--- title: "Google Merchant Center: the feed fixes that move Shopping revenue" url: https://marketingsignals.com/insights/google-merchant-center-feed-optimisation type: Article date: 2026-11-02 author: "Laura Salini" --- # Google Merchant Center: the feed fixes that move Shopping revenue The Google Merchant Center feed fixes we prioritise for Shopping and Performance Max: titles, identifiers, margin labels, mismatches and AI surfaces. ## Key takeaways - Shopping ads and Performance Max product listings have no keywords, so the product feed in Google Merchant Center decides which searches each product can reach. - Fix disapprovals and price or availability mismatches first, because a product that cannot serve earns nothing however good its title is. - Build titles from real search term data, with the words shoppers use in the first 70 or so characters, and test them category by category. - Put margin, price band and sales velocity into custom labels so the account can set different targets by profitability instead of one ROAS for everything. - The same product data now feeds free listings and AI shopping surfaces such as AI Mode, so complete attributes pay off beyond paid campaigns. When a Shopping or Performance Max account stalls, most people look at bids and budgets first. In our audits the bigger problem is usually the product feed in [Google Merchant Center](https://marketingsignals.com/glossary/google-merchant-center) (spelt Merchant Centre in Google's UK help pages). Google decides which searches a product can show for, and how it is described, largely from the data you send it. A feed built from the website's database, rather than for the way shoppers search, caps revenue however well the campaigns are set up. The good news is that feed work is one of the cheapest levers in the account. It needs better data and a clear order of work, not more budget. This article sets out the feed fixes we prioritise, how we run them, what to measure and when the effort is not worth it. It should help you judge whether your own feed is holding back Shopping revenue and what to ask your team or agency to do first. ## Why Google Merchant Center data decides Shopping revenue Shopping ads and product listings in [Performance Max](https://marketingsignals.com/glossary/performance-max) do not use keywords. Google matches products to searches using the feed: titles, descriptions, categories, identifiers and attributes. A disapproved product earns nothing, and a product with a vague title competes for fewer and less relevant searches. The feed also controls how you can bid. If the only grouping available is the website's category tree, the account can only set targets by category, so a low-margin bestseller and a high-margin accessory are treated alike. That is how accounts hit their [ROAS](https://marketingsignals.com/glossary/roas) target and still miss their profit target. And the feed now reaches beyond ads. The same data powers free listings, and Google says the shopping experience in AI Mode combines Gemini with its Shopping Graph, which in May 2025 held [more than 50 billion product listings](https://business.google.com/uk/think/search-and-video/google-shopping-ai-mode-virtual-try-on-update/). Merchant Center is the direct way to put your own accurate version of each product into that system. Getting the feed wrong costs money in three ways: products that never serve, spend on searches a product was never right for, and margin given away by bidding the same on every item. Getting it right improves all three without raising the budget. ## How we run a feed fix programme We work in a fixed order, because each step depends on the one before. There is no point rewriting titles for products that are disapproved, or building margin labels before the account can see which products sell. The six steps below are the order we follow on a new account. ## Step 1: clear disapprovals and mismatches We start with the product diagnostics in Merchant Center: what is disapproved, what is limited and why. The most common revenue leak we find is a mismatch between the price or availability in the feed and on the landing page, usually because the feed updates once a day while the site changes prices more often. Merchant Center's [automatic item updates](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/12157888?hl=en-GB) can correct price, availability and condition from the structured data on product pages, and they are on by default. Google describes them as designed to fix sporadic problems rather than replace regular feed updates, and says a product may be disapproved instead of updated when a mismatch is found. So we fix the cause: schedule feed fetches to match how often prices change, and make sure the structured data on [product pages](https://marketingsignals.com/insights/product-pages-and-schema-for-ai-answers) agrees with the feed. One technical check belongs here too. If your feed tool or platform connector still sends data through the Content API for Shopping, confirm it has moved: Google [sunset that API on 18 August 2026](https://developers.google.com/shopping-content/guides/deprecation-and-sunset) and replaced it with the Merchant API. ## Step 2: rebuild titles from search term data Titles are the attribute that most often changes performance when we rewrite them. Google's [title guidance](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324415?hl=en) allows up to 150 characters and recommends using the space, but says shoppers typically see only the first 70 or so, so the most important words go first. It also asks you to leave out promotional text such as prices, sale terms and delivery information. We do not write titles from a template guess. We pull search terms from Shopping campaigns and from the [Performance Max search terms report](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16327396), which holds data from March 2023 onwards, and look for the words people use that the titles lack: product type nouns, materials, sizes, compatibility and model numbers. Then we build a title pattern for each category. Google's own examples put product type, key attributes, then size and colour for clothing, and model, storage, colour and condition for electronics. We test the new pattern on one category first and compare impressions and clicks per product with the period before, then roll it out. Two rules apply. Google may rewrite titles in ads using landing page content, so the page and the feed need to agree. And if you use generative AI to write titles, Google requires them to be submitted in the structured_title attribute and marked as AI-generated. ## Step 3: complete identifiers and attributes Google says products with missing or incorrect [GTINs](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324461?hl=en-GB) may have limited visibility, and that a product could be disapproved if it has a manufacturer-assigned GTIN you have not submitted. For own-brand products without one, you submit brand and MPN instead. We never let a team guess or invent GTINs to clear a warning. Next come the descriptive attributes. We fill product_type with the full category path from the site, which the [product data specification](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/7052112?hl=en) allows up to 750 characters, and check google_product_category, which Google assigns automatically but lets you override where it gets it wrong. For clothing and accessories, colour, size, age group and gender are needed for free listings, and material and pattern help match detailed searches. Our [fashion e-commerce playbook](https://marketingsignals.com/playbooks/the-visibility-playbook-for-fashion-e-commerce) covers variant handling in more depth. Marketplaces have a different problem: the same product from several sellers with inconsistent data, which is covered in our [playbook for marketplaces and aggregators](https://marketingsignals.com/playbooks/the-visibility-playbook-for-marketplaces-and-aggregators). ## Step 4: add custom labels so you can bid on margin Merchant Center gives you five [custom labels](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324473?hl=en-GB), custom_label_0 to custom_label_4. Shoppers never see them, and Shopping, Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns can use them to group products. Google lists margin, seasonality, selling rate and price range among the uses, and each label allows up to 1,000 unique values. Our default set is margin band in label 0 (built from finance's cost data), price band in label 1, sales velocity in label 2 (bestseller, steady, no sales in 30 days), season or promotion in label 3, and stock depth or new arrival in label 4. The exact labels change by business, but margin always comes first. With margin in the feed, we can split campaigns or asset groups by margin band and set a different ROAS target for each, so a product with a thin margin is not held to the same target as one with a wide margin. That is the step that moves reporting from revenue to profit. Labels must be set by rules and refreshed automatically, or they go stale within a season. ## Step 5: use supplemental feeds instead of development tickets Most e-commerce platforms export a feed that marketing cannot easily change. A [supplemental data source](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/14990942) adds or updates attributes for products already in the primary feed, matched on exactly the same ID, and it can be a file, a Google Sheet or an API connection. It cannot add or remove products. Supplemental sources and attribute rules sit behind the [Advanced data source management](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/14989391?hl=en) add-on, which you turn on under Add-ons in Merchant Center settings. We keep optimised titles, custom labels and corrected attributes in supplemental sources, so they survive platform updates and site releases, and so every change has a visible owner and date. ## Step 6: treat free listings and AI shopping as part of the job Free listings are usually on by default, and Google says products can appear at no cost on [Google Search, Maps, Gemini and YouTube](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/13889434?hl=en-GB), as well as the Shopping tab and Images. They need return policy information and delivery settings, which Google lists as required in the UK. They do not show in Google Ads reports, so they are easy to forget. In 2026 Google added [conversational attributes](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/17085370?hl=en) to Merchant Center: question_and_answer, document_link, related_product, item_group_title, variant_option and popularity_rank. They are optional, they do not affect approval, and Google says they help products appear on AI-driven surfaces such as AI Mode. It recommends adding them through a supplemental source. Google has also announced [AI performance insights](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/17117204) in Merchant Center, including share of voice in AI Mode and Gemini and an attribute completeness score. At announcement in May 2026 the rollout covered the US, Canada, Australia, India and New Zealand, not the UK. Complete attributes now pay twice, in ads and in answers. Our article on [Google AI Mode for e-commerce](https://marketingsignals.com/insights/google-ai-mode-for-ecommerce) covers the wider picture. ## How to measure feed work Feed changes show up at product level before they show up in campaign totals, so we track both. - Share of active products that are approved and serving, with the number limited or disapproved by reason. - Products with zero impressions in the last 30 days, as a share of the catalogue. - Impressions, clicks and conversion value per product before and after each title change, by category. - Price and availability mismatch warnings over time, which should fall to near zero. - Conversion value and gross profit by margin label, not only ROAS by campaign. ## What to report to leadership For leadership, three numbers are enough: how much of the catalogue can serve, how much revenue and gross profit came from Shopping and Performance Max products, and how that profit splits across margin bands. Once margin labels are in place, report profit on ad spend alongside ROAS so the board sees what the account earns, not just what it sells. ## When feed work is not the priority, and the mistakes we see Feed work does not fix everything. It is the wrong place to start when conversion tracking is broken, because you cannot judge a title test on unreliable data. It cannot make an uncompetitive price win, and on a catalogue of a dozen products the gains from title testing are small, although identifiers and policy compliance still matter. - Stuffing titles with keywords until they no longer read as product names. - Making fixes in the platform export, where the next site release overwrites them. - Setting custom labels once and never refreshing them. - Running one ROAS target across products with very different margins. - Ignoring free listings because they do not appear in Google Ads reports. ## Questions to ask your team or agency - What share of our active products are disapproved or limited today, and why? - When were our titles last rewritten, and which search term data was used? - Do our custom labels hold margin, and do our ROAS targets differ by margin band? - Who can change feed data without a developer, and where is the change log? - Have we added the attributes Google uses for free listings and AI Mode, including conversational attributes? ## How we help Feed work is part of our [PPC management](https://marketingsignals.com/service/pay-per-click), alongside the bidding and measurement it supports. Our [e-commerce visibility playbook](https://marketingsignals.com/playbooks/the-e-commerce-visibility-playbook) shows how product data connects paid, organic and AI search. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is Google Merchant Center used for? Google Merchant Center is where retailers send product data to Google, usually as a feed or through the Merchant API. That data powers Shopping ads, product listings in Performance Max and Demand Gen, and free product listings on Search, the Shopping tab, Images, Maps, YouTube and Gemini. The quality of titles, identifiers and attributes in the feed decides which searches each product can appear for. ### How do I optimise product titles for Google Shopping? Put the words shoppers search for in the first 70 or so characters, because that is roughly what Google says people see, and use the rest of the 150-character limit for detail. Find those words in your Shopping and Performance Max search terms reports. Build a pattern per category, such as product type, brand, key attribute, size and colour, leave out promotional text and test on one category first. ### What are custom labels in Google Merchant Center? Custom labels are five optional attributes, custom_label_0 to custom_label_4, that shoppers never see. You define what each one means and use them to group products in Shopping, Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns. Common uses are margin band, price range, sales velocity and season. Each label allows up to 1,000 unique values, and they work best when set and refreshed by rules. ### Why are my products disapproved for price mismatch? Google compares the price and availability in your feed with your landing pages. If they differ, the product can be disapproved. It usually happens when the site changes prices more often than the feed updates. Automatic item updates can correct sporadic mismatches from your page structured data, but the real fix is to update the feed as often as prices change and keep structured data in line. ### Does Merchant Center data affect AI Mode? Yes. Google says AI Mode's shopping experience draws on its Shopping Graph, and Merchant Center is the direct way to supply your product data to it. In 2026 Google added optional conversational attributes, such as question_and_answer and related_product, which it says help products appear on AI-driven surfaces including AI Mode. Complete, accurate attributes help in both ads and AI answers. ## Sources - [Google Merchant Center Help: Title [title] and structured title [structured_title]](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324415?hl=en) - [Google Merchant Center Help: Use the GTIN [gtin]](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324461?hl=en-GB) - [Google Merchant Center Help: Product data specification](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/7052112?hl=en) - [Google Merchant Center Help: Custom label 0-4 [custom_label_0-4]](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324473?hl=en-GB) - [Google Merchant Center Help: Create a product data source](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/14990942) - [Google Merchant Center Help: Advanced data source management](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/14989391?hl=en) - [Google Merchant Center Help: Allow Merchant Center to update product information automatically](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/12157888?hl=en-GB) - [Google Merchant Center Help: Free listings for products](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/13889434?hl=en-GB) - [Google Merchant Center Help: Use conversational attributes](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/17085370?hl=en) - [Google Merchant Center Help: Insights for AI-powered shopping experiences coming soon](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/17117204) - [Google Ads Help: About the search terms report in Performance Max](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16327396) - [Google for Developers: Content API for Shopping deprecation and sunset](https://developers.google.com/shopping-content/guides/deprecation-and-sunset) - [Think with Google: Shopping in AI Mode and virtual try-on (May 2025)](https://business.google.com/uk/think/search-and-video/google-shopping-ai-mode-virtual-try-on-update/) Visibility Playbooks ## Related Playbooks More Insights ## More articles we think you’ll like