When you run Google Shopping or a Performance Max-style campaign (an automated campaign that shows ads across several channels), you do not choose keywords the way you do in a search campaign. The system reads your product data and decides which searches your products match. That data lives in your product feed.
The feed is a file or connection that sends product details from your store to Google. It includes titles, descriptions, images, prices, identifiers, categories and custom labels. In practice, your feed is your targeting.
Why feed quality beats bid tweaking
A bid is how much you will pay for a click. Bid changes only matter if your ad is shown to the right people in the first place. If the title says "Men's Shoe" and the product is a waterproof hiking boot, the system has little to match on. Lowering or raising the bid will not fix that.
Bids control how hard you push. The feed controls where you push. Fix the second first.
Outcomes vary by store and category, so test changes one at a time and give each enough time to collect data before judging it.
Writing product titles that match what shoppers type
The title is usually the most important field. Shoppers type specific phrases, and your title should contain them. A reliable pattern is:
Brand + product type + key attributes + size, colour or model
Compare these two titles for the same product:
- Weak: "Trail Shoe 2"
- Better: "Northpeak Women's Waterproof Trail Running Shoes, Grey, Size 7"
Put the most important words first, since the end of a long title may be cut off in some placements. Adjust by category: clothing needs gender, colour and size; electronics need model and capacity; furniture needs material and size.
Avoid promotional text such as "Best price!" or "Free shipping" in titles. It can trigger disapprovals and adds nothing to matching.
Images, prices and availability
Use a clear main image, a plain background where the rules require it, and no watermarks or promotional overlays. Add extra angles.
Price and availability must match your website. If the feed says 49 dollars and the page says 54 dollars, Google may disapprove the product, and shoppers lose trust. If the feed says in stock but the product sold out, you pay for clicks that cannot convert. Check how often your feed refreshes. For fast-moving stock, daily may be too slow.
Product identifiers and category mapping
A GTIN is the barcode number for a product, such as a UPC or EAN. If you sell products made by other brands, you should usually supply it. It helps Google recognise the exact product and match it to searches. Own-brand or custom items may not have one. In that case, follow the current Google guidance on identifiers for your situation.
Also supply the brand and, where relevant, the manufacturer part number.
Category mapping means assigning each product to Google's product category list. Choose the most specific category available. "Apparel and Accessories > Shoes > Athletic Shoes" is better than just "Apparel and Accessories". A wrong category sends your product to the wrong audience.
Custom labels: your steering wheel
Custom labels are fields you define yourself. They do not affect how Google reads the product, but they let you group products inside your campaigns. Useful examples:
- Margin tier. High, medium or low margin.
- Bestseller status. Top sellers versus the rest.
- Seasonality. Winter items, Christmas gifts, clearance.
- Price band. Under 25, 25 to 100, over 100.
The point is to give budget to the products that deserve it. Here is a worked example with invented numbers. Two products each sell at 100 dollars. Product A has a 50 percent margin, so each sale leaves 50 dollars before ad costs. Product B has a 20 percent margin, so each sale leaves 20 dollars. If you spend 15 dollars of advertising to get one sale of each, A leaves 35 dollars and B leaves 5 dollars. Treating them the same wastes money.
Segmenting campaigns by margin or performance
Once your labels exist, split your campaigns or asset groups by them. A simple setup:
- A campaign for high-margin products, with a higher target return and more budget.
- A campaign for bestsellers, kept steady.
- A campaign for low-margin or slow products, with tighter limits.
Do not split too far. Each campaign needs enough clicks and sales to learn from. If a segment gets only a handful of conversions a month, merge it with a neighbour. Review labels regularly, because a bestseller last quarter may not be one now.
Feed errors and disapprovals
Your Merchant Center account (Google's tool for managing your feed) flags problems. Treat them like a to-do list. Common ones include:
- Price or availability mismatch with the landing page.
- Missing GTIN or brand.
- Image too small, or with a watermark.
- Product page that does not load, or that returns an error.
A disapproved product does not run. Read the exact message, fix the source data in your store, and wait for the next refresh.
A weekly feed check
Set aside 20 minutes each week:
- Open Merchant Center and note any new disapprovals.
- Spot check five products: title, price and stock against the live page.
- Look for products with spend but no sales, and check whether their titles or images are the problem.
- Confirm new products have a full title, correct category and custom labels.
- Check the feed has updated on schedule.
Common mistakes
- Duplicate products. The same item listed several times with different IDs splits your data and competes with itself.
- Stale stock. Selling ads for items you cannot ship.
- Generic titles. "Blue Dress" tells the system almost nothing.
- Leaving labels unused. Setting them up and never reviewing them.
What to do next
- Export your feed and read your 20 best-selling product titles. Rewrite any that lack brand, type or key attributes.
- Fix every open disapproval in Merchant Center before changing any bids.
- Add a margin-tier custom label to every product and test a split campaign for your highest-margin group.
- Check that price and stock in the feed match the live pages for a sample of 10 products.
- Put the weekly feed check in your calendar and assign it to one person.