Anthony McGrathHow to format a Google Merchant Center feed
Merchant Center reads a file with one product per row and Google's own column names. Most rejected products come down to a few formatting problems: prices without a currency, stock written the wrong way, invalid barcodes, links that are not full addresses, or HTML in descriptions.
What this tool fixes
- Renames your columns to Google's attribute names (id, title, description, link, image_link, price and the rest).
- Writes prices as 24.00 GBP and turns compare-at prices into price plus sale_price.
- Changes stock values such as "In stock", "1", "instock" or a quantity into in_stock or out_of_stock.
- Checks every GTIN's check digit and leaves out the invalid ones, then sets identifier_exists to no where there is no GTIN or MPN.
- Completes links and images, removes HTML, shortens long titles and fills missing variant details from the main Shopify row.
| Attribute | Format |
|---|---|
| id | Unique, up to 50 characters (your SKU works) |
| title | Up to 150 characters |
| description | Plain text, up to 5,000 characters |
| link, image_link | Full https addresses |
| availability | in_stock, out_of_stock, preorder or backorder |
| price | Number and currency, for example 24.00 GBP |
| brand, gtin or mpn | Needed for most new branded products |
Uploading the file
In Merchant Center, open Products, Add products, Add products from a file, and upload the .txt download. For a file that updates itself, put it on your site or in Google Sheets and schedule a daily fetch.
Questions
What file format does Google Merchant Center accept?
Tab separated text (.txt or .tsv), CSV, XML and Google Sheets. Tab separated text is the simplest and avoids problems with commas inside descriptions, so it is this tool’s default.
Can I use my Shopify product export?
Yes. Export products as CSV from Shopify, add your website address, and the tool builds each product link from the handle, fills variant rows from the main row and turns compare-at prices into sale prices.
Does it work with WooCommerce?
Yes. Export products from WooCommerce as CSV. Columns such as SKU, Name, Regular price, Sale price, In stock? and Images are matched automatically.
Why are my GTINs being rejected?
A GTIN has a check digit, and many feeds contain made-up or mistyped barcodes that fail it. The tool checks each one and leaves out invalid barcodes so the product can still be approved.
Is my product data uploaded anywhere?
No. The file is read and formatted in your browser and the download is made on your computer. Nothing is sent to a server.