Most advertisers treat their Google Merchant Center as a technical set up task: connect the platform, sync the catalogue, fix the red warnings and move on. However, there’s much more to it than keeping everything running smoothly.
Your product data influences how Google understands your products, which searches they can appear for and what shoppers see before they visit your website. Getting it right can help you improve product visibility, attract more relevant clicks and make better use of your Google Ads budget.
Indeed, two retailers can sell the same trainers at the same price, with the same bid and the same budget, and see very different results. The difference is rarely the campaign. It is the data underneath it: the title, the image, the identifiers and the accuracy of what has been submitted.
For this reason, at GA Agency, we see Merchant Center optimisation as an important part of a wider Paid Media strategy. Rather than just focusing solely on bids and budgets, we look at the product data behind the campaigns, identify opportunities for improvement and prioritise changes based on their potential commercial impact.
So, where should you start? We recommend focusing on three key areas: product titles, imagery and data accuracy.
Titles decide whether you are matched to the search
Shopping listings are not as manageable as search ads are. In Shopping, you do not choose keywords the way you do in search ads. Instead, Google reads your data and decides which queries each product is relevant to, which makes the title the strongest signal you control. A title such as “Red Bag” tells Google and the shopper very little, whereas “[Brand Name] Women’s Small Classic Leather Bag, Red” gives both what they need to match intent.
Our advice is to lead with the brand, product type and the attribute shoppers filter by, then add the detail, because long titles above 70 characters are cut off in most ad formats. If you sell across more than one category, resist the urge to use one template across the whole catalogue: a sofa shopper cares about size and fabric, while a bag shopper cares about brand, colour and model. We also recommend checking your search terms to see how shoppers actually describe your products, then testing which attribute works best first and second, such as colour before size, or brand before product type.
Takeaway: treat the title as your keyword strategy for Shopping, and test structures rather than assuming one is right.
Images win the click before price does
On a results page full of product tiles, the image does the first job. A grid of identical studio shots on pure white is clean, but it makes products blur together, so yours is harder to spot next to your competitors’. This is where creative choices pay off.
We recommend testing beyond the standard white-background shot. Google does not require one, so try tinted, textured or in-context backgrounds, compare lifestyle with product-only imagery, and refresh your creatives around seasonal moments, such as the run-up to Black Friday or Christmas. While doing so, remember to stay within Google’s image guidelines: no promotional overlays, logos, watermarks or borders, and from 31 January 2027 a minimum of 500 x 500 pixels.
Test one change at a time on a defined group of products, and compare click-through rate and conversion rate against your existing images before rolling anything out. This is a test rather than a guaranteed uplift, so let the results decide what you scale.
Takeaway: differentiate your image within Google’s rules, and measure click-through rate against your existing creative before rolling it out.
Clean data protects your budget and your approvals
Poor data is expensive in two ways. Disapproved products do not show at all, and products with weak identifiers or vague categories are matched less precisely, having the budget being spent in the not-most-effective way. Price or availability mismatches also send shoppers away from the landing page, which wastes the click you paid for.
Our advice is to start with the fundamentals: correct GTINs (Global Trade Item Numbers), which Google reports gave retailers 20% more clicks on average, specific categories such as “Clothing > Accessories > Bags”, and price and stock levels that update automatically so the feed always matches your website. Then check your Merchant Center diagnostics regularly rather than treating it as a one-off clean-up, and fix issues on your best sellers first, because that is where mistakes cost the most.
Takeaway: accurate, complete and consistent data is the cheapest performance improvement in your account, because it comes before the bid.
Our Final Checklist
Considering everything above, this is what we recommend doing next.
- Start with your best sellers. Review titles, images, identifiers and categories for the products driving the most revenue, and fix critical issues before the long tail.
- Test your title structure. Change one thing at a time, such as which attribute comes first, and track the effect on clicks and conversions.
- Test your creatives beyond the obvious. Follow Google’s image formatting guidelines, then try different backgrounds, lifestyle versus product-only imagery and seasonal creative. Measure each variation against your current images before rolling it out.
- Keep your data clean. Add correct GTINs, use specific product categories, and make sure price and availability always match your website. Check your Merchant Center diagnostics regularly.
Next step
Merchant Center optimisation takes time, technical knowledge and ongoing attention. Its value is greatest when product data and paid media campaigns are managed together, with insights from one informing decisions about the other.
At GA Agency, we take an integrated approach to Google Merchant Center and Google Ads. By combining product feed optimisation with campaign management, we help businesses identify opportunities, prioritise improvements and make more informed decisions about their paid media investment.
Want to get more from your Google Shopping campaigns? Get in touch with us to discuss how a more joined-up approach to Merchant Center and Google Ads could support your business goals.
Sources
- Google Merchant Center Help: Tips to optimize your product data
- Google Merchant Center Help: Image link [image_link]
- Google Merchant Center Help: GTIN [gtin]
- Google Merchant Center Help: Product Studio
Article author
Martina Fazio
Account Specialist
