The attributes Google needs
The header row uses Google's attribute names, in English, exactly as below. Other attributes (sale price, sizes, shipping and so on) are optional or depend on the product.
| Attribute | Needed | Format |
|---|---|---|
| id | Required | Your unique identifier for the product, up to 50 characters. Your SKU works well. |
| title | Required | Up to 150 characters, plain text, no promotional wording. |
| description | Required | Up to 5,000 characters, about the product only. |
| link | Required | The product page, starting http:// or https://. |
| image_link | Required | The main image, starting http:// or https://. JPEG, WebP, PNG, non-animated GIF, BMP or TIFF. |
| availability | Required | in_stock, out_of_stock, preorder or backorder. |
| availability_date | If preorder | When a pre-order product will be available, in ISO 8601 format, up to a year ahead. |
| price | Required | A number and an ISO 4217 currency code, such as 15.00 USD, with a full stop as the decimal point. |
| brand | Required for new products | Up to 70 characters. Not required for movies, books and music. Leave it empty rather than writing N/A or Generic. |
| gtin | If the product has one | The barcode number (UPC, EAN, JAN, ISBN or ITF-14), up to 14 digits per value. |
| mpn | If there's no GTIN | The manufacturer's part number, up to 70 characters. |
| condition | If used or refurbished | new, refurbished or used. |
| identifier_exists | Optional | no for products without a GTIN or MPN (custom-made goods, for example). Defaults to yes. |
| google_product_category | Optional | One category from Google's list, as its number (recommended) or full path. |
File format: TSV or Google Sheets, not CSV
Merchant Center reads delimited text files, but Google recommends tab-separated values rather than CSV, because commas are used to separate repeated values inside some attributes. The supported file types are .txt and .tsv (and compressed or XML files), so save the feed as tab-separated text in UTF-8 or UTF-16, with attribute names in the first row and one product per line. Don't put tabs or line breaks inside values.
id title description link image_link availability price brand gtin condition TEE-01-M Logo T-shirt, Medium Soft cotton T-shirt with a printed logo. https://example.com/tee https://example.com/tee.jpg in_stock 25.00 USD Example Co 00012345678905 new
The simplest route: a Google Sheet
In Merchant Center, go to Products, then Add products, and add a product source using Google Sheets. Google gives you a template sheet: fill in your products, delete its instruction and example rows, and Merchant Center syncs from it, every 24 hours by default. Your product list can come from a CSV: import it into the sheet and check the column names match.
Common mistakes
Uploading a CSV
Commas separate values inside some attributes, so Google advises against CSV. Use a tab-separated .txt or .tsv file, or a Google Sheet.
Wrong or made-up GTINs
Google disapproves products with an incorrect GTIN. Only submit barcodes you know are right, and use mpn or identifier_exists for products without one.
Price without a currency
15.00 on its own isn't valid. Add the currency code, as in 15.00 USD, and use a full stop for decimals.
Availability written your own way
In stock or Available won't match. Use exactly in_stock, out_of_stock, preorder or backorder.
Placeholder brands
Values such as N/A, Generic or No brand aren't allowed. Leave brand empty for genuinely unbranded products.
Barcodes that lost their zeros
Spreadsheets treat long barcodes as numbers and drop leading zeros or switch to scientific notation. Keep the gtin column as text. See stopping scientific notation in Excel.
Checklist before you submit
Product data coming from suppliers?
Feeds are only as good as the product data behind them. The supplier product template and barcode and SKU mapping template collect names, prices and barcodes checked as they're entered, with barcodes kept as text. See collecting product data from suppliers.
Read the supplier data guideRelated Guides
Relevant Templates
Import Builder is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Google LLC. Google Merchant Center is a trademark of Google LLC. Attribute rules as described in Google Merchant Center Help, October 2026.