Google Merchant Center Product Data Specification: Required vs Optional Attributes

Your product feed is the foundation of your Shopping performance. Missing required attributes cause disapprovals. Missing recommended attributes limit your reach. Understanding which is which saves time and improves results.

Required Attributes for All Products

Every product in your Merchant Center feed requires: id (unique product identifier), title (descriptive product name), description (accurate product description), link (landing page URL), image link (main product image), availability (in stock, out of stock, or preorder), price (current selling price with currency), and condition (new, refurbished, or used).

For most products you also need brand and GTIN (Global Trade Item Number such as UPC or EAN). If you manufacture the product yourself and it has no GTIN, you can set identifier exists to false, but this limits Shopping Ad eligibility.

Required for Specific Categories

Apparel products require additional attributes: gender, age group, color, size, and size system. These must be accurate and consistent with the actual product. Mismatches between the listed size and the product landing page trigger policy violations.

Products with variants (different colors, sizes, or styles of the same base product) require item group id to link variants together. Google then shows the most relevant variant for each search query.

Recommended Attributes That Improve Performance

Google product category improves your placement accuracy in Shopping results. Product type lets you define your own taxonomy for use in campaign targeting. Additional image link lets you add up to ten more product images. Sale price shows crossed-out pricing when you have a promotion running.

Shipping and tax attributes are required in some countries but recommended in others. Providing them always improves your eligibility for Shopping Ads and free listings.

Common Feed Errors That Cause Suspensions

The most frequent data quality issues that trigger Merchant Center suspensions include price mismatches between the feed and the landing page, missing GTIN for branded products, inaccurate availability information, and image policy violations (text overlay, watermarks, stock photos for fashion items).

GMCSuspension's audit tool scans 52 policy requirements against your active feed and flags each violation with the specific attribute causing the issue. Run it before submitting any reinstatement request.