To ensure proper performance of your ecommerce Google Shopping and campaigns, you must use Google Merchant Center to its extent. By keeping your product inventory free from errors and update your account continuously, you’ll improve your quality score and get better results from your advertising campaigns, day by day!

What is Google Merchant Center?

Google Merchant Center is an online dashboard where your ecommerce can gather all your products and manage every detail about them and about your business as a whole. It’s an inventory, designed to give you an overview of your products and Google Shopping feeds – and works as a database where you can manage and edit your different items. In Google Merchant Center, there are three primary sections your ecommerce really could benefit from keeping an extra eye on.

1. Fix your errors in Diagnostics

In Google Merchant Center under Products, you’ll find the Diagnostics section. This section offers thorough issue reporting across your whole account for every product or feed you have. Here you’ll find in detail what errors are affecting your products, and what you have to prioritize optimising due to issue severity. It might be that you have too small images or low image resolution, invalid GTIN values, incorrect prices or shipping costs. These errors are serious issues that stop your products from being shown to users – or ultimately could lead to account suspension. The diagnostics section also shows warnings, which are not as urgent as the errors – and notifications, that are recommended but not required optimizations to your products. The goal is of course to have as many approved products as possible, as well as a complete account. Fixing errors in your feed can feel like an overwhelming task at first – but if you go at it systematically (and continue to maintain this section), it will show results!

[Screenshot of errors, warnings and notifications in Diagnostics]

2. Optimize your 10 best selling ecommerce products

In the section Products of Google Merchant Center, you have a complete list of all your current products. To make sure your Google Shopping campaigns will have the potential to perform at their absolute best – start by looking at your top 10 best selling products and optimize them. Make sure to really scrutinize every product – are its photos updated? Is the category and product type correct? Is the description the right length and contains the right keywords? Does it have any customer reviews, or do you need to add this feature to your site? Update the title to ensure all your keywords are featured and edit the URL to match it. Also check availability and price for each product, since it’s information that Google Merchant Center gathers automatically from your site and could result in errors as mentioned.

Learn more: Checklist for Google Merchant Center and Google Shopping

[Screenshot of product list/example of a product and its specifications]

3. Fill in all of your ecommerce business information – down to detail

Finally, the section Business information is somewhat of a hygienic factor in Google Merchant Center. Update your ecommerce information in detail – from company name, domain and admin info to business costs. How much are you paying for shipping? Taxes? Do you have different delivery zones? By providing this information about your ecommerce, you add even more value to Google – and to the users. Google provides several official guides to both set up your tax settings as well as set up your shipping settings in Google Merchant Center.

[Screenshot of details and business information in Google Merchant Center]

The best way to use Google Merchant Center

The key to using Google Merchant Center in its full potential is to make sure all your products and information are as updated and complete as possible. Make it a regular part of your weekly job – to check your setup, optimize any errors or warnings, and updating new business information. The better your setup is, the higher quality score you’ll get. And the better your quality score – the better your results! Quality score is Google’s way of giving you grades, and making you more visible to the users. Usually, if you have low visibility – you have to pay more for your Shopping ads. The more specific and detailed your descriptions are – the more chances you give Google to see and understand your products, and ultimately show them to more users.