Please choose your target country from the drop-down menu below. The content will be specific to the target country you select.
In order to prevent suspension of your feed please read the Google Shopping policies very carefully before creating a feed.
This page lists all the attributes you need to provide in order for your products to be listed in Google Shopping. Some attributes are required for all items, some are required for certain types of items (such as apparel), and others are recommended. Failure to provide a required attribute may prevent that particular item from showing up in Google Shopping results, whereas failure to provide recommended attributes may result in items showing up less frequently. Read through the entire document to make sure your products show up on Google Shopping. For a basic overview of feeds, see this article. Before creating your feed, choose the file format that is right for you.
We use the term item to describe a single product listing. If you are using Text or Tab delimited format, an item is equivalent to one line in your data feed. Items are similar to products, but we assume that products can occur in multiple variations. These variations - product variants - differ by color, material, pattern, or size. We use item to refer to a single variation of a product.
We also accept feeds formatted according to the Yandex specifications for data feeds targeting Russia.
Please choose your target country from the drop-down menu below. The content will be specific to the target country you select.
In order to prevent suspension of your feed please read the Google Shopping policies very carefully before creating a feed.
This page lists all the attributes you need to provide in order for your products to be listed in Google Shopping. Some attributes are required for all items, some are required for certain types of items (such as apparel), and others are recommended. Failure to provide a required attribute may prevent that particular item from showing up in Google Shopping results, whereas failure to provide recommended attributes may result in items showing up less frequently. Read through the entire document to make sure your products show up on Google Shopping. For a basic overview of feeds, see this article. Before creating your feed, choose the file format that is right for you.
We use the term item to describe a single product listing. If you are using Text or Tab delimited format, an item is equivalent to one line in your data feed. Items are similar to products, but we assume that products can occur in multiple variations. These variations - product variants - differ by color, material, pattern, or size. We use item to refer to a single variation of a product.
We also accept feeds formatted according to the Yandex specifications for data feeds targeting Russia.
Basic Product Information
The following attributes contain basic information about your items.
The following attributes contain basic information about your items.
Availability & Price
The attributes in this section are required in order to specify the availability and prices of your items. The availability and prices of your items can change quite frequently, and you need to make sure Google is notified of these changes as they happen. You can find advice on providing the most up-to-date or fresh data here.
We regularly check these attributes, and if the values provided in these attributes are found to be different from the information presented on your website, we will remove all your items from Google Shopping. Please see our policies for more details.
The attributes in this section are required in order to specify the availability and prices of your items. The availability and prices of your items can change quite frequently, and you need to make sure Google is notified of these changes as they happen. You can find advice on providing the most up-to-date or fresh data here.
We regularly check these attributes, and if the values provided in these attributes are found to be different from the information presented on your website, we will remove all your items from Google Shopping. Please see our policies for more details.
Unique Product Identifiers
Unique product identifiers are product codes or other identifying values associated with an individual product:
- Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) submitted through the ‘gtin’ attribute. GTINs include UPC, EAN (in Europe), JAN(in Japan), and ISBN;
- Manufacturer Part Number (MPN) submitted through the 'mpn' attribute; and
- The manufacturer's brand name in the 'brand' attribute.
Custom goods are one-of-a-kind items for which no unique product identifiers exist, like vintage goods, collectibles, art, perishables, books published before 1970, and other special items.
Unique product identifiers are product codes or other identifying values associated with an individual product:
- Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) submitted through the ‘gtin’ attribute. GTINs include UPC, EAN (in Europe), JAN(in Japan), and ISBN;
- Manufacturer Part Number (MPN) submitted through the 'mpn' attribute; and
- The manufacturer's brand name in the 'brand' attribute.
Custom goods are one-of-a-kind items for which no unique product identifiers exist, like vintage goods, collectibles, art, perishables, books published before 1970, and other special items.
Unique Product Identifier Rules
- Apparel categories: 'brand' is required. Additionally, for the categories listed below, you must submit at least 1 out of 'gtin' or 'mpn’:
- 'Apparel & Accessories > Shoes'
- 'Apparel & Accessories > Clothing Accesories > Sunglasses'
- 'Apparel & Accessories > Handbags, Wallets & Cases > Handbags'
- 'Apparel & Accessories > Jewelry > Watches'
- Media and software categories: 'gtin' is required
- All other categories: at least 2 of the following 3 identifiers are required: ‘brand’, ‘gtin’, and ‘mpn’.
- Exception: in categories where unique product identifiers are required but no such identifier exists for an item (e.g. custom goods), submit 'identifier exists' with a value of FALSE.
If you don't provide the required unique product identifiers, your items may be removed from Google Shopping. For all of your items, we recommend submitting all three attributes (‘brand’, ‘mpn’, and ‘gtin’) where available.
- Apparel categories: 'brand' is required. Additionally, for the categories listed below, you must submit at least 1 out of 'gtin' or 'mpn’:
- 'Apparel & Accessories > Shoes'
- 'Apparel & Accessories > Clothing Accesories > Sunglasses'
- 'Apparel & Accessories > Handbags, Wallets & Cases > Handbags'
- 'Apparel & Accessories > Jewelry > Watches'
- Media and software categories: 'gtin' is required
- All other categories: at least 2 of the following 3 identifiers are required: ‘brand’, ‘gtin’, and ‘mpn’.
- Exception: in categories where unique product identifiers are required but no such identifier exists for an item (e.g. custom goods), submit 'identifier exists' with a value of FALSE.
If you don't provide the required unique product identifiers, your items may be removed from Google Shopping. For all of your items, we recommend submitting all three attributes (‘brand’, ‘mpn’, and ‘gtin’) where available.
Examples of unique product identifier submissions:
Books
- Rare old books: submit ‘identifier exists’ with a value of FALSE.
- New books (published after 1970): provide ISBN in the ‘gtin’ attribute.
Custom Goods
- Hand made goods: submit ‘identifier exists’ with a value of FALSE.
- Antique goods: submit ‘identifier exists’ with a value of FALSE.
Apparel
- Mass produced clothing: provide ‘brand’.
- Custom clothing: submit ‘identifier exists’ with a value of FALSE.
Multipacks
- Manufacturer-defined multipack: follow the Unique Product Identifier Rules as described above. This multipack should be treated as a single item.
- Merchant-defined multipack: follow the Unique Product Identifier Rules as described above for the individual base item in the multipack.
Product Bundles
- A manufacturer-defined bundle (e.g., a camera body with a lens): follow the Unique Product Identifier Rules as described above. This bundle should be treated as a single item.
- A merchant-defined bundle (e.g., a custom bundle of camera, lens, and case): submit ‘identifier exists’ with a value of FALSE for these items and do not provide unique product identifiers, even if the bundle contains some individual items that have unique product identifiers.
Books
- Rare old books: submit ‘identifier exists’ with a value of FALSE.
- New books (published after 1970): provide ISBN in the ‘gtin’ attribute.
Custom Goods
- Hand made goods: submit ‘identifier exists’ with a value of FALSE.
- Antique goods: submit ‘identifier exists’ with a value of FALSE.
Apparel
- Mass produced clothing: provide ‘brand’.
- Custom clothing: submit ‘identifier exists’ with a value of FALSE.
Multipacks
- Manufacturer-defined multipack: follow the Unique Product Identifier Rules as described above. This multipack should be treated as a single item.
- Merchant-defined multipack: follow the Unique Product Identifier Rules as described above for the individual base item in the multipack.
Product Bundles
- A manufacturer-defined bundle (e.g., a camera body with a lens): follow the Unique Product Identifier Rules as described above. This bundle should be treated as a single item.
- A merchant-defined bundle (e.g., a custom bundle of camera, lens, and case): submit ‘identifier exists’ with a value of FALSE for these items and do not provide unique product identifiers, even if the bundle contains some individual items that have unique product identifiers.
Apparel Products
Apparel includes all products that fall under 'Apparel & Accessories' (including all sub-categories) in Google’s product taxonomy.
For feeds targeting the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP:: The following attributes in this section are required across all products in the 'Apparel & Accessories' product category (including all subcategories):
- gender
- age group
- color
In addition, the ‘size’ attribute is only required for the apparel subcategories 'Apparel & Accessories > Clothing' and 'Apparel & Accessories > Shoes'. Recommended for other product categories (might become required in the future).
For all other countries: While the apparel attributes listed here are not currently required for countries outside the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP, they may become required in the future. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you include all the relevant attributes where possible.
Apparel includes all products that fall under 'Apparel & Accessories' (including all sub-categories) in Google’s product taxonomy.
For feeds targeting the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP:: The following attributes in this section are required across all products in the 'Apparel & Accessories' product category (including all subcategories):
- gender
- age group
- color
In addition, the ‘size’ attribute is only required for the apparel subcategories 'Apparel & Accessories > Clothing' and 'Apparel & Accessories > Shoes'. Recommended for other product categories (might become required in the future).
For all other countries: While the apparel attributes listed here are not currently required for countries outside the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP, they may become required in the future. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you include all the relevant attributes where possible.
Product Variants
We define variants as a group of identical products that only differ by the attributes ‘color’, ‘material’, ‘pattern’, or ‘size’.
Variant-level information is required only for products in the “'Apparel & Accessories' category, and all related subcategories. Apparel variants are only required for feeds targeting the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP. For feeds targeting other countries, the attributes are recommended and may be required in the future.
If you don't include variant attributes in your feed, you shouldn't submit several variants of the same product as separate listings (ex: the same product in different colors, sizes). These items will be considered as duplicates which is against our Program Policies. You can find more details about submitting variant data below.
By submitting variant products, you will help shoppers find what they are looking for more easily by either enabling them to navigate between the different product variations on a details page or helping them discover additional colors, sizes, patterns etc. for a given product.
How to submit variant data
- Begin by submitting an item for each variant. For example, if you offer a t-shirt in 4 colors and 5 sizes, you need to submit 20 item variants.
- Include unique ‘id’ attribute values for each item variant, just like you would for all the other items in your feed.
- To identify these items as variants of one another, you are required to include the ‘item group id’ attribute (required for apparel items in the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP) and submit identical values of this attribute for each variant in a given group.
- Include variant attributes that indicate what makes each variant unique . You can use one or more of the following attributes: ‘color’, ‘material’, ‘pattern’, or ‘size’.
- You must only include single values for each of these variant attributes and the values of these attributes must be unique across all variants in the group. For example: If one item in a variant group includes the values “Blue” and “L” for the ‘color’ and ‘size’ attributes, all other items in the variant group must have values for ‘color’ and ‘size’, and each offer must have a different combination of values for those attributes.
- You only need to send us data for variant attributes if your product varies by that specific attribute. So, if your shirts are all made of cotton, there’s no need to send the “Material” attribute. However, if your shirts were available in three colors and three sizes, you would send us nine separate line items, varying by color and size.
- For apparel items, it is required that you provide a unique image of the specific variant if the item differs by ‘color’, ‘pattern’ or ‘material’. For variants that differ only by ‘size’, you may submit identical images. We recommend sending separate images for variant products in other categories as well. But at this time we will not enforce this as a requirement for any category other than Apparel & Accessories.
- We also recommend you submit URL links that pre-select the variant. For example, if a user selects the red dress in size 10, they should be taken to a landing page, where the “red” and “size 10” options are already selected. If this is not possible, you may include identical link attribute values for each of the variant items within a group.
For apparel variants in feeds targeting the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP:
For apparel products that vary by 'color', 'material', 'pattern', and/or 'size', it is required to include the ‘item group id’ for each variant, where each item has a unique combination of attribute values to describe each variant.
For all other countries and categories:
All variant attributes in this section are recommended for apparel- and non-apparel variants, but may become required in the future. However, If you choose to include ‘item group id’, it is required that you also include at least one of the following variant attributes: ‘color’, ‘size’, ‘pattern’, ‘material’ and following the corresponding variant guidelines.
Please see this article for more information on submitting variant apparel products.
Important: When naming your variant products, be sure to include the title common to all variant items. Visit the ‘title’ attribute for more details.
We define variants as a group of identical products that only differ by the attributes ‘color’, ‘material’, ‘pattern’, or ‘size’.
Variant-level information is required only for products in the “'Apparel & Accessories' category, and all related subcategories. Apparel variants are only required for feeds targeting the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP. For feeds targeting other countries, the attributes are recommended and may be required in the future.
If you don't include variant attributes in your feed, you shouldn't submit several variants of the same product as separate listings (ex: the same product in different colors, sizes). These items will be considered as duplicates which is against our Program Policies. You can find more details about submitting variant data below.
By submitting variant products, you will help shoppers find what they are looking for more easily by either enabling them to navigate between the different product variations on a details page or helping them discover additional colors, sizes, patterns etc. for a given product.
How to submit variant data
- Begin by submitting an item for each variant. For example, if you offer a t-shirt in 4 colors and 5 sizes, you need to submit 20 item variants.
- Include unique ‘id’ attribute values for each item variant, just like you would for all the other items in your feed.
- To identify these items as variants of one another, you are required to include the ‘item group id’ attribute (required for apparel items in the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP) and submit identical values of this attribute for each variant in a given group.
- Include variant attributes that indicate what makes each variant unique . You can use one or more of the following attributes: ‘color’, ‘material’, ‘pattern’, or ‘size’.
- You must only include single values for each of these variant attributes and the values of these attributes must be unique across all variants in the group. For example: If one item in a variant group includes the values “Blue” and “L” for the ‘color’ and ‘size’ attributes, all other items in the variant group must have values for ‘color’ and ‘size’, and each offer must have a different combination of values for those attributes.
- You only need to send us data for variant attributes if your product varies by that specific attribute. So, if your shirts are all made of cotton, there’s no need to send the “Material” attribute. However, if your shirts were available in three colors and three sizes, you would send us nine separate line items, varying by color and size.
- For apparel items, it is required that you provide a unique image of the specific variant if the item differs by ‘color’, ‘pattern’ or ‘material’. For variants that differ only by ‘size’, you may submit identical images. We recommend sending separate images for variant products in other categories as well. But at this time we will not enforce this as a requirement for any category other than Apparel & Accessories.
- We also recommend you submit URL links that pre-select the variant. For example, if a user selects the red dress in size 10, they should be taken to a landing page, where the “red” and “size 10” options are already selected. If this is not possible, you may include identical link attribute values for each of the variant items within a group.
For apparel variants in feeds targeting the US, UK, DE, FR, and JP:
For apparel products that vary by 'color', 'material', 'pattern', and/or 'size', it is required to include the ‘item group id’ for each variant, where each item has a unique combination of attribute values to describe each variant.
For all other countries and categories:
All variant attributes in this section are recommended for apparel- and non-apparel variants, but may become required in the future. However, If you choose to include ‘item group id’, it is required that you also include at least one of the following variant attributes: ‘color’, ‘size’, ‘pattern’, ‘material’ and following the corresponding variant guidelines.
Please see this article for more information on submitting variant apparel products.
Important: When naming your variant products, be sure to include the title common to all variant items. Visit the ‘title’ attribute for more details.
Tax & Shipping
Taxes and shipping are an important part of the total cost of items. In fact, shipping cost is the most common reason for users abandoning their shopping choices. The 'tax' attribute is only applicable to feeds targeting the US - for all other countries except for Canada and India, value added tax (VAT) has to be included in the price. For Canada and India, it is required to submit prices that are exclusive of applicable taxes.
There are three ways to specify tax (US only) and shipping costs:
- Settings in the Merchant Center: We offer various ways to specify tax and shipping costs if your pricing structure is relatively simple. For example, if you have one shipping price for all your items, or if you use a structure based on the weight of the packaged item (in that case, include the shipping weight attribute), our system can easily accommodate your tax and shipping information. Learn more.
- Attributes in the feed: By using the tax and shipping attributes below, you can model more complex tax and shipping cost structures.
- Combination of the two: You can specify default tax and shipping information in the Merchant Center, and then override those defaults for certain products by specifying the attributes below.
You are required to use one of the ways above to specify tax and shipping in the US, and only shipping information in the UK, Germany and France.
If you can’t provide accurate tax or shipping information, please provide estimates. For example, you can provide tax as well as shipping cost for each product and state individually by using the tax and shipping attributes. Please estimate tax and shipping costs such that the total cost in Google Shopping results is either correct or overestimated for the majority of users.
Taxes and shipping are an important part of the total cost of items. In fact, shipping cost is the most common reason for users abandoning their shopping choices. The 'tax' attribute is only applicable to feeds targeting the US - for all other countries except for Canada and India, value added tax (VAT) has to be included in the price. For Canada and India, it is required to submit prices that are exclusive of applicable taxes.
There are three ways to specify tax (US only) and shipping costs:
- Settings in the Merchant Center: We offer various ways to specify tax and shipping costs if your pricing structure is relatively simple. For example, if you have one shipping price for all your items, or if you use a structure based on the weight of the packaged item (in that case, include the shipping weight attribute), our system can easily accommodate your tax and shipping information. Learn more.
- Attributes in the feed: By using the tax and shipping attributes below, you can model more complex tax and shipping cost structures.
- Combination of the two: You can specify default tax and shipping information in the Merchant Center, and then override those defaults for certain products by specifying the attributes below.
You are required to use one of the ways above to specify tax and shipping in the US, and only shipping information in the UK, Germany and France.
If you can’t provide accurate tax or shipping information, please provide estimates. For example, you can provide tax as well as shipping cost for each product and state individually by using the tax and shipping attributes. Please estimate tax and shipping costs such that the total cost in Google Shopping results is either correct or overestimated for the majority of users.
More detailed examples for the US
Merchant-Defined Multipacks
Multipacks are packages that include several identical products to create a larger unit of sale, submitted as a single item. Merchant-defined multipacks are custom groups of identical products submitted as a single unit of sale.
Multipacks are packages that include several identical products to create a larger unit of sale, submitted as a single item. Merchant-defined multipacks are custom groups of identical products submitted as a single unit of sale.
Adult Products
Google cares about the family status of the product listings you submit in order to make sure that appropriate content is shown to an appropriate audience. You should use the ‘adult’ attribute to indicate that individual items will be considered “adult” or “non-family safe”.
For more information on our “adult” or "non-family safe” status please refer to our Family Status Policy.
Google cares about the family status of the product listings you submit in order to make sure that appropriate content is shown to an appropriate audience. You should use the ‘adult’ attribute to indicate that individual items will be considered “adult” or “non-family safe”.
For more information on our “adult” or "non-family safe” status please refer to our Family Status Policy.
AdWords attributes
These attributes help you to organize your AdWords campaigns and track the traffic to your website.
These attributes help you to organize your AdWords campaigns and track the traffic to your website.
Unit Prices (EU Countries and Switzerland Only)
These attributes allow you to submit the unit pricing for your applicable products in feeds targeting European Union countries and Switzerland.
Please note that you should not submit both unit prices and energy labels for an item.
These attributes allow you to submit the unit pricing for your applicable products in feeds targeting European Union countries and Switzerland.
Please note that you should not submit both unit prices and energy labels for an item.
Energy Labels (EU Countries and Switzerland Only)
This attribute allows you to submit the energy label for your applicable products in feeds targeting European Union countries and Switzerland.
Please note that you should not submit both unit prices and energy labels for an item.
This attribute allows you to submit the energy label for your applicable products in feeds targeting European Union countries and Switzerland.
Please note that you should not submit both unit prices and energy labels for an item.
Loyalty Points (Japan Only)
The attribute below only applies to feeds which target Japan. It lets you specify how many and what type of loyalty points the customer receives when buying a product.
The attribute below only applies to feeds which target Japan. It lets you specify how many and what type of loyalty points the customer receives when buying a product.
Multiple Installments (Brazil Only)
The attribute below only applies to feeds which target Brazil. It lets you specify an additional option for users to pay in multiple installments.
The attribute below only applies to feeds which target Brazil. It lets you specify an additional option for users to pay in multiple installments.
Additional Attributes
The two attributes below allow you to control the destination of your items, and the period during which your items are valid.
The two attributes below allow you to control the destination of your items, and the period during which your items are valid.
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