How to audit a product feed before a Google Shopping campaign
By AdminLast reviewed
A Shopping campaign cannot compensate for a poor product feed. The feed is the structured version of your catalogue that helps an advertising platform understand what you sell, who it suits and whether it is available. The first job is accuracy; the second is usefulness.
Start with the non-negotiables
Check that every active item has a stable ID, an accurate landing-page URL, current price, availability, title, image and the product identifiers required for its type. The landing page must match the feed. A feed price that differs from the site, a product marked in stock when it cannot be bought, or an image that does not represent the item creates both wasted clicks and policy risk.
For used, refurbished or graded products, make condition clear in the feed and on the landing page. The buyer should not discover an important condition detail only after clicking an advert.
Make titles useful, not repetitive
Product titles should state the useful facts in the order a buyer would use them: brand, product type, model, key specification and condition where relevant. For example, Dell Latitude 7420 Laptop, i5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Refurbished. Avoid promotional claims and uncertain specifications. The SERP Preview can help your team judge whether the customer-facing product title is readable, though the feed title should be governed by the platform specification you are using.
Use custom labels deliberately
Custom labels are most useful when they represent a trading decision: margin band, seasonal priority, clearance status, price tier or best-seller group. Do not create labels simply because the field exists. A label should lead to a different bid, budget, exclusion or report.
Build a repeatable audit
Before launch, sample products from every major category and check feed versus landing page. Then review disapprovals, limited-performance notices and price/availability warnings regularly. Fix the underlying catalogue or export logic rather than repeatedly editing individual symptoms in the merchant interface.