How To Get Set Up in Google Manufacturer Center

Google Manufacturer Center (GMfC) is the company’s newest tool for Brands to gain tighter control over their product listings in ecommerce. In the last article, we went over why it’s worth it for brands to enroll. Here, we give you the lowdown on how to enroll and set up your account.

The first order of business is organizing your data feed according to the guidelines in Google Manufacturer Center.

Getting your product data feed set up

As with every channel, Google has its own unique requirements for configuring your product data. Some of the guidelines are absolute requirements, while others are recommended. Following recommendations will always help your products rank a little higher in whatever is the current algorithm, so try to set it up for all to appear.

Here is how Google Manufacturer Center wants your product data organized:

Manufacturer Center accepts data feeds in TSV and XML format. Make sure your file is saved accordingly.

TIP: These requirements can often change, requiring that you update frequently. You can save time by working with ShoppingFeed to handle all your uploads. We will always have GMfC’s most recent channel specifications built into our system as a ready-to-use feed template.

Submitting your data feed

You can either upload manually or in bulk, depending on how many products you are listing.

Manual Uploads

Manual or direct upload is best suited for brand owners with a limited (<10) number of products. This can be done through the Product Editor within the Manufacturer Center interface. Since this approach requires you to manually type in each and every product detail, it’s not optimal for brands with more than 10 products.

Bulk Uploads

Bulk submission or bulk upload, on the other hand, allows you to upload all of your product content at once – in a single go.
This can save a ton of time for brands with hundreds or thousands of products. This can either be completed in-house or through a third-party data partner.

In-house: Only with the right technical know-how can a bulk upload be managed in house. Once set up, you can upload your feed through FTP, SFTP, or scheduled fetches.

Third-party data partner: For large and complex Manufacturer center accounts, Google recommends working with a data partner. These are companies that can manage and/or distribute product content on your behalf. The right partner will already have the Manufacturer Center API integrated into its platform, ensuring your content is always up-to-date on Google.

TIP: Whichever bulk submission option you choose, it’s going to require some technical understanding. Bypass this and upload products more easily with a syndication partner like Shoppingfeed that is already connected with the Manufacturer Center API.

Wait for approval from Google

No matter which upload method you choose, every product’s content will need to be checked and approved by Google. You don’t need to do anything here other than wait for the status update from Manufacturer Center.

Mistakes do happen, and feeds aren’t always approved. If your product(s) are disapproved, some common reasons are:

1. Empty required fields
2. Incorrect spelling, grammar or punctuation;
3. Presence of HTML code or special symbols
4. Inaccurate or outdated product information.

Shopping campaigns with partners is currently in early beta. If you’re a brand and want to try it out with one of your retail partners, you can fill out the interest form here, and Google will reach out to you with the next steps.

Shoppingfeed is a certified Partner in Google’s Shopping platform, as well as in every major online marketplace worldwide.