Google Merchant Center Product Feed Requirements Explained
Required and recommended feed attributes, the rules that cause most disapprovals, and the feed formats Merchant Center accepts.
A product feed is the file that tells Google Merchant Center what you sell: every product, its price, availability, images and identifiers. Google uses it to show your products in Shopping ads, free product listings, Google Images and other surfaces. A clean feed means products go live quickly; a messy one means disapprovals, warnings and lost visibility.
Here is what the feed must contain and the rules behind the most common problems.
The required attributes
For most products, every item in the feed needs:
- id โ a unique, stable identifier for the product (your SKU works well). Do not change it once set.
- title โ the product name, up to 150 characters.
- description โ an accurate description, up to 5,000 characters.
- link โ the product's landing page on your site.
- image_link โ the URL of the main product image.
- availability โ
in_stock,out_of_stock,preorderorbackorder. - price โ with currency, for example
1499.00 INR.
Depending on the product, you also need brand, gtin (or mpn), condition for used or refurbished items, and attributes like color, size, gender and age_group for apparel in many countries.
Recommended attributes that improve performance
- additional_image_link โ extra photos from different angles.
- google_product_category โ optional because Google assigns one automatically, but setting it yourself can improve accuracy.
- product_type โ your own category path, useful for organising campaigns.
- sale_price and sale_price_effective_date โ for discounts.
- shipping details, if not set at account level.
The rules behind most disapprovals
Price and availability must match the landing page. If the feed says โน1,499 in stock and the page says โน1,699 out of stock, the product is disapproved. Structured data on your product pages that matches the feed helps Google confirm the details.
GTINs must be valid and genuine. Products that have a manufacturer barcode should include it. Invalid check digits and made-up numbers are rejected. If a product truly has no GTIN (handmade or custom items), set identifier_exists to no.
Images must show the product clearly. No promotional text, watermarks, borders or placeholder images. Minimum 100 ร 100 pixels (250 ร 250 for apparel); larger is better.
Titles and descriptions must be accurate. No promotional phrases like "Free shipping!" or "Best price", no all caps, and no keyword stuffing.
The landing page must work for Google's crawler, on mobile, without errors, and show the product with a way to buy.
Feed formats
Merchant Center accepts XML (RSS 2.0 or Atom), tab-separated text files, Google Sheets, or automatic updates through an API or e-commerce platform integration. Many small shops use a scheduled fetch: the feed lives at a URL on your site and Merchant Center downloads it daily.
Building and checking your feed
If your platform does not create a feed, the free Merchant Center feed generator crawls your store, detects product pages and builds an XML feed. Our walkthrough on creating a Merchant Center feed without a plugin covers it step by step. Before uploading, run the file through the feed validator and check barcodes with the GTIN validator.
Related guides
More free tools: browse all our free ecommerce tools, no sign-up needed.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a feed for free product listings?
Yes. Free listings and Shopping ads both use your Merchant Center product data.
How often should my feed update?
At least daily if prices or stock change often. Outdated feeds cause mismatches and disapprovals.
Can I sell products without GTINs?
Yes, if they genuinely have none. Set identifier_exists to no and provide brand and MPN where available.
What currency format should prices use?
A number followed by the ISO currency code, such as 1499.00 INR, matching the price shown on your page.