About CSS product page requirements

Your CSS product page needs to match the product data submitted to Google. You should provide high quality content and price comparison possibilities to engage better with customers.

This article explains the definition, requirements, and best practices for CSS product pages.

In this article

Keep in mind

The success of CSS product pages and our CSS partners is based on providing a high-quality experience that allows customers to confidently search for products.

Customers trust that when they follow a link to a CSS, they'll land on a product page with offers from several different merchants. The price shown on Google should match the price offered by one of the merchants.


How to submit your CSS product page

The URLs to your CSS product pages can be submitted via the following attributes:

  • CPP link [cpp_link] sends customers to the CSS product page.
  • CPP mobile link  [cpp_mobile_link] sends customers to a mobile-optimized version of your CSS product page. This version will be shown to customers on mobile devices such as phones or tablets.

Minimum requirements

To show CSS product pages on Google, make sure you meet the following requirements.

Show your product and offers clearly

  • Submit a product page that:
    • Is on the domain associated with your CSS Center. You may not automatically redirect customers to other domains.
    • Highlights a single product and its description.
    • Contains prices and selling conditions for the product offered by at least 2 independent merchants that have this product available for immediate purchase online.
  • Ensure that:
    • The product on your CSS product page and merchants’ product pages is similar to what you submitted in your product data. Title, description, and images don’t need to be identical to the content in your product data.
    • The price and selling conditions on your CSS product page match with the ones on the merchants’ product pages.
      • Note: If the country requires tax to be included in the product price, show all prices including tax on the CSS product page and submit the same price in your product data.
    • Customers can buy the product for the price shown on your CSS product page from a merchant. This means that customers can successfully add products to a cart and get it delivered.
  • Links from the CSS product page must lead directly to merchants’ product pages where customers can buy the product.
    An image showing that search pages are not allowed in Comparison Shopping Services product page requirements.
  • Make sure the page displays energy efficiency class information for applicable products.
  • Avoid layouts that hide key elements of the page. For example, a pop-up or banner shouldn’t cover important information for your customers.
    • Note: For certain products, local laws may require that your customers land on a separate page before your product page. For example, you may need to verify a user's age before they can access your site. After users get past this page, make sure your product page meets all the same guidelines described here.

Tip

If you show a pop-up on your landing pages, such as for newsletter signups or language preferences, make sure the boxes can be closed and aren't blocking product details.

An image showing how a pop-up should appear on a landing page in Comparison Shopping Services.

Highlight your headline offer

Headline offer is an offer that is highlighted or shown in the top 3 offers with prices and selling conditions from different merchants on the product page.

  • Submit a product page that highlights a headline offer price. You should highlight or show upfront a merchant on your product page whose price matches the headline offer price. Learn more about the headline offer price [headline_offer_price] attribute
  • Make sure customers can buy the product from the highlighted merchant online, that means customers can successfully add to a cart and get the product delivered. If a product in the headline offer is out of stock, then change the headline offer.
  • Make sure the product condition of the headline offer matches your product data. Learn more about the headline offer condition [headline_offer_condition] attribute

Show consistent content across locations

Example

Imagine that you’re a CSS based in Germany. You indicate in your product data that you showcase products in Germany, and submit prices in Euro and use German language.

You’d like to submit a CSS product page for a couch. If your CSS product page is visited from Poland, the page must show the same couch, including all key elements of the product and merchant’s offers.

Specifically, the CSS product page must:

  • Display a picture of the couch
  • Contain a list of merchants selling in Germany
  • Use the same prices
  • Use German language
  • Use Euro as the currency
  • Keep the content on your CSS product page consistent for all locations. You can perform minor content customizations, such as changing the order of offers. If you typically change your website content based on user IP location or other factors. 
  • Show the same language as your product data. Even for countries with multiple official languages, display the product on your website in the language that matches what you submitted in your product data. For example, if you’re showcasing products in Poland, you can’t submit your product data in English and show your CSS product page in Polish.
  • Show all prices in the currency that matches your product data.
  • Show the same prices in all the regions within a single country.
  • Comply with local regulations for all pricing and other information you submit and display.

Make sure your pages are working correctly

  • Make sure your CSS product page is live, and that it isn’t under construction or displaying an error. For example, a 404 error.
  • Use a landing page, not a file or email. Avoid linking to an image, an audio file, a video, document, or PDF.
  • Use a mobile landing page for mobile devices and tablets. Don’t include design elements that may not work properly for all mobile devices such as Flash, Silverlight, or ActiveX.
  • Let people use the back button. Make sure they can click the browser back button to return to the previous page after visiting your CSS product page.
  • Only link to the domain from your CSS Center. Don’t automatically redirect people to another website outside of the domain you provided in your CSS Center.

Best practices

  • Pre-select the correct product variant in your CSS product page URL. If a product has variants such as color, size, pattern, material, or other customizations, make sure the variant matches the product data that appears on your CSS product page.
    An image showing that merchants have to pre-select the correct product variant in their landing page URL in Comparison Shopping Services. 
  • Submit the CPP mobile link [cpp_mobile_link] attribute in addition to the CPP link [cpp_link] attribute to use separate landing pages for mobile devices.
  • Use as few redirects as possible. Redirects increase the time between a person clicking your listing and loading your CSS product page. Redirect methods other than http 302, such as Javascript and Meta tag are highly discouraged.

Additional guidelines

For the product types below, review each section and follow the guidelines to make sure your product pages can provide the best experience for your customers. You'll notice alerts for any issues or disapprovals in your CSS Center.

When you showcase products sold in bulk

List either the total price for the minimum number of items sold or the price per unit and the minimum quantity on your product page. The minimum quantity multiplied by the unit price must match the price you submit in your product data.

When you showcase mobile phones or tablets

Pre-select phone variants using URL parameters. When multiple phone variants can be selected on the same product page, you can set up your URLs to show the right one to your customers. For example, variants might include color options, storage, and pricing models. Note that URL parameters aren't required, but they're extremely helpful in getting users to the right page.

Was this helpful?

How can we improve it?

Need more help?

Try these next steps:

Search
Clear search
Close search
Google apps
Main menu
4169272154689535060
true
Search Help Center
true
true
true
true
true
5172632
false
false