To upload your product data in Google Merchant Center, you'll first need to create a data source to which you can submit your data. The data source can be a file, a Google Sheets template or Content API.
This step is required for any new data source, and when a data source is registered, you can update the existing source without having to register it again.
On this page
Create a primary data source
A primary data source is the main source of information that Merchant Center uses to access and display your product data. Learn more about how to upload your products to Merchant Center.
Use primary data sources to add or remove product data, set language and country targeting, and set rules for your product data. Primary data sources are the only data source type that can add or remove products.
Google recommends submitting all of your products in a single primary data source. If you need to exclude products, use the excluded destination [excluded_destination] attribute.
Instructions
In your Merchant Center account, click on the Settings & tools icon
in the top right.
Click Data sources.
On the “Primary sources” tab, click Add product source.
Select the type of product source you’d like to use:
- A file: Upload files directly to Merchant Center manually or using SFTP, Google Cloud Storage.
- A Google Sheets template: You can upload your data using a generated Google Sheets template, or with an existing Google Sheet with your product data. Learn more about how to Set up your product data in Google Sheets.
- Using API: Use the Content API to upload a large number of products or if you plan to make frequent changes to your product details. This method requires technical knowledge.
Follow the prompts and enter these pieces of information:
| Target countries |
Target countries are the countries in which products from this product data source are sold. Product data in this product data source must meet the requirements for the countries you submit, including the product data specifications and policies. You can add countries for Shopping ads when you select destinations during the product data source creation process. |
| Language | The language in which your product data is written. Learn more about Supported languages and currencies. |
| Data source label | data source labels let you advertise all products with the same data source label in a Google Ads campaign. |
| Marketing method | Choose one or many data source marketing methods in Merchant Center to allow you to determine which Google features can use the items in your data data source. Learn more about marketing methods. |
| Primary data source name | Enter a descriptive name that helps you identify the primary data source. The data source name doesn’t need to match the name of the file you’re submitting. To change the data source name later, edit your primary data source settings. |
| File name | Depending on what input method you select, you may be prompted to enter the name of the file you will submit. This name should exactly match the name of the file you created and it should include a valid extension. |
After you have provided the information and clicked Continue, you can view and manage your newly created primary data source in the "Primary sources" table.
Create a supplemental data source
A supplemental data source is a secondary data source used to provide more details or update existing details, such as required or optional product attributes, that may be missing from your primary data source. A supplemental data source can't be used to add or remove products or be used as a standalone data source. Learn more About data sources.
Data source rules and supplemental data sources can be defined for multi-client accounts and can be applied to all or some of the associated sub-accounts. If you selected to override rules and supplemental data source data from sub-accounts, then you won’t be able to link the supplemental data source (added at the sub-account level) to any primary data sources.
Legacy online inventory update data sources Before supplemental data sources were introduced, "Online inventory data sources" allowed merchants to make updates to their price and availability values without having to reupload their main product data source. "Online inventory data sources" are now deprecated. However, the same functionality can be achieved with supplemental data sources. You can create a supplemental data source with an ID [id], Price [price], and Availability [availability] and link the new supplemental data source to your primary data source using the "Take latest" rule.
Instructions
In your Merchant Center account, click on the Settings & tools icon
in the top right.
Click Data sources.
Select Supplemental sources tab, click Add supplemental product data.
Select the type of product source you’d like to use:
- A file
- A Google Sheets template
- Using API
Follow the prompts and enter these pieces of information:
- File name. Depending on what input method you select, you may be prompted to enter the name of the file you will submit. This name should exactly match the name of the file you created and it should include a valid extension.
- Product ID. ID
[id]helps match the product details from your supplemental data source to your primary data sources. - Feed label. A name that helps you categorize and identify your products in Ads campaign. Use only uppercase, digits, hyphen, or underscore.
- Language. The language in which your product data is written. Learn more about Supported languages and currencies.
Select the Primary data source that you’d like to add your supplemental data to.
Click Create data source.
After you have provided the information and clicked Continue, you can view and manage your newly created primary data source in the "Supplemental sources" table.
Regional product inventory data sources
Regional inventory data sources are a type of supplemental data source that can be used to override your existing product data in the primary data source in order to show regional pricing or availability for a selection of products in your predefined regions. Regional inventory data sources can't be used to add or remove products or be used as standalone data sources. However, they can be used to override existing product data.
Regional inventory data sources support the following required attributes:
- ID
[id](product id) - Region ID
[region_id](region id)
Regional inventory data sources also support the following optional attributes:
- Price
[price] - Sale price
[sale_price] - Sale price effective date
[sale_price_effective_date] - Availability
[availability]
Need more help?
If you need help fixing issues with setting up, formatting, and uploading your data source, check out the guided data sources troubleshooter.