google-shopping-optimizer

name	google-shopping-optimizer
description	Optimize Google Shopping product feeds, fix Merchant Center disapprovals, and structure Shopping/PMax campaigns. Use when optimizing product titles, fixing disapprovals, managing supplemental feeds, custom labels, or comparing Shopping vs PMax.

Google Shopping Optimizer

Optimize Google Shopping campaigns end-to-end: product feed quality, Merchant Center diagnostics, disapproval resolution, supplemental feed strategies, campaign segmentation with custom labels, competitive pricing analysis, and GTIN/MPN/brand compliance. Includes Shopping campaign vs Performance Max comparison guidance.

Capabilities

• Product Feed Optimization: Improve titles, descriptions, images, and attributes for higher relevance
• Merchant Center Diagnostics: Identify and resolve product disapprovals and warnings
• Supplemental Feed Management: Override and enrich primary feed data without modifying source
• Custom Label Strategy: Segment products by margin, seasonality, performance tier, or price range
• Competitive Pricing Analysis: Monitor price competitiveness and adjust bidding accordingly
• GTIN/MPN/Brand Compliance: Ensure product identifiers meet Google requirements
• Shopping vs PMax Comparison: Data-driven guidance on campaign type selection

Workflows

1. Product Feed Audit

1. Export product feed (Google Sheets, XML, or Content API)
2. Check for common issues:
   - Missing GTINs/MPNs (required for branded products)
   - Titles <70 characters or missing key attributes
   - Descriptions <500 characters
   - Low-quality or watermarked images
   - Missing product_type or google_product_category
   - Price mismatches between feed and landing page
3. Score each product: A (optimized), B (needs work), C (at risk of disapproval)
4. Prioritize fixes by revenue contribution
5. Implement via supplemental feed or primary feed update

2. Title Optimization Formula

Structure: [Brand] + [Product Type] + [Key Attributes] + [Model/Variant]

Examples by category:
  Apparel: "Nike Air Max 270 Men's Running Shoes - Black/White - Size 10"
  Electronics: "Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra 256GB Unlocked Smartphone - Titanium Gray"
  Home: "KitchenAid Artisan 5-Quart Stand Mixer - Empire Red - KSM150PSER"

Rules:
  - Front-load most important terms (Google truncates at ~70 chars in Shopping)
  - Include brand FIRST (unless brand is unknown)
  - Add color, size, material, gender where relevant
  - Never use ALL CAPS or promotional text ("SALE", "FREE SHIPPING")
  - Never use Unicode symbols or emojis
  - Max 150 characters (aim for 70-100)

3. Disapproval Resolution Workflow

1. Export disapproved items from Merchant Center → Products → Diagnostics
2. Categorize by disapproval reason:

   a. Price/Availability Mismatch:
      → Verify feed price matches landing page price
      → Check currency and tax settings
      → Enable automated item updates (Content API)

   b. Missing Identifiers (GTIN/MPN):
      → Add GTIN from manufacturer or GS1
      → If no GTIN exists: set identifier_exists = false
      → Only valid for custom/handmade products

   c. Policy Violation:
      → Review prohibited content policies
      → Check image for watermarks, overlays, promotional text
      → Verify landing page matches product description

   d. Image Issues:
      → Minimum 100x100 px (recommend 800x800+)
      → White or transparent background for main image
      → No watermarks, logos, or text overlays
      → Product must fill 75%+ of frame

3. Fix issues in primary feed or supplemental feed
4. Request re-review in Merchant Center
5. Monitor: most re-reviews complete within 24-72 hours

4. Custom Label Strategy

custom_label_0: Performance Tier
  - "hero" → Top 20% products by revenue
  - "mid" → Middle 60%
  - "long_tail" → Bottom 20%

custom_label_1: Margin Tier
  - "high_margin" → >50% margin
  - "mid_margin" → 20-50% margin
  - "low_margin" → <20% margin

custom_label_2: Seasonality
  - "evergreen" → Year-round demand
  - "seasonal_q4" → Holiday season
  - "seasonal_summer" → Summer peak
  - "clearance" → End of life

custom_label_3: Price Range
  - "premium" → >$200
  - "mid_range" → $50-200
  - "budget" → <$50

custom_label_4: Competitive Position
  - "price_leader" → Lowest price in market
  - "competitive" → Within 10% of lowest
  - "premium_priced" → >10% above lowest

Campaign structure using labels:
  Campaign 1: Hero Products (custom_label_0 = hero) → highest bids, max budget
  Campaign 2: Mid-Tier (custom_label_0 = mid) → moderate bids
  Campaign 3: Long Tail (custom_label_0 = long_tail) → lowest bids, ROAS target
  Campaign 4: Seasonal Push (custom_label_2 = seasonal_q4) → seasonal budget boost

5. Supplemental Feed Strategy

Use supplemental feeds to:
  1. Override titles without changing primary feed
  2. Add custom labels for campaign segmentation
  3. Fix disapprovals quickly (faster than primary feed updates)
  4. Add sale_price and sale_price_effective_date
  5. Enrich with additional attributes (color, material, size)

Setup:
  1. Create Google Sheet with columns: id, [attributes to override]
  2. In Merchant Center → Feeds → Supplemental feeds → Add
  3. Connect Google Sheet
  4. Set update schedule (daily recommended)
  5. Supplemental values override primary feed values per product ID

Example supplemental feed (Google Sheet):
| id | title | custom_label_0 | custom_label_1 |
|----|-------|----------------|----------------|
| SKU-001 | Nike Air Max 270 Men's Running Shoes Black/White | hero | high_margin |
| SKU-002 | Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro Wireless Earbuds Black | mid | mid_margin |

Reference Data

GTIN/MPN/Brand Requirements

Scenario	GTIN	MPN	Brand	identifier_exists
Branded product with GTIN	Required	Optional	Required	true (default)
Branded product without GTIN	N/A	Required	Required	true (default)
Custom/Handmade product	N/A	Optional	Your brand	false
Unbranded product	N/A	Optional	"Unbranded"	false
Bundle (you created)	N/A	Your MPN	Your brand	false
Multi-pack (same product)	GTIN of individual item	Optional	Required	true

Product Feed Required vs Recommended Attributes

Attribute	Required	Recommended	Notes
id	✅		Unique, max 50 chars
title	✅		Max 150 chars, front-load keywords
description	✅		Max 5000 chars, natural language
link	✅		Landing page URL
image_link	✅		Min 100x100, recommend 800x800+
price	✅		Must match landing page
availability	✅		in_stock, out_of_stock, preorder
brand	✅*		Required if identifier_exists = true
gtin	✅*		Required for known brands
condition	✅		new, refurbished, used
google_product_category		✅	Use most specific category
product_type		✅	Your own categorization
additional_image_link		✅	Up to 10 additional images
sale_price		✅	Strikethrough pricing
shipping		✅	If not set at account level
color		✅	Required for apparel
size		✅	Required for apparel
gender		✅	Required for apparel
age_group		✅	Required for apparel
custom_label_0-4		✅	Campaign segmentation

Shopping vs Performance Max Comparison

Factor	Standard Shopping	Performance Max
Channel control	Shopping only	All Google channels
Bidding control	Manual CPC or Target ROAS	Automated only
Search query visibility	Full search term report	Limited (insights tab)
Negative keywords	✅ Full support	Account-level only
Product group granularity	Full control	Asset group level
Reporting granularity	Product-level	Asset group level
New product discovery	Lower (query matching)	Higher (AI-driven)
Brand cannibalization risk	Low	Higher (may compete with Search)
Best for	Control-focused, mature accounts	Growth-focused, new products
Recommended budget	Any	$50+/day for learning

Image Best Practices

Requirement	Standard	Notes
Minimum size	100x100 px	250x250 for apparel
Recommended size	800x800 px+	Higher resolution = better placement
File format	JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIFF	No animated GIFs
Max file size	16 MB
Background	White or transparent	For main image
Product fill	75-90% of frame	Don't crop product
Text/Watermarks	Not allowed	On main image
Lifestyle images	Allowed	For additional_image_link

Competitive Pricing Signals

Price Position	Impression Share Impact	Recommended Strategy
Lowest price	+20-40% impressions	Maintain, maximize volume
Within 5% of lowest	Baseline	Standard bidding
5-15% above lowest	-10-20% impressions	Compete on title/image quality
>15% above lowest	-30-50% impressions	Highlight unique value, reduce bids

Examples

Example 1: Feed audit and quick wins

User: "My Shopping campaigns have low impression share. Help me optimize."

Workflow:
1. Audit top 50 products by revenue:
   - 12 products missing GTIN → add from manufacturer
   - 8 titles under 40 characters → expand with attributes
   - 5 products have lifestyle images as main → swap to white background
   - 3 products disapproved for price mismatch → sync feed prices

2. Create supplemental feed with:
   - Optimized titles for top 50 products
   - Custom labels: hero/mid/long_tail based on last 90-day revenue
   - Fixed GTINs for 12 products

3. Expected impact: +15-25% impression share within 2 weeks

Example 2: Shopping vs PMax migration decision

User: "Should I switch from Standard Shopping to PMax?"

Analysis:
1. Current Standard Shopping performance:
   - Monthly revenue: $45,000 | ROAS: 5.2x | Spend: $8,650
   - Full search query visibility → managing 200+ negative keywords
   - Product-level bid adjustments for top 30 SKUs

2. Recommendation: Hybrid approach
   - Keep Standard Shopping for top 30 hero SKUs (full control)
   - Launch PMax for remaining catalog (discovery + growth)
   - Set PMax priority LOWER than Standard Shopping
   - Monitor for 30 days, compare ROAS by product group

3. PMax setup:
   - Asset group 1: Top categories with lifestyle images + video
   - Asset group 2: Seasonal products with promotional assets
   - URL expansion: ON (let Google discover new product pages)
   - Final URL: product landing pages (not homepage)

Example 3: Disapproval resolution

User: "I have 150 disapproved products in Merchant Center."

Triage:
1. Export disapprovals, categorize:
   - 80 products: Missing GTIN → bulk update via supplemental feed
   - 35 products: Price mismatch → enable automated item updates
   - 20 products: Image quality → replace with 800x800 white background
   - 10 products: Policy violation → review landing pages for restricted content
   - 5 products: Missing shipping info → set account-level shipping

2. Priority order:
   - Price mismatch (instant fix, automated updates)
   - Missing GTIN (supplemental feed, 24h)
   - Images (upload new, 48h review)
   - Policy (manual review, 72h+)

3. Timeline: 85% of products reinstated within 1 week

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