Google's New Data Feed Rules: Images, Multi-Packs and Custom Products
This May, Google announced data feed specification updates for online merchants using Product Listing Ads.
If you are an online merchant selling on Google in the US, data feed updates were required on July 15th, but for all other countries merchants have until September 16th. Everyone should familiarize themselves with the new guidelines.
The new data feed requirements, include changes to product identifiers, sellers who have multipack items, product images, and family safe products. You can check out the new Google data feed specifications here.
You can also check out Google’s troubleshooting video below:
What You Should Know About Google’s New Data Feed Specifications:
- Larger Images: Google wants them.
- Multi-Packs & Product Bundles: If a retailer sells custom bundles – like a shirt + pant combo, or an Ink Multipack with multiple quantities of ink cartridges, there are now special rules for those. Guidelines copied from the updated Feed Spec page below.
- Custom Products: If a product is custom and doesn’t have an ID, you can submit “Identifier Exists” with a value of “False.”
- Color: You can now submit 3 colors separated by a “/” in order of prominence.
- Merchants promoting non-family safe items on family-safe websites can now tag individual items as non-family safe. If your website is deemed family-safe you can now submit non-family safe items as long as you include an “Adult” column with a value of “True” for all non-family safe products.
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: fFollow 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.
If you’re not sure your data feed meets the requirements, you can test it here.
Learn More About Google’s Data Feed Update:
Implementing Google’s New Data Feed Specifications – Practical Ecommerce
Upcoming Google Product Search Feed Specification And Policy Changes – Google Merchant Blog
Questions about getting your Google feed up to speed? Reach out in the comments!
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