google-merchant-center

name	google-merchant-center
description	Optimize product feeds for Shopping and Performance Max campaigns — from fixing disapprovals to building custom label strategies that power profitability-based bidding.

Process

For feed audits:

1. Review Merchant Center Diagnostics → Priority Fixes tab
2. Categorize issues by severity and click uplift potential
3. Optimize titles (highest impact), then images, prices, descriptions, identifiers
4. Set up supplemental feeds for enrichment
5. Configure custom labels for product tiering
6. Monitor and maintain

For new feed setup:

1. Connect product data source (API, file, or platform integration)
2. Map required and recommended attributes
3. Optimize titles and descriptions before first submission
4. Submit feed and resolve initial disapprovals
5. Build custom label strategy
6. Link to Google Ads for Shopping/PMax campaigns

Feed Quality Hierarchy

Fix in this order — each level has decreasing marginal impact:

Priority	Attribute	Impact on Performance	Why
1	Title	Highest	Determines which queries match your products. Title = your keyword strategy for Shopping
2	Image	Very High	Primary visual in Shopping results. White background, high resolution, no watermarks
3	Price	High	Competitive pricing directly affects CTR and conversion rate
4	Description	Medium	Supports query matching and product understanding
5	GTIN/MPN/Brand	Medium	Required for unique product identification. Missing = limited serving
6	Product type / Category	Medium	Helps Google classify correctly. Use detailed paths
7	Availability	Foundational	Must be accurate — mismatches cause disapprovals
8	Custom labels	Strategic	Enables performance-based bidding tiers

Title Optimization

Titles are the single most impactful feed attribute. They function as keywords for Shopping ads.

Formula: Brand + Product Type + Key Attributes (material, size, color, gender, model)

By vertical:

Vertical	Title Formula	Example
Apparel	Brand + Gender + Product Type + Color + Size + Material	"Nike Men's Running Shoes Black Size 11 Flyknit"
Electronics	Brand + Product + Model + Key Spec + Variant	"Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra 256GB Titanium Black"
Home & Garden	Brand + Product Type + Material + Dimensions + Color	"KitchenAid Stand Mixer 5-Quart Stainless Steel Red"
Beauty	Brand + Product Line + Product Type + Size + Variant	"CeraVe Moisturizing Cream 19oz Fragrance-Free"
B2B / Industrial	Brand + Product Type + Specification + Application	"3M Safety Glasses Anti-Fog ANSI Z87.1 Construction"

Title rules:

• Maximum 150 characters (but front-load important terms — first 70 characters visible in most placements)
• Put highest-value keywords first
• Don't stuff — Google penalizes keyword-stuffed titles
• Match the language customers actually search (use VOC data from the google-ads-keyword-engine skill)
• Use supplemental feeds to A/B test titles without changing your primary feed

Common Disapprovals & Fixes

Disapproval	Cause	Fix
Missing GTIN	No GTIN for manufactured products	Add valid UPC/EAN/JAN. If custom/handmade, set identifier_exists: no
Price mismatch	Feed price ≠ landing page price	Sync feed update frequency. Use real-time API for dynamic pricing
Availability mismatch	Feed says "in stock" but page shows "out of stock"	Increase feed refresh frequency (minimum daily, ideally every 6 hours)
Missing shipping info	No shipping configured	Set up shipping in Merchant Center settings or at product level
Image quality	Watermarks, promotional text, too small	Use clean product images, minimum 800x800px, no overlays
Landing page not crawlable	Googlebot can't access the page	Check robots.txt, ensure no noindex on product pages
Misrepresentation	Unrealistic claims, unclear business info	Review product descriptions and business identity settings
Adult content	Products flagged for adult classification	Add adult: yes attribute or appeal if incorrectly flagged

Priority Fixes tab workflow:

1. Open Merchant Center → Products → Diagnostics → Priority Fixes
2. Each issue shows estimated click uplift from resolution
3. Sort by click uplift potential (highest first)
4. Fix systematically — resolve highest-impact issues first
5. Resubmit feed and monitor for clearance (typically 24-72 hours)

Custom Label Strategy

Custom labels (0-4) let you segment products for bidding strategies in Shopping and PMax. Five labels available.

Recommended label assignment:

Label	Dimension	Values	Purpose
Custom Label 0	Margin tier	high_margin, medium_margin, low_margin	Bid more aggressively on high-margin products
Custom Label 1	Performance tier	best_seller, rising, standard, underperformer	Based on last 30-90 day ROAS/conversion data
Custom Label 2	Seasonality	evergreen, spring, summer, fall, winter, holiday	Adjust bids and budgets by season
Custom Label 3	Price range	premium (>$200), mid ($50-200), budget (<$50)	Different bid strategies by price point
Custom Label 4	Inventory status	full_stock, low_stock, clearance, new_arrival	Promote clearance, protect low stock

How to use custom labels in campaigns:

• Create separate PMax asset groups or Shopping product groups per label value
• Set different tROAS targets: high-margin products can tolerate lower ROAS because profit margin is higher
• Pause or reduce bids on underperformer + low_margin combinations
• Boost best_seller + high_margin products with higher budgets

Profitability-based bidding (POAS > ROAS):

• ROAS ignores product costs. A $100 product with 80% margin is more valuable than a $100 product with 10% margin, even at the same ROAS
• Use Custom Label 0 (margin tier) to create separate bid strategies per margin level
• Jack Felsted's revenue maximizer approach: tier products by gross profit margin and set tROAS targets proportional to margin
• For implementation via scripts, use the google-ads-scripts skill (revenue maximizer tiering)

Supplemental Feeds

Supplemental feeds enrich your primary feed without replacing it. Changes in the supplemental feed override matching attributes in the primary feed.

Use Case	What to Add	Method
Custom label assignment	Custom labels 0-4	Google Sheets supplemental feed (easiest)
Title testing	Optimized titles overriding primary feed titles	Google Sheets → update titles → measure impact
Promotional data	sale_price, sale_price_effective_date	Scheduled feed or Sheets
Missing attributes	GTINs, product types, additional descriptions	Sheets or file feed
Seasonal adjustments	Update custom labels for seasonal products	Sheets updated monthly/quarterly

Setup: Merchant Center → Products → Feeds → Supplemental feeds → Add. Match on id attribute. Google Sheets is the fastest method for non-technical teams.

Feed Rules

Feed rules transform data during processing without changing the source feed.

Common feed rules:

Rule	What It Does	Example
Set to	Override an attribute with a fixed value	Set shipping_weight to "2 lb" for all products
Extract	Pull data from one attribute into another	Extract brand name from title → brand field
Prepend/Append	Add text to existing values	Prepend brand name to all titles
Find & Replace	Modify specific text within attributes	Replace "cm" with "inches" in descriptions
Calculate	Compute values from other fields	sale_price = price × 0.8
Conditional	Apply rules only when conditions are met	If brand = "Nike", set custom_label_0 = "premium"

Output Format

For feed audits:

## Merchant Center Feed Audit

### Feed Health Summary
- Total products: [X]
- Active: [X] ([%])
- Disapproved: [X] ([%])
- Pending: [X] ([%])

### Priority Fixes (by click uplift potential)
| Issue | Products Affected | Est. Click Uplift | Fix |
|-------|------------------|-------------------|-----|
| [issue] | [N] | [+X%] | [specific fix] |

### Title Optimization Opportunities
| Current Title | Optimized Title | Changes Made |
|--------------|----------------|--------------|
| [before] | [after] | [added brand, reordered attributes] |

### Custom Label Strategy
| Label | Dimension | Values | Products per Value |
|-------|-----------|--------|--------------------|
| 0 | Margin tier | high/medium/low | [X] / [X] / [X] |

### Feed Maintenance Plan
- Feed refresh frequency: [recommendation]
- Supplemental feed setup: [yes/no, what for]
- Review cadence: [weekly/monthly]

Example

Input: "I have 2,400 products in Merchant Center. 180 are disapproved and my Shopping campaigns are underperforming. Help me fix the feed and set up a smart bidding structure."

Output:

Merchant Center Feed Audit

Feed Health Summary

• Total products: 2,400
• Active: 2,120 (88.3%)
• Disapproved: 180 (7.5%)
• Pending: 100 (4.2%)

Priority Fixes (by click uplift potential)

Issue	Products Affected	Est. Click Uplift	Fix
Missing GTIN	95 products	+12-18% clicks	Add valid UPCs. For handmade/custom items, set identifier_exists: no
Price mismatch	42 products	+8-12% clicks	Increase feed refresh to every 6 hours (currently daily)
Image quality (watermarks)	28 products	+5-8% clicks	Replace with clean product photos, no text overlays
Missing shipping	15 products	+3-5% clicks	Configure shipping in MC settings for all products

Title Optimization Opportunities

Current Title	Optimized Title	Changes
"Blue Running Shoes"	"Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 41 Men's Running Shoes Blue Size 11"	Added brand, model, gender, size
"Wireless Earbuds"	"Sony WF-1000XM5 Wireless Earbuds Noise Cancelling Black"	Added brand, model, key feature, color
"Coffee Maker"	"Breville Barista Express Espresso Machine Stainless Steel"	Added brand, product line, material

Custom Label Strategy

Label	Dimension	Values	Products	Bid Strategy
0	Margin	high (>60%), medium (30-60%), low (<30%)	480 / 1,200 / 720	tROAS 300% / 500% / 800%
1	Performance	best_seller, rising, standard, underperformer	240 / 360 / 1,200 / 600	Max budget / Growing budget / Standard / Reduced
2	Seasonality	evergreen, seasonal	1,800 / 600	Stable year-round / Ramp up in season
3	Price range	premium (>$200), mid ($50-200), budget (<$50)	300 / 1,100 / 1,000	Lower tROAS OK / Balanced / Needs volume
4	Inventory	full_stock, low_stock, clearance	1,800 / 400 / 200	Standard / Cap spend / Promote aggressively

Implementation Plan

1. Week 1: Fix 180 disapprovals (GTINs first → price sync → images → shipping). Expected: recover ~8-18% lost clicks
2. Week 1: Set up Google Sheets supplemental feed for custom labels 0-4
3. Week 2: Optimize titles for top 200 revenue products (supplemental feed override)
4. Week 2: Create PMax asset groups segmented by Custom Label 0 (margin) × Custom Label 1 (performance)
5. Week 3: Set tROAS targets by margin tier: high-margin at 300%, medium at 500%, low at 800%
6. Week 4: Review performance by custom label. Increase budget on high-margin best-sellers, reduce on low-margin underperformers

Feed Maintenance Plan

• Feed refresh: Increase to every 6 hours (from daily)
• Supplemental feed review: Monthly (update custom labels based on trailing 30-day data)
• Disapproval check: Weekly via Priority Fixes tab
• Title testing: Ongoing via supplemental feed A/B tests

Guidelines

• Don't ignore the Priority Fixes tab. It tells you exactly which issues to fix and estimates the click uplift. Start there every time.
• Don't stuff titles with keywords. Google penalizes keyword stuffing. Follow the formula: Brand + Product Type + Key Attributes. Front-load the most important terms in the first 70 characters.
• Don't use ROAS alone for product bidding. POAS (Profit On Ad Spend) is the right metric for ecommerce. A 500% ROAS on a 10% margin product loses money. Use custom labels to tier by margin and set appropriate tROAS per tier.
• Don't set and forget custom labels. Product performance changes. Update Custom Label 1 (performance tier) monthly based on trailing 30-90 day data.
• Don't neglect feed refresh frequency. Price and availability mismatches are the fastest route to disapprovals. Minimum daily, ideally every 6 hours for dynamic inventory.
• PMax minimum budget applies. PMax campaigns using this feed need $50-100/day minimum, with daily budget ≥ 3x target CPA. Budget under $1K/month → focus on standard Shopping for more control.
• Cross-references: For keyword insights that inform title optimization, use the google-ads-keyword-engine skill. For PMax and Shopping campaign setup using this feed, use the google-ads-campaign-builder skill. For automated product tiering scripts, use the google-ads-scripts skill (Jack Felsted's revenue maximizer). For full account audit including feed health, use the google-ads-audit skill.
• Confidence: Click uplift estimates from Priority Fixes are Google's projections, not guarantees. Custom label tier boundaries (margin %, price ranges) should be calibrated to the specific business — the values above are starting points.