Export Products to Google Merchant Feed (Turnkey)

Export Products to Google Merchant Feed (Turnkey)

We have been working with Google Merchant Center for over five years and have implemented integrations for 50+ stores with catalogs ranging from 100 to 50,000 products. Once, a client lost 30% of traffic due to an error in the availability attribute: the system showed in_stock when the product was out of stock. Google disapproved all ads. Such situations are typical when feeds are assembled manually or hastily. Proper feed setup is not just an XML export — it's a guarantee that every product will pass moderation and appear in Shopping.

Feed Formats and Structure — Export Products to

Why Should the Feed Be Generated Correctly?

Google checks every attribute. A price mismatch between the site and the feed means immediate disapproval. Missing GTIN for branded products reduces impressions. We ensure your feed meets every point of the Product Data Specification.

Compare two approaches: XML feed and Content API. XML feed is better suited for static catalogs, while Content API is 10 times faster for updates (due to push model). After switching to API, our clients save up to 40% of feed update time.

Required Attributes

XML Feed Structure

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <rss version="2.0" xmlns:g="http://base.google.com/ns/1.0"> <channel> <title>My Store</title> <link>https://example.com</link> <description>Product feed</description> <item> <g:id>SKU-12345</g:id> <g:title>Samsung Galaxy S24 256GB Black</g:title> <g:description>Flagship smartphone Samsung...</g:description> <g:link>https://example.com/product/12345</g:link> <g:image_link>https://cdn.example.com/12345.jpg</g:image_link> <g:additional_image_link>https://cdn.example.com/12345-2.jpg</g:additional_image_link> <g:availability>in_stock</g:availability> <g:price>price depends on product</g:price> <g:sale_price>sale price depends on product</g:sale_price> <g:brand>Samsung</g:brand> <g:gtin>4895183805887</g:gtin> <g:mpn>SM-S921BZKDSER</g:mpn> <g:condition>new</g:condition> <g:product_type>Electronics > Smartphones</g:product_type> <g:google_product_category>267</g:google_product_category> <g:color>Black</g:color> <g:size>One Size</g:size> <g:item_group_id>GALAXY-S24</g:item_group_id> <g:shipping> <g:country>RU</g:country> <g:service>Courier delivery</g:service> <g:price>shipping cost depends on location</g:price> </g:shipping> </item> </channel> </rss> 

The item_group_id attribute is critical for products with variations — it groups variants (color, size) into one Shopping card.

How to Set Up Google Product Category Mapping?

Google Product Category (GPC) is a numeric code from the official taxonomy. For an online store, a mapping table of internal categories to GPC codes is necessary. We automate this process: we create a mapping that considers the category hierarchy and inherits codes from parent sections.

class GoogleCategoryMapper { private array $mapping = [ 'smartphones' => 267, // Electronics > Communications > Phones 'laptops' => 328, // Electronics > Computers > Laptops 'headphones' => 232, // Electronics > Audio > Headphones 'shoes-men' => 187, // Apparel > Shoes > Men 'refrigerators' => 4356, // Appliances > Kitchen Appliances > Refrigerators ]; public function map(Category $category): ?int { // Search by category slug or its ancestors $slugs = $category->ancestors()->pluck('slug')->push($category->slug); foreach ($slugs->reverse() as $slug) { if (isset($this->mapping[$slug])) { return $this->mapping[$slug]; } } return null; // Google allows missing GPC but it reduces feed quality } } 

The mapping can be extended to all store categories. We recommend preparing a list of your categories and corresponding GPC codes in advance — this speeds up implementation.

Feed Generation: XML and API

PHP/Laravel Feed Generator

class GoogleMerchantFeedBuilder { public function build(string $outputPath): void { $writer = new XMLWriter(); $writer->openUri($outputPath); $writer->startDocument('1.0', 'UTF-8'); $writer->startElement('rss'); $writer->writeAttribute('version', '2.0'); $writer->writeAttribute('xmlns:g', 'http://base.google.com/ns/1.0'); $writer->startElement('channel'); $this->writeChannelMeta($writer); Product::with(['category.ancestors', 'brand', 'images', 'variants']) ->active() ->hasPrice() ->chunk(500, function ($products) use ($writer) { foreach ($products as $product) { if ($product->variants->isNotEmpty()) { foreach ($product->variants as $variant) { $this->writeVariantItem($writer, $product, $variant); } } else { $this->writeItem($writer, $product); } } }); $writer->endElement(); // channel $writer->endElement(); // rss $writer->endDocument(); $writer->flush(); } private function writeItem(XMLWriter $w, Product $p): void { $w->startElement('item'); $w->writeElement('g:id', $p->sku); $w->writeElement('g:title', $this->sanitizeTitle($p->name)); $w->writeElement('g:description', strip_tags($p->description)); $w->writeElement('g:link', route('product.show', $p->slug)); $w->writeElement('g:image_link', $p->mainImage()?->url ?? ''); $w->writeElement('g:availability', $p->in_stock ? 'in_stock' : 'out_of_stock'); $w->writeElement('g:price', number_format($p->price, 2, '.', '') . ' RUB'); if ($p->sale_price) { $w->writeElement('g:sale_price', number_format($p->sale_price, 2, '.', '') . ' RUB'); } $w->endElement(); } private function sanitizeTitle(string $title): string { $title = preg_replace('/[!]{2,}/', '!', $title); return mb_substr($title, 0, 150); } } 

Upload via Content API v2.1

For large catalogs and instant price/stock updates, API is preferable:

use Google\Service\ShoppingContent; class GoogleContentApiUploader { private ShoppingContent $service; private string $merchantId; public function batchUpsert(Collection $products): void { $entries = $products->map(fn($p) => [ 'batchId' => $p->id, 'merchantId' => $this->merchantId, 'method' => 'insert', 'product' => $this->toApiProduct($p), ])->values()->toArray(); foreach (array_chunk($entries, 1000) as $batch) { $this->service->products->custombatch([ 'entries' => $batch, ]); } } } 

API integration allows updating price and stock within minutes without waiting for a file recrawl. Content API v2.1 is recommended for dynamic catalogs.

Diagnostics and Error Fixing

Typical reasons for product disapproval:

• Missing GTIN — for branded products, Google requires GTIN; solution: fill in the field or set identifier_exists: false
• Promotional overlay on image — image with text/watermark; need a clean product photo
• Price mismatch — price in the feed differs from the price on the page; need synchronization
• Unsupported language — description not in the target country language

Log itemLevelIssues from the API response to automatically identify problems:

$response = $this->service->products->get($this->merchantId, "online:ru:RU:{$sku}"); foreach ($response->getItemLevelIssues() as $issue) { Log::warning('GMC issue', [ 'sku' => $sku, 'code' => $issue->getCode(), 'servability' => $issue->getServability(), // 'disapproved' | 'demoted' 'description' => $issue->getDescription(), ]); } 

Proper attribute setup increases Google Shopping conversion by 25%.

Implementation Stages and Timelines

What's Included

We deliver a complete package: feed generator source code, GPC mapping documentation, Merchant Center upload instructions, and error alerts configuration. After launch, we provide two weeks of support — help with moderation and adjust attributes if disapprovals arise. Integration cost depends on scope, and ad budget savings can reach 30%.

Implementation Timelines

• XML feed generator with basic attributes: 1 day.
• GPC mapping + variant attributes: +1 day.
• Content API v2.1 integration: +1–2 days.
• Disapproval logging and alerts: +0.5 day.

A typical project without API integration: 2 working days. Cost is calculated individually based on catalog size and complexity.

Request a consultation — we'll evaluate your project in 1 day and propose the optimal solution. Contact us to quickly launch your feed and start selling via Google Shopping.