Academy › Courses › Get found on Google
Get your catalog into Google's Shopping tab, not just your listing
You'll come away knowing how to list your catalog in Merchant Center without letting it go out of date, and you'll check "Needs attention" every week to fix the rejection that's costing you the most first.
You have a catalog and sell through your website, but on Google you only show up if someone searches your name. Those listings with a photo and price that pop up when someone searches for a product are taken by other businesses, not yours. You don't know if your platform sends the catalog to Google automatically or if uploading it is on you, and when you do upload something, Google rejects listings without you really understanding why.
The course follows the same path where a catalog usually gets stuck: how to list your products in Merchant Center (one by one, with a file, or with a spreadsheet), which product gets left out of the Shopping tab even though you sell it, what specific piece of information is missing from a listing that makes Google reject it, and how to keep your price matching your store's so the offer doesn't go stale. It wraps up with the routine of checking which listings Google rejects, fixing the cause that's dragging down the most listings first, and the math to decide whether a Shopping ad is worth it.
This is for anyone already selling products online who wants Google to show them without anyone searching their name; it's not for anyone who doesn't yet have a product listing or a published price.
- List your catalog in Merchant Center (the place where your catalog lives on Google) one by one, with a file, or with a spreadsheet, and choose the method that keeps it most up to date.
- Tell which products make it into the Shopping showcase and which ones stay only on your website.
- Fill in the ID, category, availability, and image so Google doesn't reject your listing over an empty field, and check the price in Merchant Center every time you change it in your store.
- Check "Needs attention" every week, fix the rejection that's dragging down the most listings first, and work out whether a Shopping ad is worth it.
It helps to already have your catalog loaded in your online store, with price and stock up to date.
The 6 lessons
In the order it makes the most sense to read them.
- 1
By hand, with a file, or with a spreadsheet: how your catalog gets into Merchant Center
You'll learn how to add your catalog to Merchant Center yourself, one product at a time, with a file, or with a spreadsheet, and which one works best for you so it never goes stale.
7 min - 2
The product you're leaving out of the catalog, even though you sell it
Know which products make it into the Shopping showcase and which stay only on the website, based on whether the price is fixed and the stock is accurate.
7 min - 3
The missing piece in your product listing that stops Google from rejecting it
You'll know what to put in the identifier, category, availability, and image fields so Google doesn't reject your listing, and why one empty required field knocks the entire product out.
6 min - 4
The price you change in your store versus the one Google is still showing
Decide how you'll keep the price you give Google up to date, with a sheet that Merchant Center reads on its own or by forcing a refresh, so today's sale price doesn't still show the wrong number on Google tomorrow.
7 min - 5
A rejected product doesn't count until you fix it: how you know
Pick one fixed day a week to check the "Needs attention" tab in Merchant Center, and when there are several rejections, fix the reason dragging down the most listings first, not the one you went looking for on Google yourself.
6 min - 6
Showing up for free or paying to rank higher: the trade-off that matters
You know how to figure out if a Shopping ad is worth it before spending a dollar, and decide whether your catalog is ready to try it.
7 min