results partly by title relevance. Lead with brand + product type + key attribute (e.g. 'Webanto Premium Coffee Mug — 12oz Ceramic Black'). Don't keyword-stuff or include promotional copy.

5. 5

   Submit the feed to Merchant Center

   In Merchant Center, go to Products > Feeds > Add. Choose 'Scheduled fetch' (Google fetches your feed URL on a schedule) and paste the URL from your feed-generation tool. Set a fetch frequency (daily for most stores).

6. 6

   Wait for initial review (24-72 hours)

   First-time submissions are manually reviewed by Google. During this period, most items will show 'Pending' status. Don't make repeated changes during review — wait for the verdict first.

7. 7

   Address disapprovals

   Common disapprovals: image too small (min 100x100, recommended 800x800+), missing GTIN, mismatched price between feed and landing page, restricted product categories. Fix each disapproval at source (in your product data), not by suppressing items from the feed.

8. 8

   Connect to Google Ads for paid shopping

   In Google Ads, link your Merchant Center account and create a Performance Max campaign with the product feed. Set a daily budget and let the campaign run for 14+ days before judging performance.