What is Google Merchant Center, & Everything You Need to Know About It

Google Merchant Center is the unnoticed hero of online advertising. Many marketers use it;  however, only a few mention it when discussing their strategies for marketing. Don’t fall for the myths, though. 

Google Merchant Center is the essential element of any successful Google Shopping campaign.

What is it exactly, and how does it work? What benefits can you expect after opening the account you want to use?

In this article by a digital marketing company in Mumbai, we’ll walk you through how to set up an account and start using it. We’ll also offer some useful strategies for optimizing various aspects of this powerful tool, so you can get the most benefit out of it for your online business.

 

What is Google Merchant Center?

Google Merchant Center was launched in 2010 alongside Google Shopping. It’s a digital platform that lets you make Shopping advertisements on behalf of Google, YouTube, and other Google partner websites.

The primary purpose is to enable sellers to upload and update information regarding their products. This information on the product is based on prices and availability. The most recent information is displayed in the relevant Google Shopping ads and search queries.

Why should I utilize Google Merchant Center?

Here are a few specific aspects that make it a great choice.

• Importing customized product data sheets.

Google Merchant Center offers a large selection option of descriptive terms (or attributes) for the information you provide about your products. This provides ample opportunity for personalization when creating Shopping advertisements. 

It can be extremely beneficial when you need to find a specific item or change your strategy to other products based on its performance.

• Editing and updating the existing information on products.

You are able to easily modify the information on products. This lets you optimize the products that are running in Google’s Shopping Feed. Furthermore, Google Merchant Center allows you to alter auctions and monitor your advertising strategies in real time.

• A seamless integration seamlessly with other Google products.

The center integrates naturally seamlessly with Google Ads, the Google Display Network, and other advertising platforms. This means that you can manage sophisticated remarketing and omnichannel advertising campaigns.

Being part of Google Merchant Center can ensure that your advertising through Google is more coordinated and customers are shown the most current and accurate product information for your online store.

 

Does Google Merchant Center have a price?

We are the leading SEO company in Mumbai, share the good news that Google Merchant Center is completely free. But don’t forget that you’ll have to pay to engage users. You can do it using a variety of techniques:

• Cost per Click (CPC): This method lets you pay a set amount each time a potential purchaser clicks one of your advertisements.
• Cost per engagement (CPE): With CPE, you pay a person “engages” with an ad each time. This can include expanding an unflatten ad, looking at ads for more than 10 seconds, scrolling through an advertisement, and clicking on an advertisement.

 

How can I create a Google Merchant Account?

The process of setting up a merchant account on a Google Account is as easy as pie. Follow the five steps in the following steps.

One quick thing to remember before we begin. You’ll require the existing Google account to create an account with a Google Merchant Center account. It could be one of Gmail or Google My Business accounts. If you don’t have one, then you’ll have to make one by taking these steps.

Step 1

Click here to access the registration form to sign-up for Google Merchant Center and click on the blue rectangle button that reads “Create your account”.

Step 2

On the following screen, click the blue button labelled “Get Started”.

Step 3

Then, you’ll need to complete all the necessary details regarding your business, including your name, address and the country of your business. You can also indicate the tools you’ll use for your business, like Shopify and PayPal (more details on that later in the blog).

When you’re done, take read the Terms and Conditions and then check the box to confirm that you agree. Click on the blue rectangle button that reads “Create Account”.

Step 4

We’re almost there! Your account is ready for utilization, so click on the ” Continue ” button.

Your account is active.

In a flash, you’re today the proud owner of your personal Google Merchant Center account. It’s time to begin making use of it!

 

Linking Google Merchant Center to Google Ads

The first thing to do once you’ve got your account set up is to connect it to Google Ads. 

In this way, any details you add about your product or change through Merchant Center will automatically be linked to your Google Ads account details. Check out our packages for search engine marketing for local business in Mumbai. 

 

How do I link to Google Ads?

• Then, click on the gear icon at the screen’s top. Select “Linked accounts”.
• Then, you can add the Google Ads accounts by entering your customer ID, which is visible at the top of the screen.
• It is also possible to authorize the link through the Google Ads account. This is simple to accomplish – simply click the link “Tools and settings” > “Linked accounts” > “Google Merchant Center” > “View details” > “Approve”.

It’s that simple. Now, you can incorporate the information about your products into your search ads and the ads for the listing of products.

If you are looking to broaden your options for managing your campaigns, it is possible to link the Google Merchant Center account with various Google Ads Customer IDs. Repeat the steps above for every Customer ID you wish to connect.

How do I add my products to Google Merchant Center?

It’s time to take a look at the most crucial skill you’ll have to master when using Google Merchant Center. Google Merchant Center – adding products. We’ll take a deeper look at three crucial aspects of this procedure:

1. Incorporating a product data-sheet
2. The process of filling in a data sheet
3. Making changes to feed

Let’s get started.

A product info page is being added.

One of the major advantages that come with one of the main benefits offered by Google Merchant Center is that you can modify the feed of your product in many different ways. This is possible due to spreadsheets.

Google Merchant Center allows you to make use of any of your XML or TXT documents. However, in this guide, we’ll use Google Sheets. Why? They’re easier to operate and provide more precise control of the feed.

Here’s how to include a data sheet for your product using Google Sheets

• Then, click “Products” in the dashboard and click “Feeds”.
• The first step is to choose the country you would like to market your product in and the language you prefer.
• Then, select “Google Sheets” in the next window (the second option towards the upper) and then give your feed an alias.
• When prompted to “Generate a new Google spreadsheet using a template,” select “Create feed.”

You will then be returned to the Google Merchant Center dashboard’s “Feeds” section, where you can view your freshly generated Google Sheet. To modify the sheet, click “Open” under “Google Sheets”.

Simple enough? Great! Now let’s take a peek at the pages themselves and why they are so essential to success in e-commerce.

Completing the product data-sheet

When you open this spreadsheet’s template, here’s what you’ll find:

Then, fill in the required fields (Id the title, description, etc.).) as best you can to your abilities. If you’re not sure about any field you’re not sure about, go through it to the best of your ability. 

Google Merchant Center product guidelines for data specifications provide an extensive overview of each one and several examples. It’s fine even if you don’t have complete details for each category. 

But keep in mind that the more product details you are able to provide, the more valuable you are. More information about your products will refer to:

• There is a broader range of possibilities to make highly personalized, efficient Google Shopping ads;
• It’s much easier to find items for editing or adjustment;
• It’s much easier to find advertisements that provide users with the data they require.

When you’re finished, look over the entire document at least once, and ensure that you did not leave any fields that are empty. This will avoid the hassle of trying to find a specific item by its characteristics and then realizing that you’d left the field unfilled by accident.

When you’re ready for the import of your data, click “Add-ons” in the Google Sheet menu, then select “Google Merchant Center” in the drop-down menu and select “Upload sheet”.

Making alterations to the product details

If you have to alter the feed (i.e. or the inventory of your products), You don’t need to create and upload a new sheet each time. Google Merchant Center allows you to utilize “supplemental feeds, ” which allow adding more information to your existing shopping feeds.

Here’s how to make changes to the product’s information.

• Click “Add supplemental feed” under “Supplemental feeds” in the “Feeds” section.
• Follow the instructions and supply the information required. This includes the name of the feed you’re using for supplementary purposes as well as an input method. Which feed would you like to connect to, as well as an automated fetch of your product’s data (this means you don’t need to upload manually)?

Tips for optimizing how you use Google Merchant Center

Phew. We’ve finished with the basics, and now it’s time to get into some interesting strategies and tricks to get the most value from your time in the Google Merchant Center. Let’s get started with these amazing tips by the best digital marketing agency in Singapore.

It’s not necessary to complete all of these. Don’t forget – even at the risk of being an untruth – the more detailed information about your product you are able to give, the better results you’ll be able to get from Google Merchant Center.

1.   Expand the list of characteristics

Even though your Google Sheet has a certain number of pre-defined attributes (id and title, description prices and more.), You are not constrained to these qualities. If the advertisements you’re running, you may want to think about adding more columns.

Consider what potential customers might want to learn about a particular product or group of products. You could add columns such as “age range”, “size”, “material”, and others. You could even add some of the most crucial features right in your title. 

So, prospective customers can view all the important details before they click on the advertisement. Be careful not to go overboard in the amount of information you provide. You should provide users with enough details to keep them entertained but not to the point that it becomes too overwhelming.

2.   Make it the ability to scale

This may sound obvious; however, arranging your work sheets in a manner that permits you to increase the size of your sheets without difficulty is well worth the effort.

It’s recommended to tidy and organize your sheets before uploading them to Google Merchant Center. It will be simpler to scale your feed of products whenever it is required.

3.   Add GTINs to all the boards

GTINs (Global Trade Item Numbers) are required on every Google Shopping product, or you might encounter issues with your Google Merchant Center accounts. Most often, GTINs are located next to the barcode on the product’s packaging.

Some items, such as antique or vintage items, customized products, and books published prior to the introduction of ISBNs, might not have an accompanying GTIN. If this is the case, ensure that all your products contain those “brand” and “mpn” fields that are part of Google’s Google data specifications guidelines.

FAQs on Google Merchant Center

We’ve now discussed how to create an account on a Google Merchant Center account and upload your items; then, let’s examine the most common questions you have about the process of setting up and running and managing your Google Merchant Center account.

What’s the Google Merchant Center feed?

Google Merchant Center feed, also known as the Google Merchant Center feed, is also known as The Google shopping feed, or the product data feed is the spreadsheet used to organize every detail about your products. 

This sheet is helpful for Google to comprehend your product and what you can provide. Your feed is an important part of your Google Merchant Center account. It is the main source of information Google makes use of to create advertisements for your company’s shopping.

The feed for product information is crucial as Google makes use of it to design your advertisements. If you use Google Shopping adverts, Google creates the ads for you. Therefore, it will require all the details about your product to make an appropriate ad and then place it in the appropriate search results.

What details do I require to include in my product description?

If you’re trying to figure out how to create an account with a Google Merchant Center account, you’ll probably be wondering what details you’ll need to include in your listing of products. Here are some features that you should include in your listing of products:

1. Title of the product: The title is the primary data used by Google to determine your product’s relevancy to an online search. Include the correct keywords in your product’s title, and make sure you target high-volume keywords to be more visible to more people. 

Your titles can contain as long as 150 characters long; however, Google will only show as many as 70 characters.

2. Image of the product: Every listing should have a clear image of the product. If you’ve got a blurry or pixelated picture, you’ll not get the attention of those who interact with your advertisement. If you include photos in your ads, ensure that there aren’t any words or logos in the photos.

3. Category of your product: The product category you choose to use is something that only Google can discern. Select an appropriate category for your product at the bottom of your listing to make it appear in the relevant search results. 

Choose the most specific product category as you can to appear in the appropriate results of a search. Link to your site If visitors show an attraction to your product, you should drive visitors to your website to purchase it. Include the link to your product list on your website to drive leads to convert.

4. Price: Customers would like to know what your product is worth, compare shops, and choose the best location to purchase. Include the price of your product in your description to allow buyers to check whether your item is within their budget.

If you include the information above, you’ll be able to create an outstanding product listing on the Google Merchant Center feed.

How much should I charge for shipping?

Shipping is an integral aspect of promoting your products on Google. It is important to share the shipping cost so that customers know what they anticipate paying if they decide to purchase your product. 

If you’re using standard shipping rates, the shipping cost should reflect the same charges you offer on your site. The price you offer must be accurate to be used for shipping. It’s not a good idea to deceive customers by offering a lower shipping fee but then charging the user when they checkout. 

The shipping price is based upon the customer’s location in the event you do not use flat-rate shipping. If you provide free or no shipping on a specific amount of money, you can also include that. You can modify the kind of shipping according to your objectives. 

If you’re looking to increase the conversion rate, the free shipping option is a fantastic way to encourage more customers to purchase. However, in the event that you wish to boost your amount of money for your order, offering free shipping at an amount can be more effective.

What are promotions in the Google Merchant Center?

Google Merchant Center promotions are deals you can incorporate into your advertisement. The offers can include:

• Order discounts
• Free shipping
• Free gifts
• And much more

These are excellent promotions to incorporate into your marketing in order to create more attention for your listing.

Conclusion:

I hope you’ve found everything you’ve needed in this article to help you start with Google Merchant Center. It’s an excellent tool that can assist your customers in finding more details about your product. In addition, they’ll be able to find it quicker and at more locations.

The secret to success in using Google Merchant Center is to optimize the program’s utilization. As we have repeatedly said, ensure you add as much top-quality information about your products as possible.

After you’ve set it up, the first step is to find out how to use Google Shopping ads. According to this article on the advantages of Google Shopping ads, this ad format is more effective than conventional text ads.  If you like this article, check out the previous blog Outbound Marketing: 7 Marketing Strategies That Give the Best Result.