Merchant Center required attributes: a CPG checklist from Google’s public spec

Searchpanel tracks how product facts show up in AI and shopping surfaces. Before any of those surfaces can show a SKU from Google’s free listings, Merchant Center needs a complete product record. This checklist restates what Google’s public help pages say is required, so brand teams can audit a feed without guessing.

Which attributes are required for every product?#

Google’s free listings help page lists seven attributes as required for all products: id, title, link, image_link, price, description and availability. For images, Google says to make sure the image is large enough and does not contain promotional content, to avoid disapproval. The full formatting rules for each attribute live in the product data specification.

Which attributes become required only in some cases?#

The same page marks several attributes as required only when they apply:

• condition for each used or refurbished product.
• brand for each product with a clearly associated brand or manufacturer.
• gtin for all products with a GTIN assigned by the manufacturer.
• mpn for all products without a GTIN.
• multipack when the product is a multipack, and is_bundle when it is a bundle.
• color and size for Apparel & Accessories.

For most packaged CPG items the practical gate is identifiers: if the manufacturer assigned a GTIN, submit it; submit an MPN only when no GTIN exists.

What does Google ask for on shipping and returns?#

Google says you are required to set up Shipping settings, or add costs with the shipping attribute, in a list of countries that includes the United States. For returns, Google asks you to add return policy information to your website so return details can show next to your products, and recommends adding the return policy in Merchant Center as well.

How should size and color variants be submitted?#

Google’s item_group_id help page says the attribute is required for free listings of product variants. Submit each variant as a separate product with its own unique id, and use the same item_group_id for every variant of that product. If shoppers choose between variants on a single landing page, submit all of those versions with the same item group ID. Each item group needs its own value: Google treats “abc123” and “ABC123” as the same, so casing cannot make an ID unique, and an item group ID should not be reused for a different product.

Does a complete feed guarantee a free listing?#

No. Google notes that the status on the Free listings page controls permission to show products for free, but does not guarantee that your products will be shown to customers. Treat a clean feed as the entry ticket, not as a ranking promise.

A pre-launch feed checklist#

1. Every product has the seven attributes required for all products.
2. Images are large enough and free of promotional overlays.
3. Manufacturer-assigned GTINs are present; MPNs are used only where no GTIN exists.
4. brand is filled wherever a brand is clearly associated.
5. U.S. shipping settings (or the shipping attribute) are configured, and the return policy is on your site.
6. Variants share one item_group_id per product, with a unique id each.

Summary of publicly available Google Merchant Center documentation, checked November 9, 2026. Google updates these pages; confirm the current wording before you change a feed. Searchpanelapp.com is Searchpanel’s marketing/test site; the production app is searchpanel.ai.