Google Merchant Center & Product Feed
Here’s how to get your products into Google Search and Shopping ads: Create a feed URL, connect it to Merchant Center, and maintain the information Google requires for each item. Also covered: labels for your campaigns, your stores’ local inventory, and Google customer reviews.
At a Glance
- Product feed: The store generates the feed itself. You set up the address under Tools → Google Merchant Center, and Merchant Center retrieves it regularly.
- Information per item: Item number, GTIN, brand, price, and availability are retrieved from the item. You maintain the Google product category, MPN, condition, and labels in additional fields.
- Settings: The feed toggles are located with the other Google settings under Settings → Interfaces → SEO/SEA → Google Services.
- More than just products: Review feed, feed for your stores’ local inventory, and the store widget with Google customer reviews.
- No additional module is required for the feed, labels, or local inventory. Marketing automation can automatically set labels.
In this guide
Generate Feed Address
The store generates the product feed from your current product data each time it is retrieved. All you need is the correct URL.
- Open the generator: Tools → Google Merchant Center, “Google Merchant Center” tab, “Feed URL Generator” section.
- Feed type: “Google Merchant Center (XML).”
- Customer group (for price calculation): the group whose prices Google should display—usually your end-customer group.
- Currency, delivery country (for shipping costs), language (for product descriptions): Select the appropriate settings for the country where you’re advertising.
- Include volume discounts/tiered pricing: Normally, do not check this box. Google does not have a separate field for tiered pricing.
- Apply: The completed address appears under “Generated Feed URL.” Click “Copy URL” to copy it, or “Open Feed” to view the result.
The Feed URL Generator under Tools → Google Merchant Center. The completed address is displayed on the right for copying. Click to enlarge.
For example, an address looks like this: https://www.ihr-shop.de/xoport-pp.php?id=1&customers_group_id=0. If the currency, country, or language differs from the store’s default, the generator appends the appropriate details. The generator is available from XONIC at 4.7.12.
Integrate into Merchant Center
In Google Merchant Center, set up the feed as a data source. Google will then retrieve it automatically.
- Verify your website: Your store’s domain must be verified and claimed in Merchant Center. The easiest way to do this is via Search Console; see Connecting Google Search Console.
- Create a data source: Under Settings → Data Sources, click “Add product source” in the “Product sources” tab, select “Add products from a file,” and enter the feed URL from your store as a link to the file.
- Country and Language: Select the target country and language that match the feed address. Create a separate address for each target country with the appropriate shipping country and a separate data source.
- Schedule Retrieval: Under “Edit Schedule,” set up a daily retrieval. After major changes, you can also start the retrieval manually.
- Shipping and Returns: You always define the return policy in Merchant Center. You only need to enter shipping costs there if you do not include a shipping column in the feed (see Feed Settings).
After the first retrieval, Merchant Center displays the items and their statuses under “Products.” Correct any missing information in your store; the next retrieval will incorporate these changes.
What Google Needs for Each Product
The store retrieves most details from the product. You enter some of them in the product’s additional fields.
| Information on Google | Source in the store |
|---|---|
ID (id) | Product ID (the “General” tab). This same ID is used to report tracking data to Google Analytics and Google Ads. |
| Title and description | Product name and description, as plain text without HTML |
| Price and Special Price | Price for the customer group from the feed URL; an active special offer as sale_price |
| availability | from inventory; sold-out items are reported to Google as “out of stock.” The “Google Availability (xoPort)” field is only taken into account if “Check Inventory” is turned off. |
| GTIN | "GTIN Code" field in the "General" tab. If multiple values are separated by commas, the first one is used. The store omits any GTIN with an incorrect check digit from the feed. |
| Image | Main image of the item |
Brand (brand) | "Product Manufacturer" in the "General" tab. If no manufacturer is specified, the brand will be missing from the feed. |
| MPN | Additional field “Manufacturer Part Number (MPN)” |
| Google Product Category | Additional field “Google Product Category (xoPort)”: The folder icon to the left of the field opens the selection from the Google taxonomy; you cannot type the value directly. For adding multiple items at once, see “Adding Multiple Items at Once.” |
| Product Type | Your store category; can be set differently via the “Google Product Type (Store Category)” additional field |
| Condition | Additional field “Google Condition (xoPort)”, empty = new |
| Base Price | Based on the item’s base price information if the base price feature is enabled; can be overridden via the “Google Base Quantity” additional field |
| Variants | Each item in a product family is sent to Google individually, linked via the “Product Group (Master/Slave Products)” field in the “General” tab as item_group_id. Attributes only become separate items if they have their own item number for each value as the primary option. |
| Clothing | Additional fields for color, size, size type, size system, gender, age group, and material |
You can find the additional fields in the item form under the “Miscellaneous” tab in the “Product Extra Fields” section.
Google fields in the product form (the “Miscellaneous” tab). Select the Google product category using the folder icon. Click to enlarge.
The store does not transfer these items
- inactive items and items without an item number
- Items without an image or with a price of 0
- Items that are blocked for the customer group associated with the feed address, including those in a blocked category (via XONIC 4.9.62)
- Items with a GTIN starting with 98 or 99 (internal numbers)
- Depending on the feed settings, items without a GTIN and variants within a product family
You can intentionally exclude individual items by entering a keyword in the “xoport Filter” field on the “Miscellaneous” tab of the item form and appending it to the feed address &products_xoport=<Kennwort>&blacklist=1. The Feed URL Generator does not offer this option. Instructions on how to do this—for example, to create your own feed for Meta—can be found in the guide “Advertising Platforms & Conversion Tracking.”
Assigning Multiple Items at Once
Under Products → Categories / Products, select categories or items using the checkmark icon and choose “Google Assignment” from the “Selected…” menu. In the window, set the Google product category, condition, availability, and labels for all selected items; for categories, this includes subcategories as well. For items that are also in an unselected category, the window will only make changes if you enable “Also overwrite products linked to More Categories.” Click “Update” to save.
Feed Settings
The first three toggles are located under Settings → Interfaces → SEO/SEA → Google Services; the shipping column is under Checkout.
Do not transfer products without a GTIN
Omit items with an empty “GTIN Code” field. By default, they are sent to Google without a GTIN, and if the MPN is also missing, a note is included stating that no identifier exists. Items with a GTIN that has an incorrect check digit remain in the feed, but without the GTIN. Since XONIC 4.8.5.
Do not transfer family slaves
Transfers only the main item (master) from a product family. Useful if the variants do not have their own GTINs or prices. By default, all variants are sent to Google individually. Since XONIC 4.8.9.
Clean up capitalization in the title
Google flags titles written in all caps. This toggle changes “CORDLESS SCREWDRIVER” in the feed to “Cordless Screwdriver.” Brand names, values containing numbers, and common abbreviations remain unchanged; enter any other abbreviations under “Google Feed: Terms That Remain Capitalized.” Nothing changes in the store. Since XONIC 4.9.17.
Shipping in the Feed
You can specify whether the feed includes shipping costs under Settings → Checkout → Shipping/Packaging: “Settings for Google Merchant Center Shipping Column (xoPort).” For individual items, the additional field “Shipping Costs Google Feed (xoPort)” overrides the value.
Custom Labels
Use five labels (custom_label_0 through custom_label_4) to group items for your campaigns, for example by margin, season, or bestsellers.
Creating Labels
Under Tools → Google Merchant Center, in the “Custom Labels” tab, use “Create New Label” to set the following values: Name, an optional alternate transfer name for the feed, color, and which of the five labels the value applies to. Use “Change Label Names” to name the five labels according to their purpose.
Apply to the product
In the product form (under the “Miscellaneous” tab, “Product Extra Fields”), select a value for each label; for multiple products at once, use “Google Assignment.”
Set Automatically
With marketing automation, you can set labels based on rules. This feature replaces the previous Label Rule Editor and requires the XONIC Premium Marketing add-on module.
Custom labels: For each value, enter a transfer name and the label (custom_label_0 through custom_label_4) for which it can be selected. Click to enlarge.
On the item page, select one of the approved values for each label. Click to enlarge.
In Google Ads, use the labels as filters in your asset or product groups—for example, to set a higher budget for bestsellers.
Local Inventory
If you have brick-and-mortar stores, Google can show which items are in stock there upon request. To do this, the store provides its own feed for local inventory.
- Google requirements: a business profile listing your locations and store codes, linked to Merchant Center, and enrollment in the program for free local listings or ads for local inventory.
- Branches in the store: Under Settings → Checkout → Branches, in the “Google: Local Inventory” section, enable “Participate in the feed” for each branch and enter the “Google Store Code” from your business profile, using exactly the same case (upper and lowercase letters). Under “In-Store Pickup,” a branch can deviate from the general setting.
- Settings: In the “Google Services” group, specify whether pickup is offered, the minimum order value required for free pickup, whether quantities and your store’s prices are transferred, and what applies to stores without their own inventory. If you charge fees for in-store pickup or require a minimum order value, Google has required pickup costs to be reported in the EU since September 30, 2026. The fee is retrieved from the shipping module for in-store pickup and is only transmitted if it is greater than 0.00.
- Feed Address: In the Feed URL Generator, select the feed type “Google Local Inventory (XML)” and use the same settings as for the product feed. The generator shows how many stores are participating.
- Exclude individual items: For items not available in-store, mark them as “Not available in-store” in the “Prices” tab.
Local inventory has been available since XONIC 4.9.15. As long as a store hasn’t enabled “Participate in the feed” and doesn’t have a “Google Store Code,” the feed address will return an error, and Merchant Center will report a failed retrieval.
Reviews and Store Widget
Stars in ads and search results make products more visible. The store sends your product reviews to Google and integrates Google customer reviews.
Review Feed
Append &export_type=reviews to your feed address. It will then deliver the approved reviews for the items in the feed. Participation in the Google Product Reviews program is required; Google mandates a minimum number of reviews (currently 50). Next, enter the address in Merchant Center under Reviews → “Manage product review sources.”
Google Customer Reviews
When you enter your Merchant Center ID in the “Google Merchant Center ID (Store Widget & Customer Reviews)” field, a Google dialog box appears on the order confirmation asking whether the customer may be asked via email to leave a review after delivery. For this purpose, Google receives the order number, email address, and country of delivery; the store automatically reports the delivery date as five days after the order was placed. You can specify when the dialog appears under Settings → Privacy → General using “Privacy Consents for Review Portals (eKomi, Trusted Shops, Google Customer Reviews)”: With the “opt-in” setting, only customers who have given their consent will see it; with “advise” or “false,” everyone will see it. The dialog does not prompt for the cookie banner.
Store Widget
The widget displays your merchant rating on Google. You can specify where it appears using “Google Store Widget: Display on.” The default setting is “all” (every page); we recommend “checkout_success,” meaning only the order confirmation page. On smartphones, it is hidden by default so that it does not cover any buttons. The widget loads from Google servers; be sure to mention this in your privacy policy. In older versions, it loaded without consent; since version 4.9.144, it loads only after consent is given in the cookie window. from 4.9.144
Settings at a Glance
Under Settings → Interfaces → SEO/SEA → Google Services, unless otherwise specified.
- Google Feed: Do not transfer products without a GTIN
GOOGLE_FEED_REQUIRE_GTIN - Default: Off
- Google Feed: Do not transfer family slaves
GOOGLE_FEED_EXCLUDE_SLAVES - Default: Off, all variants are transferred
- Google Feed: Clean up capitalization in the title
GOOGLE_FEED_TITLE_FIX_CAPS - Default: Off. Exceptions in “Google Feed: Terms That Remain Capitalized.”
- Local Inventory: In-store pickup, free shipping, quantity, threshold for limited availability, stores without inventory assignment, custom store prices
GOOGLE_LOCAL_FEED_* - Control the feed for local inventory.
- Google Merchant Center ID (Store Widget & Customer Reviews)
GOOGLE_CUSTOMER_REVIEWS_MERCHANT_ID - Your Merchant Center ID. Blank = no widget and no customer reviews.
- Google Store Widget: Show on, Hide on mobile, Bottom margin (desktop, px), Bottom margin (mobile, px)
GOOGLE_MERCHANT_WIDGET_* - Pages, mobile devices, and widget position.
- Settings for Google Merchant Center Shipping Column (xoport)
SHIPPING_DEFAULT_MODUL_GOOGLE - Under Settings → Checkout → Shipping/Packaging: which shipping method the feed reports as shipping costs. The feed only includes the delivery country for each feed address.
Pitfalls: Why an Item Is Missing
Here’s what to look out for
- Item is completely missing: See “Items the store does not transfer”: usually the image, item number, or price is missing, or the item is blocked for the customer group.
- “GTIN missing” in Merchant Center: The “GTIN Code” field is empty or has an incorrect check digit.
- Values missing after “Google Mapping”: Fields left blank in the window have overwritten existing values.
- Incorrect price: The feed address uses a different customer group than your end customers, or the gross and net prices do not match the target country.
- Rejected titles: Titles in all caps or containing promotional text. Enable the “Google Feed: Clean up capitalization in titles” toggle.
- All items “out of stock”: You have no inventory. Set the additional field “Google Availability (xoPort)” to “In Stock” for many items via “Google Mapping.” This only works as long as “Check Inventory” is turned off.
- Retrieval fails: A country restriction in the store is blocking Google’s retrieval service. Starting with XONIC 4.9.102, the store allows access for the feed address. For older versions, please contact us.
- Incorrect shipping costs: The shipping column in the feed and the shipping settings in Merchant Center conflict. Use one of the two methods.
Checklist: Set up the product feed
- Check product data —product number, GTIN, manufacturer, Google product category, image, and price.
- Feed settings —set GTIN as required, define variants, titles, and the shipping column.
- Generate feed address – under Tools → Google Merchant Center; verify in your browser.
- Merchant Center – Verify your website, create a data source with daily retrieval, and configure shipping and returns.
- Review diagnostics – Resolve any issues indicated in Merchant Center within the store.
- Optional – Labels, local inventory, rating feed, customer reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there an extra charge for the product feed?
How often does Google update the data?
Do I need a separate feed for each country?
What do I enter for items without a GTIN?
How do I assign multiple items to a Google product category?
Further Guides
We Get Your Products on Google
We’ll set up your feed and Merchant Center with you and help if Google rejects any items.
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