Google Merchant Center: Get Started in 4 Easy Steps

Google Merchant Center (GMC) enables ecommerce companies to upload and manage product information, making it easy to increase product visibility, streamline campaigns, and reach more potential customers.

If you want to advertise your ecommerce products on Google, it’s a good idea to get familiar with Google Merchant Center (GMC).

This digital platform from the search engine giant lets you provide data and assets (like product titles, product images, descriptions, and product details) to showcase your offerings through various Google advertising tools.

Once you upload your assets and other data to GMC, they can appear in Google Shopping ads and on the search engine results page (SERP).

Let’s take a closer look at what Google Merchant Center is all about and how it can enhance your ecommerce marketing strategies.

(Image: Google Merchant Center screenshot)

What is Google Merchant Center?

Google Merchant Center is a centralized dashboard for all product data that can be used for Google Shopping, Google Ads, and other platforms.

Google Shopping Ads uses information from GMC  to decide when and where to show your ads.

This makes it a vital tool for ecommerce businesses looking to enhance their online presence and drive traffic to websites or physical stores.

4 key features of GMC

1. Product feed management

GMC allows you to upload and organize product information, including titles, descriptions, prices, and availability in a few different ways:

• Manual upload (entering products one by one)
• Importing a Google Sheet, txt, or XML feed file with your entire product catalog
• Via FTP/STFP or Content API

2. Integration with Google Services

You can easily link GMC with existing Google Ads to create Shopping Ads campaigns that can then appear in Google Shopping or other Google search results.

3. Multi-channel retailing

Since GMC links up with the incomparable Google Display Network, you’re able to sync your product listings across all platforms within GDN, like YouTube and Gmail.

4. Performance insights

A comprehensive dashboard makes it easy to analyze how your products are performing through detailed metrics such as impressions, clicks, and conversions.

Benefits of using Google Merchant Center

One of GMC’s biggest benefits for online stores is gaining access to everything Google Shopping Ads has to offer (e.g. Google Shopping campaigns, Shopping Actions promotions, and local inventory ads).

Other advantages include:

• Versatility – GMC allows you to add a wide variety of information about your products and upload different digital assets. This doesn’t just streamline advertising, it helps you organize into product categories and create specific product descriptions for sales purposes.
• Simple product editing – The platform allows you to edit and update product data in one place, instead of adjusting each ad separately. You can serve up changes in real-time, ensuring the transparency and relevance of product information.
• Smooth integration – GMC integrates seamlessly with Google Ads, Google Display Network, and other Google advertising tools. With GMC, you can save time when designing and redesigning your advertising campaigns.
• Access to foreign markets – Once you fill out product information, you can adapt product information for different countries and currencies.

You can submit public product reviews to the Merchant Center so they appear on your listings with the star ratings visible. Products with high ratings get preferential placement.

You can also add reviews to GMC through Google’s Product Rating program. Just keep in mind you’ll need a minimum of 50 reviews across all products to participate.

How to set up a Google Merchant Center account

To get started with GMC, you need:

• A Google account
• A Google Business Profile
• An ecommerce website
• Product data (pricing, availability, shipping information, etc.)

To begin setup, visit the Google Merchant Center site and click “get started.”

Step 1:  Create an account

Go through the straightforward steps to share your business data. Keep in mind that the business name you share here will be used as the Merchant account name and appear on all Google Shopping services.

“Business country” is the country where your company is registered. The time zone will automatically be set up according to your choice of business country.

You’ll also need to share tools you plan to use, such as ecommerce platforms and payment systems like PayPal, Shopify, or other shopping apps.

Once you complete these steps, take the time to read the Terms & Conditions and verify that you agree with them.

Step 2:  Link GMC to Google Ads

To set up your Google Shopping campaign, you need to link your GMC account to Google Ads.  Go to “Linked Accounts” on top of the screen and add the Google Ads account by entering the Customer ID.

You also need to accept this connection from your Google Ads account. To do this, go to Tools and Settings>Linked account>Google Merchant Center. Choose “view details” and click “approve.”

A look at Google Shopping ads in Google search results. (Image: screenshot)

Step 3: Verify and claim your website’s URL

From the Tools icon, choose “business information” and select the Website tab. Enter the URL for your ecommerce business and click “save.”

You can verify your website through your Google Analytics (GA) account or Google Tag Manager by using GA tracking code or container ID respectively. This will only take a minute.

Pro tip: If you have neither, you can add an HTML tag or upload an HTML file. Google can walk you through both processes.

Step 4: Add products to GMC

Now for the fun part: Adding your products.

You can add products to Google Merchant Center manually. This approach is a bit time-consuming and comes with certain limitations, but it can be useful in situations when you don’t have a large number of items.

Creating a product data feed (and effective feed management) involves uploading your product information through one of the available methods, including Google Sheets, SFTP, FTP, and Google Cloud storage.

Google can crawl your website to retrieve product information. However, your website would need to have properly structured data.

When you add products to GMC, make sure they adhere to the platform’s product data specifications. The more info you add about the product, the more relevant your ads will be.

Pro tip: When you’re using Google Sheets to upload product data, keep in mind that you aren’t limited by the available data columns. Depending on what your potential customers need, you can insert additional data and improve personalization.

Additional tools and resources

GMC is a phenomenal tool on its own, but there are lots of ways to enhance functionality, streamline processes, and improve performance.

1. Product feed management

Google Sheets with feed rules add-on

Since GMC is part of the Google-sphere, there are some particularly useful (and free) add-ons you can use.

This allows you to manage and update product feeds directly in Google Sheets, then upload them to GMC. This can simplify feed creation and updates, especially for smaller businesses that don’t have dedicated software.

Feed management software

If you have a large catalog or complex data feed requirements, you can also integrate a dedicated feed management software with GMC.

Products like DataFeedWatch, Channable, and GoDataFeed automate feed creation, optimization, and error correction — a must for larger businesses.

2. Analytics

Google Analytics and Google Ads

A digital marketing classic, Google Analytics tracks user behavior, traffic sources, and conversions related to your Shopping Ads and product listings.

Google Ads works with GMC to create and manage your Shopping campaigns, track performance, and optimize ROI.

Simply link them to your GMC for seamless insights. Hello, highly-targeted ads.

3. Diagnostics and debugging

Along with the diagnostics tab in GMC, Google’s Rich Results Test can help ensure your site’s structured data is correct and optimized.

4. Content optimization

Keyword research tools

Tools like Google Keyword Planner, Semrush, and Ahrefs help you discover high-performing keywords to include in product titles, descriptions, blogs, webpages, and more. This improves visibility and relevance for search queries.

Image editing tools

High-quality images (compliant with Google’s guidelines) enhances the visual appeal and clickthrough rates of your content. We like good ol’ Adobe Photoshop or Canva to create ours.

5. Third-party support and extensions

Ecommerce platform integrations

Platforms like BigCommerce, Shopify, and Woocommerce offer built-in GMC integrations to streamline shopping feed management and product syncing. These can significantly simplify GMC management.

Dynamic remarketing tools

Use tools like Adroll, and Google Ads Dynamic Remarketing to boost engagement and conversions with tailored messaging.

The takeaway

Google Merchant Center is a must-have tool for ecommerce retailers who want to use Google Shopping.

By adding product information and uploading assets to your GMC account, you can streamline your Google advertising efforts while simplifying your product data management.

Setting up an account is easy (and free), although adding products may take some time. However, once it’s done, you’ll be on your way to crafting successful Shopping ads and campaigns.

Need a hand? Discover how HawkSEM can help.

This post has been updated and was originally published in February 2022.