Google product requirements

Basic information

Each product you submit to Google must contain a title, description, price, at least one image and the availability of the product (whether it is in stock or out of stock).

You can add all of this information to your product when creating/editing it. In order to show if the product is in stock or out of stock you will need to assign the product a SKU code and manage the stock for the product.

Google attributes

Once you’ve installed the Google Shopping app a new 'Google Shopping' section will be available to you in the product creator/editor. Use this section to enter information about the product that Google either requires or recommends adding.

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Google product category

When a product is sent to the Google Merchant Center, Google will automatically place that product in a category based on the other information that was submitted. If you instead want to submit your product in a specific category and not use Google’s automatic system, then you can choose a ‘Google Product Category’ to place the product into.

Use the search box to find the category that you want to place your product into.

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Google condition

Under ‘Google Condition’ select whether your product is New, Used or Refurbished.

For more information about each value, read Google’s explanation here.

If your product is used or refurbished, this field is required. If your product is new, it is optional.

By default this field will be set to ‘New’. You must change this if your product is used or refurbished.

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Should we submit this product with the 'is_bundle' attribute?

If your product is a bundle product, you should place a tick in the tick box.

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Detailed product attributes

Detailed product attributes allow you to submit additional information about a product (like its size or material) when sending a product to Google. Google mandates that certain attributes be submitted with certain products, depending on the category the product is placed in. For example, if you submit a product in the apparel category, you must submit a size for the item. You can read more from Google about the requirements for your products here.

For each product that you want to submit to Google you can add these detailed product attributes:

Google Age Group

Select the appropriate age group from the drop-down menu.

Google Gender

select the appropriate gender from the drop-down menu.

Google Material

Use this field to enter the material for the product. You cannot enter multiple values in this field.

Google Pattern

Use this field to enter the pattern for the product. You cannot enter multiple values in this field.

Google Size Type

Select the appropriate size type from the drop-down menu.

Google Color

Use this field to enter the colors that the product comes in. You can enter multiple colors by separating each one with a comma.

Google Size

Use this field to enter the size attribute for the product. You cannot enter multiple values in this field.

If you create color and size variants when creating your product and you choose to list your variations as separate items when you send your products to Google, then the color and size variants will automatically be created by the system without the need for you to fill in the attributes in the product creator/editor. In order for this to work, you must use the names Size and Color when creating the variants.

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The product import/export system

Each of the detailed product attribute fields described above are also available on the import/export system.

For attributes where a selection of a value from a drop-down list is required, e.g. for 'Google Size Type', you must enter the value in your spreadsheet so it exactly matches one of the pre-defined values, e.g. Big and Tall.

Where multiple values are allowed, e.g. 'Google Color', you should enter all of the values separating each one with a comma.

Unique product identifiers

Unique product identifiers help distinguish products from each other. These identifiers include:

• A brand/manufacturer for the product
• A Global Trade Item Number (GTIN)
• A Manufacturer Part Number (MPN)

Click here to read Google’s explanation of unique product identifiers.

If your product has a brand/manufacturer, GTIN and/or MPN, you must add this information to your product so that it can be submitted when you send the product to Google. To assign a product to a brand, you will first need to install the ‘Brands’ app and configure the brands you sell. Then when creating/editing a product find the ‘Categorize Your Product’ section:

Under ‘Brand/Manufacturer’ select the brand from the drop-down menu.

To add a GTIN and/or MPN, find the ‘Additional Information’ section when creating/editing a product. Enter your GTIN/MPN in the appropriate box:

If your product doesn’t have a GTIN or MPN or you don’t know the GTIN or MPN, then you should mark the product as not having an identifier. To do this find the ‘Google Shopping’ section in the product creator/editor. Then place a tick in the box beside ‘Should we mark the product as not having an identifier?’:

You should make every effort to ensure that the brand/GTIN/MPN that you enter for a product is correct, and you shouldn't guess at what they might be.

Then save your changes.