Summary
This video provides a step-by-step tutorial on how to create and upload a product feed from Shopify to Google Merchant Center quickly and efficiently using Google Sheets. The presenter emphasizes saving time and avoiding common frustrations associated with feed setup for Google Shopping ads. The entire process is demonstrated live, aiming to complete it in under 15 minutes.
Key Steps and Insights
- Access Google Merchant Center and navigate to the Feeds section to add a new feed.
- Select country of sale (Australia), language (English), and destination (Shopping ads).
- Choose the Google Sheets feed option, which allows bulk upload of all products at once, as opposed to individual product uploads.
- Upon selecting Google Sheets, the system generates a spreadsheet template with the required columns for product data.
- Export product data from Shopify as a Plain CSV file containing all products.
- Import the CSV file into Google Sheets by copying and pasting values into the generated feed template without overwriting existing columns.
- Map Shopify product fields to the corresponding Google Merchant Center feed columns:
- Description → description
- Title → title
- Handle (Shopify URL ending) → ID or SKU (both can be used as identifiers)
- Vendor → brand
- Variant price → price
- Sale price (if applicable) → sale_price (Google-specific field)
- Image URLs → image_link (select best image, trim URLs to remove query parameters)
- Product URL formed as:
yourstore.com/products/handle - Condition → new (or refurbished if applicable)
- Availability → in stock (if live products)
- Google product category → critical for classification; find relevant category codes from Google’s taxonomy (example: 3320 for surfboards)
- GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) and MPN (Manufacturer Part Number) are important but may be unavailable for custom products; if missing, use SKU as MPN and brand to satisfy requirements.
- Upload the feed by clicking “fetch now” in Merchant Center to let Google crawl the spreadsheet.
- Expect a processing period of minutes to hours before Google validates the feed.
- Common issues such as “invalid or missing price” often relate to currency formatting; price must be formatted with the correct currency code (e.g.,
5.99 AUD). - Use Google’s documentation and search queries to troubleshoot errors.
- Google Merchant Center may take 1–3 days to approve and activate the feed.
- The Google Sheets feed is not dynamic: any changes on Shopify (price, availability) require manual updates in the Google Sheets feed to keep data accurate.
- Strongly recommend optimizing product titles and descriptions using relevant keywords, formulas, and customer search language to improve Shopping campaign performance.
Important Definitions and Concepts
| Term | Definition/Description |
|---|---|
| Feed | A file or data source containing product information uploaded to Google Merchant Center for Shopping ads. |
| Google Sheets Feed | A Google Sheets spreadsheet formatted to serve as a product feed for Google Merchant Center. |
| Shopify Handle | The unique URL slug for a product on Shopify, used as an identifier or link component. |
| GTIN | Global Trade Item Number, a unique product identifier required for many products in Google Shopping. |
| MPN | Manufacturer Part Number, another product identifier used when GTIN is unavailable. |
| Google Product Category | A numeric taxonomy code used to categorize products in Google Merchant Center, improving ad targeting. |
| Sale_price | Google Merchant Center attribute indicating a discounted price compared to the regular price. |
Timeline Table of Key Actions
| Timeframe (Approx.) | Action | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00–2:15 | Access Merchant Center, create new feed, choose Google Sheets | Setup feed template and permissions with Google account |
| 2:15–4:00 | Export products from Shopify as CSV, open in spreadsheet | Prepare Shopify product data for mapping |
| 4:00–7:00 | Map Shopify CSV columns to Google Sheets feed columns | Assign fields like title, description, price, URL, image |
| 7:00–9:30 | Add Google product categories and identifiers (GTIN/MPN) | Search Google taxonomy and fill identifiers or placeholders |
| 9:30–11:30 | Upload feed, fetch and check for errors | Resolve currency/price formatting errors |
| 11:30–14:50 | Verify feed status, discuss optimization strategies | Wait for approval; optimize titles, descriptions for SEO |
Core Recommendations
- Use Google Sheets feed for bulk product uploads to Merchant Center.
- Ensure correct mapping of Shopify data to Google-required fields.
- Pay attention to currency and price format to avoid errors.
- Add Google product categories for better ad targeting.
- Manually update the feed when product data changes, as Google Sheets feed is static.
- Optimize product titles and descriptions using customer search intent and niche-specific keywords.
- Use Google’s documentation and community resources for troubleshooting feed issues.
Conclusion
The video offers a practical, fast, and straightforward method to create and upload a Google Shopping feed from Shopify using Google Sheets. It addresses common challenges such as field mapping, category selection, and error troubleshooting. The presenter underscores the importance of ongoing feed optimization and manual updates due to the static nature of Google Sheets feeds, making this tutorial a valuable starting point for e-commerce store owners aiming to launch Google Shopping campaigns efficiently.
TLDR
Guide on How to create search campaign in google ads. Google search ad campaign are very vital for businesses. Search campaign google ads offer you high intent users who are looking for your products & services. google ad search campaign should be one of the first channels to find hot users looking for your products. search campaigns google ads can be easily setup using the methods shared in this blog.