Google Merchant Center Tutorial: Set Up Shopping Feeds for Your Singapore Store

If you run an e-commerce business in Singapore and want your products to appear in Google Shopping results, Google Merchant Center is where it all begins. This platform acts as the central hub where you upload your product data, manage your inventory information, and connect to Google Ads to run Shopping campaigns that display your products with images, prices, and your store name directly in search results.

Google Shopping ads consistently deliver some of the highest return on ad spend across all Google Ads campaign types. For Singapore retailers competing against regional marketplaces like Shopee and Lazada, Shopping ads provide a powerful way to capture high-intent buyers at the exact moment they are searching for products you sell.

This google merchant center tutorial covers everything from creating your account and building your first product feed to troubleshooting common errors and launching your first Shopping campaign. Whether you sell ten products or ten thousand, the process follows the same core steps.

Setting Up Your Merchant Center Account

Creating a Merchant Center account is straightforward, but there are several configuration steps that Singapore merchants need to get right from the start to avoid delays and disapprovals.

Step 1: Go to Merchant Center. Visit merchants.google.com and sign in with the Google account you want to manage your product listings. If you already use Google Ads, use the same Google account for easier linking later.

Step 2: Enter your business information. Provide your business name exactly as it appears on your website and in official registrations. Select Singapore as your country and SGD as your currency. Enter your website URL, including the https:// prefix.

Step 3: Verify and claim your website. Google needs to confirm you own the website associated with your Merchant Center account. The easiest method is adding an HTML tag to your website’s <head> section. Alternatively, you can verify through Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, or by uploading an HTML file to your server. If your website already has Google Analytics with the same Google account, verification may happen automatically.

Step 4: Configure shipping settings. Click Shipping and returns in the left menu and set up your shipping rates. For Singapore, you might create a flat-rate shipping option (for example, SGD 3.90 for standard delivery) and a free shipping threshold (free delivery for orders above SGD 50). If you ship internationally to Malaysia or other ASEAN countries, create separate shipping services for each destination country.

Step 5: Set up tax information. Singapore has a 9% GST rate in 2026. In Merchant Center, you can specify whether your product prices include or exclude GST. Most Singapore retailers display GST-inclusive prices on their websites, so ensure your feed prices match your website prices exactly to avoid policy violations.

Step 6: Configure return policy. Google requires merchants to have a clear return policy. Enter your return policy details including the return window (commonly 7 to 30 days for Singapore retailers), whether returns are free, and the refund method. This information may appear alongside your Shopping ads.

Creating Your Product Feed

Your product feed is a structured data file containing all the information Google needs to display your products in Shopping results. The quality of your feed directly impacts how often and where your products appear.

Option 1: Google Sheets feed. For stores with fewer than 500 products, a Google Sheets feed is the simplest approach. In Merchant Center, go to Products > Feeds and click the plus button to create a new feed. Select Google Sheets as the input method. Merchant Center will generate a template spreadsheet with all required columns. Fill in your product data row by row.

Option 2: File upload feed. For larger catalogues, create a tab-delimited text file (.txt) or XML file containing your product data. Upload the file manually through the Merchant Center interface or host it on your server and provide the URL for Merchant Center to fetch automatically on a schedule.

Option 3: Content API. For large-scale operations or frequently changing inventory, the Content API for Shopping allows you to push product updates programmatically. This is the preferred method for Singapore e-commerce businesses using custom-built platforms or managing thousands of SKUs with frequent price and stock changes.

Option 4: Platform integration. If your store runs on Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, or BigCommerce, use the platform’s built-in Google Merchant Center integration or an app like Google & YouTube for Shopify. These integrations automatically generate and sync your product feed, saving significant manual effort.

Regardless of which method you choose, the data within your feed must meet Google’s specifications. Inaccurate or incomplete feeds result in product disapprovals, which prevent your items from appearing in Shopping results.

Understanding Feed Specifications

Google has specific requirements for each product attribute in your feed. Getting these right is essential for approval and optimal performance. Here are the key attributes every Singapore merchant needs to configure correctly.

id: A unique identifier for each product, up to 50 characters. Use your SKU or internal product ID. This must remain consistent across feed updates — changing the ID creates a new product listing and loses performance history.

title: The product name, up to 150 characters. Include key attributes like brand, colour, size, and material. For example, “Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra 256GB Phantom Black” performs better than just “Samsung Phone”. Front-load the most important details since Google may truncate long titles in search results.

description: A detailed product description, up to 5,000 characters. Include relevant keywords naturally, highlight key features and benefits, and mention Singapore-specific details like warranty coverage or local compatibility. Avoid promotional text like “Best price!” or excessive capitalisation.

link: The URL of the product page on your website. This must be a live, accessible page that matches the product information in your feed. Ensure the landing page displays the same price, availability, and product details as your feed.

image_link: The URL of the main product image. Use high-quality images at least 800 x 800 pixels with a clean white or transparent background. Do not include watermarks, promotional overlays, or placeholder images. Product images are the single biggest factor in Shopping ad click-through rates.

price: The product price including currency code, formatted as “49.90 SGD”. This must match the price on your landing page exactly. If you display GST-inclusive prices on your website, your feed price must also be GST-inclusive.

availability: Set to “in_stock”, “out_of_stock”, or “preorder”. This must accurately reflect your website’s availability status. Mismatches between feed availability and website availability are a common cause of account suspensions.

brand: The product’s brand name. This is required for all products that have a brand. For own-brand products, use your business name.

gtin: The Global Trade Item Number (EAN, UPC, or ISBN). Required for all products with a manufacturer-assigned GTIN. This helps Google match your products accurately and can improve ad performance.

condition: Set to “new”, “refurbished”, or “used”. Required for all products.

google_product_category: Google’s taxonomy for classifying products. Select the most specific category available. For example, use “Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Dresses” rather than just “Apparel & Accessories”. Accurate categorisation improves how well Google matches your products to relevant searches.

Submitting and Scheduling Your Feed

Once your feed is ready, you need to submit it to Merchant Center and configure a refresh schedule to keep your product data current.

Step 1: Create a primary feed. In Merchant Center, go to Products > Feeds and click the plus icon. Select your target country (Singapore) and language (English). Choose your input method and provide your feed file or Google Sheet.

Step 2: Set a fetch schedule. If you are hosting your feed file on a server, configure an automatic fetch schedule. For most Singapore retailers, a daily fetch ensures prices and availability stay current. Set the fetch time to early morning (such as 2:00 AM SGT) so updates are processed before peak shopping hours.

Step 3: Review processing results. After submission, Merchant Center processes your feed and reports any issues. Go to Products > Diagnostics to view errors, warnings, and notifications. Errors prevent products from showing; warnings suggest improvements but do not block listings.

Step 4: Use supplemental feeds. Supplemental feeds let you add or override specific attributes without modifying your primary feed. This is useful when you want to improve titles, add custom labels, or update prices for promotional periods without changing your main feed infrastructure. Create a supplemental feed by going to Products > Feeds > Supplemental feeds.

Step 5: Monitor feed health. Check the Diagnostics section regularly to catch issues before they affect your campaign performance. Set up email notifications in Settings > Notifications to receive alerts when new errors appear.

Connecting Merchant Center to Google Ads

To run Shopping campaigns, your Merchant Center account must be linked to your Google Ads account. This connection allows Google Ads to access your product feed data.

Step 1: Link accounts. In Merchant Center, go to Settings > Linked accounts. Click Google Ads and enter your Google Ads customer ID (found in the top right corner of your Google Ads account). Click Link. If the accounts use the same Google login, the link is automatic. If they use different logins, the Google Ads account owner must approve the link request.

Step 2: Verify the link in Google Ads. Log into your Google Ads account, go to Tools > Linked accounts, and confirm the Merchant Center link appears as active. This bidirectional confirmation ensures both platforms can share data.

Step 3: Enable free product listings. In Merchant Center, go to Growth > Manage programmes and opt into Free product listings. This allows your products to appear in the unpaid Shopping tab and across other Google surfaces at no cost. For Singapore merchants, this provides additional visibility beyond paid Shopping campaigns, similar to how organic listings complement paid SEO efforts.

Step 4: Enable dynamic remarketing (optional). If you plan to run dynamic remarketing campaigns that show previously viewed products to past visitors, enable the dynamic remarketing programme in Merchant Center. This works alongside your broader digital marketing strategy to recapture potential customers.

Setting Up Shopping Campaigns

With your Merchant Center feed approved and linked to Google Ads, you can now create Shopping campaigns that display your products in search results.

Step 1: Create a new campaign. In Google Ads, click the plus button to create a new campaign. Select Sales as your campaign objective and Shopping as the campaign type. Select your linked Merchant Center account and target country (Singapore).

Step 2: Choose campaign subtype. You have two options: Performance Max and Standard Shopping. Performance Max uses Google’s AI to optimise product placement across Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display, Discover, and Gmail. Standard Shopping gives you more manual control but limits placement to Search and Shopping surfaces. For most Singapore e-commerce businesses starting out, Performance Max is recommended for its broader reach and automated optimisation.

Step 3: Set your budget and bidding. Enter a daily budget appropriate for your product range and margins. For a Standard Shopping campaign, choose a bidding strategy such as Maximise clicks to start, then switch to Target ROAS once you have conversion data. A common starting budget for Singapore SME retailers is SGD 30 to SGD 50 per day.

Step 4: Create product groups. Product groups determine which products in your feed appear in each campaign. By default, all products are in one group. Subdivide by category, brand, product type, custom label, or item ID to set different bids for different product segments. For example, bid higher on your best-selling categories and lower on low-margin accessories.

Step 5: Add negative keywords. Even though Shopping campaigns do not use traditional keyword targeting, you can add negative keywords to prevent your ads from showing on irrelevant searches. For a premium watch retailer, negative keywords like “cheap”, “fake”, and “replica” ensure your products appear to the right audience.

Step 6: Launch and monitor. Set the campaign live and monitor performance through the Products tab in Google Ads, which shows impressions, clicks, cost, and conversions for individual products. Use this data to identify top-performing products and underperformers that may need feed optimisation or bid adjustments.

Troubleshooting Common Feed Errors

Feed errors are inevitable, especially when setting up Merchant Center for the first time. Here are the most common issues Singapore merchants encounter and how to fix them.

Price mismatch: This error occurs when the price in your feed does not match the price on your landing page. Ensure your feed updates frequently enough to capture price changes. If your website displays prices with and without GST, confirm which version your feed uses and make them consistent. This is the single most common cause of product disapprovals in Singapore.

Missing GTIN: Google increasingly requires GTINs for branded products. If your products have manufacturer barcodes, include them in your feed. If you sell custom or handmade products without GTINs, set the identifier_exists attribute to false.

Image quality issues: Products get disapproved for images that are too small, contain watermarks, include promotional text overlays, or show generic placeholder graphics. Use clean product photography on white backgrounds. For apparel, lifestyle images showing products being worn often perform better than flat-lay shots, but avoid heavily edited or filtered images.

Landing page not accessible: Google’s crawlers must be able to access your product pages. Check that your robots.txt file does not block Googlebot from your product URLs. If your site requires login or is behind a geo-restriction, products will be disapproved.

Misrepresentation policy violations: Google has strict policies about misleading content. Ensure your product descriptions accurately represent what customers receive, your shipping and return policies are clearly stated on your website, and your business contact information is accessible. Singapore businesses should display their UEN (Unique Entity Number) and contact details prominently.

Account suspension: Repeated policy violations can lead to account suspension. If suspended, review the notification email for specific reasons, fix all identified issues, update your feed, and submit a review request through Merchant Center. Resolution typically takes several business days. To avoid suspension, regularly audit your feed for accuracy and compliance. Working with a Google Ads management agency can help prevent these issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Google Merchant Center free?

Yes, creating and maintaining a Google Merchant Center account is completely free. You only pay when you run paid Shopping campaigns through Google Ads. The free product listings programme lets your products appear in the Shopping tab and on other Google surfaces at no cost.

Can I list products in SGD for Singapore customers?

Yes. When you set up your Merchant Center account with Singapore as the target country, you should list all product prices in SGD. Prices must match exactly what is displayed on your website landing pages, including GST where applicable.

How long does it take for products to appear in Google Shopping?

After submitting your feed, Google typically processes and reviews products within 24 to 72 hours. Initial account reviews may take longer, up to a week. Once approved, products can appear in Shopping results immediately when you activate a Shopping campaign.

Do I need a GTIN for every product?

GTINs are required for all products that have a manufacturer-assigned barcode. If you sell custom-made, one-of-a-kind, or unbranded products that genuinely do not have GTINs, set the identifier_exists attribute to false. However, providing GTINs whenever possible improves product matching and ad performance.

Can I use Merchant Center for both free listings and paid Shopping ads?

Absolutely. A single Merchant Center feed powers both free product listings and paid Shopping campaigns. Enable free listings under Growth > Manage programmes to get additional unpaid visibility alongside your paid campaigns.

What is the minimum number of products needed for a Shopping campaign?

There is no official minimum. You can run a Shopping campaign with even a single product. However, campaigns with larger product catalogues typically see better performance because they can match a wider range of search queries. Even small Singapore retailers with a focused product range can run effective Shopping campaigns.