Your products enter Google Shopping through Merchant Center, where you upload a file describing them (a feed). There are free listings and paid campaigns — both are fed by the same file.
Ninety per cent of the work is the feed. If your data is correct, everything else is settings.
Products sitting in disapproval and you cannot see why?
Request a free feed check and we will tell you what is missing and how to fix it.
Free listings or paid campaigns?
| Free listings | Shopping campaigns | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Zero | Per click |
| Where they appear | Mainly the Shopping tab | Also in main results |
| Control | Minimal | Full (budget, targeting) |
| Time to results | Slow, steady | Immediate |
| Requires | A correct feed | A correct feed + an Ads account |
Start with free listings. Same feed, no cost, and they show you whether your data passes the checks before you spend anything.
What you need to start
- An e-shop with SSL and a working checkout.
- A verified domain in Merchant Center.
- A returns policy and terms, published on the site.
- Visible contact details.
- A shipping policy, declared by zone.
- A product feed in a format Google accepts.
- Prices that match the product page exactly.
Items three and five disqualify many Greek stores. The legal pages you need anyway are in our guide to legal requirements for an e-shop, and shipping zones in the article on shipping costs.
The feed fields
There are seven required fields for every product, plus some that are required in specific cases.
| Field | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
id | Required | A unique code, stable over time |
title | Required | The title the user sees |
description | Required | No promotional shouting |
link | Required | Straight to the product page |
image_link | Required | At least 250×250, clean background |
availability | Required | in_stock, out_of_stock, preorder, backorder |
price | Required | Matching the page, with a currency code |
brand | Required for most | Not “N/A” or generic terms |
gtin or mpn | Required where applicable | GTIN if one exists; otherwise MPN |
shipping, return_policy | Recommended | They improve how listings display |
availability_date becomes required if you declare preorder or backorder.
Why GTIN is the most important field
A GTIN is the product’s international code — the barcode assigned by the manufacturer. With a correct GTIN, Google matches your product against its own catalogue and knows exactly what you are selling.
Without it, your product is treated as unknown and appears in fewer searches.
- If you sell branded products: ask your supplier for the GTINs. They have them.
- If you make your own products: there is no GTIN, so you declare
mpnandbrandusing your own name. - Never invent a GTIN. A wrong code means immediate disapproval.
The same field also helps your store’s organic SEO — see e-shop SEO.
How to submit the feed
| Method | Suits | Update frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Platform plugin | WooCommerce, Shopify | Automatic, daily or more often |
| Scheduled XML/CSV file | Small catalogues | Daily |
| Content API | Large stores with frequent changes | Real time |
| Manual upload | Testing only | Do not use permanently |
For most Greek e-shops, a good plugin covers it. What matters is not the method but the frequency: if your prices change and the feed updates once a week, you will collect price-mismatch disapprovals.
Want it set up properly from the start?
Send us your shop’s address and we will tell you which method suits your catalogue.
How to write titles that perform
The feed title is not your page title. It is the field that matches the search.
The formula that works:
Brand + Product type + Key attribute + Size/Colour
| Poor title | Good title |
|---|---|
| Model SR-3320 | Nike Air Zoom Men’s Running Shoe Black 43 |
| Coffee machine — OFFER! | DeLonghi Espresso Machine 15 bar Stainless Steel |
| Summer dress | Cotton Midi Dress Women’s Blue S |
What to avoid: all-caps words, exclamation marks, “OFFER”, “FREE SHIPPING”. They get disapproved.
Why are my products disapproved?
The most common reasons, with their fixes.
| Reason | Fix |
|---|---|
| Price mismatch with the page | Update the feed more often; watch VAT and discounts |
| Wrong or invented GTIN | Remove it or get the correct one from your supplier |
Missing brand | Declare a brand; for your own products, your name |
| Image with a logo or text overlay | A clean product photo, no overlays |
| Missing returns policy | Publish it on the site and declare it |
| Availability mismatch | Synchronise your stock |
| Product page returning an error | Check that every link opens |
The rule: Merchant Center constantly compares your feed against your page. Any difference it finds is treated as an error.
What does it cost?
- Merchant Center and free listings: nothing.
- Setup and feed: €200 – €600 if outsourced.
- Catalogue cleanup (GTINs, images, titles): depends on volume.
- Shopping campaigns: per click, with a realistic minimum budget from €300 a month.
- Campaign management: €150 – €500 a month.
The realistic conclusion: free listings are almost always worth it. Paid campaigns are worth it once your catalogue is clean and you know your margin per product.
The remaining costs of running a store are in our guide to e-shop costs.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a Google Ads account?
Only for paid campaigns. Free listings need Merchant Center alone.
How quickly do products appear?
Initial approval usually takes a few days. Feed changes propagate faster.
Does it work for services?
No. Shopping covers physical products with a price and stock status.
What about out-of-stock items?
Mark them out_of_stock rather than removing them. That preserves the product’s history.
Should I also be on Skroutz?
It is a separate channel with its own feed and its own commission. Many Greek e-shops run both.
The first step
Open a Merchant Center account, verify your domain and upload a feed containing your ten best-selling products.
If they pass without disapprovals, your catalogue is healthy. If not, you have just found what to fix before anything else.
Next step
Book a free 30-minute call with the team at The Dev Alley. We will look at your catalogue and tell you what it needs to pass cleanly.