Google Ads Shopping key terms

A structured file listing every item a merchant sells, with attributes such as title, price, availability, and identifiers. Google uses it to match products to searches and build Shopping ads and free listings.

The Google tool where merchants upload product data, verify and claim their website, configure shipping and tax settings, and fix disapproved items. It supplies the product information that Shopping campaigns and free listings draw from.

The documented set of required, recommended, and optional attributes that product feed items must follow. Titles, descriptions, links, images, prices, and identifiers each have formatting rules that determine eligibility and ad quality.

A globally unique barcode number, such as a UPC or EAN, that identifies a specific product. Providing accurate GTINs helps Google match your item to the correct product page in its catalog.

Manufacturer part number, the identifier a manufacturer assigns to a product. Together with brand, it lets Google match items that lack a barcode to the right catalog entry.

A feed attribute that tells Google whether a product has a manufacturer-assigned identifier. Setting it correctly for custom or bundled goods prevents mismatches and unnecessary disapprovals.

The feed field naming the product's manufacturer or brand. It is required for most items and is used both for catalog matching and for filtering or reporting in campaigns.

A value from Google's own taxonomy that classifies what an item is, independent of the merchant's site structure. It helps determine eligibility and is separate from the merchant-defined product type.

A merchant-defined category path, such as Home > Kitchen > Blenders, used for internal organization and reporting. It does not need to match Google's taxonomy and is optional but useful for segmentation.

A free-form feed attribute, numbered zero through four, that merchants fill with their own values such as margin tier or season. Campaigns can then subdivide product groups by these labels for bidding and reporting.

The product name shown in Shopping ads and listings. It should lead with brand and key attributes, avoid promotional text, and stay within character limits so Google can match it to relevant queries.

The URL of the main product image in the feed. It must be accessible, meet size and format requirements, and show the item clearly, since the image appears directly in Shopping ad results.

Verification and claiming of a domain in Merchant Center so the merchant controls which site its product data represents. Claiming is required before products from that domain can serve.

A status meaning an item cannot serve because it violates policy or feed requirements, such as a missing price or an inaccurate identifier. Disapproved products are excluded from ads and free listings until corrected.

A campaign type that shows product ads built from Merchant Center data. Structure, priority, and product groups determine which products compete for a given search.

A Shopping campaign where the advertiser controls product groups, bids, and negatives manually. It remains useful for granular control and for products that perform better outside automated bidding.

A subdivision of the products in a Shopping campaign, created by filtering on attributes such as brand, category, or custom label. Bids can be set at each node of the group tree.

The action of splitting a product group into smaller groups by a chosen attribute so each subset can receive its own bid. Effective subdivision targets differences in margin, price, or performance.

A setting that decides which Shopping campaign bids when the same product appears in more than one campaign. The higher-priority campaign takes precedence for that item.

A Shopping campaign setup that separates products by availability, for example in-stock versus out-of-stock, so bidding and budget can differ by inventory status. It normally uses campaign priority to control which campaign serves.

An automated Shopping campaign type that combined product ads with display placements and optimized bidding and creative selection. Google has since migrated these campaigns to Performance Max, so candidates should know its role historically.

A goal-based campaign type that serves across Google inventory, including Shopping surfaces, using audience signals and asset groups. It is the successor path for advertisers who previously used Smart Shopping campaigns.

A bundle of text, images, and video used by Performance Max to build ads across formats. Assets are combined automatically, so grouping them by theme or product line improves relevance.

Shopping ads that show a nearby store's availability, price, and distance for a product. They require store data and per-store inventory feeds in addition to the standard product feed.

Unpaid product placements on Google Shopping surfaces, driven by the same Merchant Center feed. They can appear alongside paid Shopping ads and require approved, eligible products.

A Shopping ad format that presented a curated collection of related products for broad, non-specific queries. Google retired the format, but its logic of grouping products by category remains relevant.

The average cost per click Google estimates for a product group, shown as a reference when setting bids. It reflects comparable advertisers and helps judge whether a bid is competitive.

The maximum amount an advertiser is willing to pay for a click in a product group or campaign. Actual cost is usually lower and depends on auction competition and quality signals.

An automated bidding strategy that sets bids to reach a chosen return on ad spend, expressed as revenue per unit of cost. It relies on accurate conversion values and sufficient conversion volume.

The monetary worth assigned to a conversion, such as an order total or a lead value. Accurate values are essential for value-based bidding strategies like target ROAS.

The setup that records actions such as purchases or add-to-carts after a click or view. Shopping optimization depends on it, since bidding and reporting use these recorded actions.

Reporting that breaks performance down by individual item, showing clicks, impressions, and conversions per product. It reveals which items deserve bid changes, feed fixes, or removal.

A keyword or phrase that prevents ads from showing for matching searches. In Shopping campaigns, negatives refine traffic when product titles and feed terms trigger irrelevant queries.

A report listing the actual queries that triggered ads, including Shopping traffic. Reviewing it shows irrelevant matches and informs negative keywords and feed title improvements.

The section of Merchant Center that lists item-level issues, warnings, and disapprovals with instructions to fix them. Regular review keeps products eligible and ads running.

A Merchant Center setting that lets Google refresh price and availability from the landing page when feed data differs. It reduces disapprovals but can cause mismatches if the site is unreliable.

Merchant Center configuration describing delivery cost and speed by country or service. Accurate settings are required for Shopping eligibility and affect the shipping details shown to shoppers.

Merchant Center information about how customers can return items, including windows and costs. It supports trust signals and eligibility for certain Shopping features and annotations.