Google launched Google Shopping in 2002 as a way to make it easier for people to shop online. Although Google Shopping is not an online marketplace, it offers features that are comparable to those offered by other online marketplaces. There is a search function that allows users to locate the product they are looking for and directs them to where they can purchase it.

This Google Shopping guide will guide you through 2 different ways to create a Google Shopping list and sell it on Google Shopping.

First, let’s find out a bit more about Google Shopping!

What is Google Shopping?

This online shopping engine allows users to search, compare, and purchase items from a variety of online shops. All of these services and locations are enabled by a new Google Merchant Center platform.

Vendors may submit a catalog of product data to Google Merchant Center using this tool. In Merchant Center, merchants may expose their items to customers in several methods, including paid ad marketing, organic search discovery, and placement inside a typical marketplace buying experience.

Google Shopping destinations

Sellers may take advantage of Google Shopping in many ways. Simply being discovered in organic search implies that when a customer searches for a product on Google, it will show without the requirement for paid advertising.

Rather than relying just on the conventional Search Engine Results Page (SERP) of Google’s basic interface, Google now provides useful information to buyers in a variety of additional places. With Google’s Surfaces, your product will appear in picture search results instead of the conventional text search results. Google Lens (Google’s image recognition technology for mobile phones) may also be used to display your goods. It’s reported that in the future, you’ll be able to check product outcomes on YouTube videos!

In addition to Google Shopping Ads, merchants may build up shopping campaigns in Merchant Center, including setting budgets, monitoring bids, and gaining insight into ad effectiveness. You pay Google to show your product as a search result across all of the same consumer touchpoints in Shopping Ads.

Creating a Google Ad campaign to attract visitors to a website is quite similar to what you would do for a business.

Last but not least, Google Shopping Actions is the newest way for customers to connect with Google. Essentially, a consumer will locate your goods, “add to cart” it using the Google shopping cart and finish the payment process directly on Google.

Price, brand, and category can be used to narrow down the results for customers. On Google Shopping, buyers can also read reviews of products. To display just goods that can be purchased via Shopping Actions, customers may select “Buy on Google” from the left-hand menu.

It’s no secret that Google dominates internet search traffic. Daily, Google is used by billions of individuals. A seller’s multi-channel eCommerce strategy cannot be complete without making use of Google’s variety of destinations.

How much do you need to pay to sell on Google Shopping?

Before, the Google Shopping tab included paid Google Shopping list via the Shopping Ads service, but now most of the search results are free items revealed via Surfaces by Google!

Google’s answer to COVID-19 is that qualified businesses can start to publish Google Shopping list and advertise items on Google Shopping for free, starting April 21, 2020. Although only US vendors are now affected, Google wants to expand the program internationally by the end of the year.

Every time a transaction is done, Google Shopping Actions charges a % fee (since they are processing the order). Surfaces by Google, on the other hand, is essentially a free advertisement that brings customers back to your website to make a purchasing decision.

In addition to the free services, you may decide if you want to invest additional money in sponsored advertisements via Shopping Ads to further market your items after your product catalog has been entered into Google Merchant Center and your products have been exposed to hundreds of millions of customers.

What do I need to do first?

Just need a few steps and you’ll get your Google Shopping list on sale. Creating a Google Merchant Center account is required before you can start adding items.

To use Google Merchant Center, you must first create a Google Merchant Center account.

To continue, you’ll need to establish a Google account (as you would for Gmail or YouTube).

The traditional way to create and publish a Google Shopping list

Google’s search results are populated with submitted product feeds. Check your product info and images before you enter them into Google Shopping.

Follow the steps below to learn how to upload a product list to Google.

Basic product data

Google Shopping lists and advertisements are built on this information, so it’s crucial that it’s accurate. Everything you provide should be of the quality you want a consumer to view.

id (required): it is the product’s unique identifier, also referred to as an SKU (50 characters max)

title (required): its title, which should be the same as on the landing page.

Variants should have a distinctive attribute such as a color or size (150 characters max)

description (required): compare and contrast the product’s description and landing page copy (5,000 characters max)

link (required): the item’s landing page

The URL should start with HTTP or HTTPS

image_link (required): the URL of the product’s main image

Image file must be a JPEG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, or nonanimated GIF
At least 100 x 100 pixels for non-apparel products
At least 250 x 250 pixels for apparel products
Image must be smaller than 64 megapixels or 16MB

additional_image_link (optional): URL for another product image

Must meet the same guidelines outlined above

mobile_link (optional): product’s mobile-optimized landing page

Price and Availability

Ads and unpaid listings may also include information about your items’ pricing and availability. It’s important to keep in mind that Google will need to be alerted if your prices or inventory changes often.

availability (required): that the item’s availability matches what’s on the item landing page.

Supported values: in stock, out of stock, preorder

availability_date (optional): date a preordered item will be available
cost_of_goods_sold (optional): all the costs associated with the sale of a single product, including material, labor, freight, or other expenses

Submitting this information will provide you with insights about certain metrics, including gross margin and revenue generated

expiration_date (optional): the date you want your product to quit appearing in search results
price (required): product’s price and currency, which should match what appears on the item landing page

If you’re a U.S. or Canadian seller, don’t include tax
For all other countries, including value-added tax (VAT) and goods and services tax (GST)

sale_price (optional): the item’s sale price
sale_price_effective_date (optional): the date range for which the product’s sale price applies
unit_pricing_measure (optional unless required by local regulations): measure and dimension of the product without packaging
unit_pricing_base_measure (optional unless required by local regulations): item’s base measure for pricing

Supported units:

Weight: oz, lb, mg, g, kg
Volume US imperial: fl oz, pt, qt, gal
Volume metric: ml, cl, l, cbm
Length: in, ft, yd, cm, m
Area: sq ft, sq m
Per unit: ct

Product Category

These characteristics are used to structure ad campaigns and to overrule Google’s automated product classification when necessary, according to the company.

Google_product_category (optional): In Google’s official taxonomy, this is how an item is classified by the search engine giant. When Google creates subcategories, it utilizes a breadcrumb-like string that allows it to focus on certain products and index them more effectively.

Example: Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Outerwear > Coats & Jackets
These categories and subcategories already exist in Google’s system, but you can create your own.

product_type (optional): Sellers can apply their own product attribution phrases in this area. Your product category can fill the gap if you find that Google’s taxonomy doesn’t include all of the keywords that you develop or utilize for your items.

Example: Home > Women > Dresses > Maxi Dress
750 characters max

Product Identifiers

This information allows you to distinguish between the things you’re selling and helps search engines match search queries with your offerings.

The manufacturer assigns unique product IDs to each product, therefore if you offer the same goods as another merchant, the identifiers will be the same. Some popular product identifiers include the Universal Product Code (UPC), Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), Manufacturer Part Numbers (MPN), International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN), and brand names.

brand (except for movies, novels, and musical recordings)

If you produce the goods or sell white-label products, only use your shop name as the brand name.
70 characters max

GTIN (All new items having a GTIN given by the manufacturer are obliged to have one.)

50 numeric characters max

mpn (required if the product doesn’t have a manufacturer-assigned GTIN)
identifier_exists (optional): Use this section to indicate whether unique product identifiers are available for the product

Supported values: yes, no

Detailed Product Description

These attributes identify particular product characteristics that people commonly search for, such as color and size.

condition (required for used or refurbished products): the condition of the item at the time of sale

Supported values: new, refurbished, used

adult (required): indicates a product that contains sexually suggestive content

Supported values: yes, no

multipack (required for multipack products in Australia, Brazil, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, and the US): Submit this attribute if you’re selling a set of products as a single unit

Example: a package that contains 10 stickers

is_bundle (required for bundles in Australia, Brazil, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, and the US): indicates that a product is a merchant-defined custom group of different products featuring one main product

Supported values: yes, no
Submit “yes” if you’re selling a custom bundle of different products that you created and the bundle includes the main product

Example: a snowboard that comes with boots and bindings

age_group (required for all apparel items that target Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the US): demographic for which the product is intended

Supported values: newborn, infant, toddler, kids, adult

color (required for all products available in different hues) item’s color(s)

If the item features multiple colors, list the primary color first.
100 characters max

gender (required for all apparel items in feeds that target Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the US, as well as all gender-specific products): the gender for which the product is intended

Supported values: male, female, unisex

material (required if necessary to distinguish product): item’s fabric or material
pattern (required if necessary to distinguish product): item’s pattern or graphic print
size (required for all items listed as Apparel & Accessories > Clothing and Apparel & Accessories > Shoe) item’s size
size_type (optional, for apparel products only): apparel’s cut

Supported values: regular, petite, oversize, maternity

size_system (optional, for apparel products only): country of the size system used by your product

Supported values: US, UK, EU, DE, FR, JP, CN, IT, BR, MEX, AU

item_group_id (required for Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the US if the item is a variant): identifying term for a group of products that come in different versions

Shopping campaigns and other configurations

The data in this section is used to control how product information is used in ad campaigns.

ads_redirect (optional): URL used to specify additional parameters for product page

2,000 characters max

custom_label_0-4 (optional): label the seller assigns to an item to help organize bidding and reporting in Shopping campaigns

examples: sale, clearance, holiday, seasonal
100 characters max

promotion_id (optional, but required for promotions in Australia, France, Germany, India, the UK, and the US): an identifier that allows sellers to match products to promotions

50 characters max

Destinations

Specifying destinations in your product feed allows sellers to control where their products can appear. For example, you could indicate that an item appears in a remarketing campaign but not a Google Ads campaign.

excluded_destination (optional): setting to exclude a product from participating in a specific type of campaign

Supported values: shopping ads, Shopping Actions, display ads, local inventory ads, surfaces across Google, local surfaces across Google

included_destination (optional): setting to include a product in a specific type of campaign

Supported values: shopping ads, Shopping Actions, display ads, local inventory ads, surfaces across Google, local surfaces across Google

Shipping

Consumers consider shipping costs when making purchasing decisions, so it’s important to submit accurate information.

shipping (required): item’s shipping cost

Supported prices: 0-1,000 USD

shipping_label (optional): label seller applies internally to product to help assign correct shipping costs in Merchant Center account settings

This value isn’t displayed to shoppers
Examples: same-day, oversize, only FedEx

shipping_weight (optional): item weight

Supported weights: 0-2000 lb for imperial, 0-1,000 kg for metric

shipping_length, shipping_width, shipping_height (optional): length/width/height of item
transit_time_label (optional): label seller applies internally to product to help assign different transit times in Merchant Center account settings

This value isn’t displayed to shoppers
Examples: from Atlanta, heavy package, fragile

max_handling_time, min_handling time (optional): longest/shortest amount of time between order placement and shipment

This value isn’t displayed to shoppers
For items that ship the same day, enter 0

Tax

These attributes are used together with what you’ve submitted in the Merchant Center to provide accurate sales tax costs.

tax (required): item’s sales tax rate in percent
tax_category (optional): the category that classifies product by specific tax rules

Create a Product Data Feed

Before you can start adding products, you must first create a product data feed. This feed informs Google of all your products and their data, allowing the search engine to get and display the appropriate information.

Select “Products” and then “Feeds” in the left-hand menu of your Google Merchant Center account to establish a product data feed.

Afterward, click on the blue + sign symbol.

Enter your nation and language when asked. This is followed by naming your product feed so that it can be readily identified in the future.

The next step is to choose your input method. Use Google Sheets, scheduled fetch, upload, or content API to construct your product feed. The Google Merchant Center advises utilizing Google Sheets if you’re new to it.

Selecting a timetable for uploading will be available once you’ve made your selection. If your inventory is changing often, this should be reflected. A daily update is recommended by Google.

It is now possible to establish and name a product feed in Google Merchant Center. Start by selecting the feed that you’d want to populate with the merchandise.

The product feed has been created in Google Sheets and is now being filled out, as shown in the screenshot below.

It’s time to submit your items to Google Merchant Center after entering all the necessary information.

Using LitCommerce to Manage Your Google Shopping List and Everything

LitCommerce’s multi-channel listing software makes getting into a new sales channel faster and easier than ever before. With just a few clicks, you can push your LitCommerce product catalog to Google and be ready to go.

LitCommerce lets you connect all the channels on wish you sell in one simple, intuitive interface, so you can avoid overselling and streamline your fulfillment.

After you select Google Shopping, provide a channel nickname, pick some Destination options.

Before connecting your account, you will have the option to enable Google Shopping Ads and Google Shopping Actions. Don’t worry, this does not mean you’ve agreed to spend any money on ads. It just enrolls you in the services, so if you decide in the future to spend money promoting your products, you can do so!

If you choose to disable these options, you can always enable them later in your Google Channel Settings.

By default, you will be registered to list your products on surfaces across Google, meaning they will appear for free in search results around the web.

Once you click “Connect Your Account”, a popup will appear, asking you to grant LitCommerce access to your account. Click “Allow.”

If you have multiple Google accounts, you will first need to select which Google account you are connecting to LitCommerce.

Once your account is connected, LitCommerce will begin importing your Google Shopping lists.

That’s how easy it is to connect to Google Shopping with LitCommerce! Once that is done, you simply visit the All Products page in your LitCommerce account to do the final prep to publish your Google Shopping list.

If you have enabled surfaces across Google or Google Ads, you will need to make sure that your Store Product URLs are included in your product information before you start building listings. Without these, Google won’t know where to direct customers to purchasing your products.

You can find the Store Product URL field on the Edit Product page. You can also add Store Product URLs to your products in bulk, using a Product CSV file. LitCommerce will send these URLs to Google automatically whenever listings are published.

Just like the other marketplaces, you sell on, Google listings are best built using Templates & Preset. When listings are published, LitCommerce will send your product information to every Google Destination that you have enabled. You do not need to create separate listings for each Destination.

You will notice a Destination column in your Google Listing’s Manager, which lets you know which Destinations currently have active listings:

And that’s about all there is to it! Not only can you publish listings to Google Shopping quickly and easily with LitCommerce, but any changes you make to your products in LitCommerce will update automatically on Google, as well as on any other marketplaces you have connected to LitCommerce.

Google Shopping Is Just Getting Started

Your items will be seen by millions, if not billions of prospective buyers now that you know how to list them on Google Shopping.

Using LitCommerce, you can activate all of your goods simultaneously for Surfaces, Shopping Ads, and Shopping Actions across Google, Amazon, and eBay. Start using this new eCommerce channel as soon as feasible, as it appears to be ready to make a significant entrance into the discourse about critical commerce channels in the future years

If you need more information, please don’t hesitate to contact the support team. We are always ready to help!

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