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Google Merchant Center now calls every route used to submit catalog information a data source—the term that replaced “feed.” You can send products by file, Google Sheets, an ecommerce-platform connection, manual entry, automatic website extraction, or the Merchant API. The right setup depends on catalog size, change frequency, technical resources and how much control you need over each attribute.
What is a Google Merchant Center data source?
A data source is a configured path through which product information reaches Merchant Center. Google’s current help documentation describes data sources as the successor to the older “feeds” terminology. A source can provide core fields such as product ID, title, price, availability, link, image and shipping information, or it can add selected details to products that already exist.
Google lists six practical ingestion paths: automatic additions from an online store, an ecommerce-platform connection, a text/XML/TSV file, Google Sheets, one-by-one product entry and the Merchant API. The overview is documented in Google Merchant Center’s data-source guide.
These methods are not mutually exclusive. A retailer might use a scheduled XML file as its primary catalog, a supplemental spreadsheet for custom labels and a regional inventory source for local price and availability. Another business might use an ecommerce connection for its main catalog while allowing Google to discover eligible products from structured data on the website.
How do I upload products to Google Merchant Center?
Choose the route that matches how your catalog is maintained. The following table summarizes what each method is designed to do; exact limits and options can vary by account and country.
| Method | Best fit | Update workflow | Technical effort | Can create or remove products? | Main dependency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File upload or scheduled retrieval | Structured batch catalogs and repeatable exports | Upload manually or retrieve on a schedule; supported formats include TXT, XML and TSV | Low to medium, depending on export and hosting | Yes, when configured as a primary source | Correct schema, stable file and optional SFTP or Google Cloud Storage access |
| Google Sheets | Teams that maintain products in a spreadsheet | Merchant Center reads the selected sheet after access is granted | Low | Yes as a primary source | Sharing settings must allow Merchant Center to read the sheet |
| Ecommerce-platform connection | Stores whose platform can pass catalog data directly | Controlled by the connected platform’s integration | Low to medium | Capabilities depend on the connection; use the source settings to confirm | Platform mapping, account connection and supported attributes |
| Manual entry | A few products or occasional additions | Enter products one at a time in Merchant Center | Low per item, high for a large catalog | Yes when entered as a primary source | Accurate manual values and ongoing maintenance |
| Website crawl and automatic additions | Eligible products already published on a crawlable store | Google extracts structured data from product pages | Medium: markup and crawl access must be correct | Google can add discovered products, subject to eligibility; duplicate products from another source are not added again | Complete structured data and Googlebot access |
| Merchant API | Large catalogs, frequent changes and custom automation | Programmatic account, product and inventory operations | High | Yes through API operations and the configured source role | Developer implementation, authentication, quotas and error handling |
Google’s product data-source creation guide explains source settings, roles and supported submission options. It is the authoritative place to check the labels currently shown in your account.
File uploads and scheduled retrieval
A file source is useful when your commerce, ERP or inventory system can export a complete catalog. Merchant Center accepts TXT, XML and TSV source files. You can upload a file directly or configure retrieval from hosted storage; Google’s setup documentation includes SFTP and Google Cloud Storage as options.
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Use a primary file when the export is the authoritative list of products. A complete export makes removals predictable: when a product is intentionally removed from the primary data, it can no longer be maintained as an active item through that source. Validate IDs, prices, availability, landing-page links, image URLs and required country or language settings before each upload. For frequent changes, automate generation and retrieval rather than relying on a person to remember every upload.
Google Sheets
A Sheet can be easier for a small merchandising team than building an export pipeline. Create or select the spreadsheet in Merchant Center, keep one product record per row and preserve stable product IDs when editing. If Merchant Center cannot read the file, review the Sheet’s sharing and workspace permissions; access must be sufficient for Google’s service to retrieve it.
Sheets are still a primary-source option, so they can represent the catalog. They also work as a supplemental source when you only want to append attributes to products supplied elsewhere. Treat a shared spreadsheet as production data: restrict editing, document who owns each column and avoid changing IDs merely to reorganize rows.
Ecommerce-platform connections
Merchant Center lists connecting an ecommerce platform as an ingestion route. This can reduce manual file handling because the platform supplies product information through its integration. The exact fields, synchronization controls and diagnostics depend on the particular platform and connection, so confirm those details in the integration’s current documentation and in Merchant Center’s source settings.
Before relying on a connection, determine which system owns each value. If the platform controls price and availability but a separate spreadsheet changes titles or custom labels, define whether that second source is supplemental and how IDs will match. Conflicting owners are a common cause of unexpected attribute changes.
Manual product entry
Merchant Center supports adding products one by one. This is practical for a small assortment, a test item or a temporary listing. It becomes labor-intensive when prices, stock or regulatory attributes change regularly. Record the item ID and source settings so a later migration to a file, Sheet or API can preserve identity rather than creating duplicates.
What is the difference between a primary and supplemental data source?
A primary data source is the catalog’s main source. It is the only source type that can add products to Merchant Center or remove them. Primary-source settings include the target country or countries, language, data-source label and marketing methods. Those settings determine where and how the submitted products can appear.
A supplemental data source cannot stand alone. It updates or enriches products that already exist in a primary source, and it matches those products by ID. Google instructs you to align the supplemental source’s language and data-source label with the primary source and to use identical product IDs. A supplemental file might add custom labels, additional product descriptions or corrected attributes without becoming the catalog’s ownership record.
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Regional inventory sources
Regional inventory is a supplemental source, not an independent catalog. It can override regional price or availability for products already supplied by a primary source. Keep the global product identity and core details in the primary source, then use regional records for store- or location-specific values.
Matching and duplicate behavior
Matching fails when IDs differ by capitalization, punctuation or formatting, or when the supplemental record uses a different language or data-source label. Check source diagnostics for unmatched rows. Website discovery also avoids adding a duplicate when the same product is already represented by another source, but the discovered page still needs to meet Google’s eligibility and markup requirements.
The deprecated online-inventory pattern
Google has deprecated the older online-inventory update source. Its documentation points to a supplemental source combined with a “Take latest” rule as a way to achieve similar price and availability update behavior. Existing accounts should review the current source configuration rather than assuming the legacy source will continue to operate indefinitely.
Can Google crawl my website for product data?
Yes, if your site is eligible for automatic additions. Google crawls product landing pages and extracts values from structured data markup, including product title, price and availability. The markup must describe what customers can actually see, and Googlebot must be able to fetch the pages. The requirements are detailed in Google’s structured-data markup guidance.
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What the crawl process does and does not guarantee
Google’s automatic-additions help page says its process checks websites at least once every 24 hours. That is a stated minimum checking frequency, not a promise that every catalog change will appear exactly within 24 hours. Eligibility depends on Google’s ability to crawl and extract the required data, and scheduling can vary when pages are blocked, slow or technically inconsistent.
Automatic item updates can help correct stale price or availability information detected on a landing page. Google explicitly says they do not replace regular data-source updates. Maintain a primary file, platform connection or API feed for authoritative catalog coverage, and treat crawling as an additional discovery or freshness mechanism.
Website-crawl checklist
- Put valid Product and Offer structured data on every product landing page.
- Make sure price, currency, availability, title and product identifiers match the visible offer.
- Allow Googlebot to access the page, its structured-data output and required resources; do not block crawling in robots rules or site security controls.
- Use stable canonical URLs and avoid generating a different offer solely from IP address, browser type or other visitor details.
- Monitor Merchant Center diagnostics after template, checkout or pricing changes.
- Keep a regular primary-source update process even when automatic additions are enabled.
You can manage products found automatically by Google, including hiding them or stopping their management, from Merchant Center’s automatic-additions controls. A product discovered by crawling still has to satisfy policy, data-quality and destination requirements.
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Use the Merchant API for current programmatic development. Google’s August 2025 “Introducing Merchant API” notice states: “The Merchant API replaces the Content API for Shopping as the primary interface for programmatic access.” The notice set August 18, 2026 as the Content API for Shopping shutdown date. That date had passed by October 16, 2026, so Content API should be treated as a legacy interface rather than a new integration target. Google’s notice is available at Introducing Merchant API.
The current API is intended for programmatic account, product and inventory management. Google recommends it alongside file uploads and automatic feeds, particularly for large catalogs or businesses with frequent product changes. The API does not eliminate the need to design source ownership: decide which records are primary, which updates are supplemental and how regional inventory is represented before writing code.
Migration considerations
- Inventory every Content API endpoint, authentication flow, scheduled job and error handler in your application.
- Map each operation to the corresponding Merchant API resource and verify the current request and response schemas.
- Preserve stable product IDs and source labels so existing supplemental and regional records continue to match.
- Test price, availability, deletion and partial-update behavior in a non-production workflow before switching traffic.
- Log API errors and Merchant Center diagnostics, then implement retries that respect documented limits rather than sending uncontrolled bursts.
- Remove assumptions that Content API calls will remain available after the announced shutdown date; investigate any account-specific notice directly with Google if a legacy endpoint still appears enabled.
The separate Google Merchant Center API overview provides the current product and inventory-management context. The published material establishes the shutdown date, but it does not establish a general extension or a migration grace period for individual accounts.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How should you choose a source?
Choose a file or Sheet when
- Your commerce system can export a reliable, complete catalog but you do not need custom real-time API calls.
- Merchandisers need to review or edit rows before submission.
- You want a clear, auditable batch that can be archived and compared with the previous version.
Choose an ecommerce connection when
- Your platform already owns product, inventory and pricing data.
- You prefer a supported integration over maintaining your own export.
- You have confirmed that the connection exposes the attributes and update controls your markets require.
Use website crawling as a supplement when
- Your product pages already contain complete, accurate structured data.
- You want Google to discover eligible products or help detect stale price and availability values.
- You can accept that crawl timing and eligibility are controlled by Google’s ability to access and extract the pages.
Choose Merchant API when
- Product or inventory changes happen frequently and manual batches are too slow.
- You need application-level control, event-driven updates or integration with several internal systems.
- You have developers who can handle authentication, schema changes, retries, monitoring and API limits.
Many mature catalogs combine these choices: one primary source for creation and removal, supplemental sources for additional attributes, a regional inventory source for local overrides and structured website data for crawl-based freshness checks. In every combination, preserve the same product IDs and monitor Merchant Center diagnostics and product status after changes.
Common failures and how to troubleshoot them
Products are missing after an upload
Confirm that the source completed processing, then inspect item-level errors. Check required attributes, target-country and language settings, policy status, destination links and whether the item is actually present in the primary source. A supplemental source cannot create a missing product.
Supplemental rows do not apply
Compare IDs character for character with the primary source. Verify that language and data-source labels match and that the supplemental record is attached to the intended primary source. Regional records must reference an existing primary product.
Price or availability mismatches appear
Compare the value in the submitted source, the structured data and the customer-visible page. Remove conditional markup that changes by IP address or browser type, ensure currency and sale-price dates are valid and allow Googlebot to fetch the final page. Automatic item updates may reduce some mismatches but should not replace scheduled source updates.
Automatic additions find nothing
Check that product pages expose complete Product and Offer markup, that Googlebot is not blocked and that the pages return a successful response without requiring an inaccessible interaction. Eligibility is not guaranteed for every website, even when some pages contain structured data.
An API integration stops working
Do not build new work on Content API. Review the Merchant API migration mapping, authentication and request schemas, then test create, update and delete paths with logging enabled. Keep a file or platform-based fallback only if it reflects the same source ownership and will not create conflicting updates.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
