What Is Google Merchant Center (GMC)? A Complete Guide for Cross-Border Sellers

In recent years, competition in cross-border e-commerce has become increasingly fierce, with significant challenges in achieving clear sales growth across various product lines. If you want to run an independent advertising campaign, do Google Shopping, build a niche store, or expand product trial effectiveness, then GMC is a core growth tool you must hold on to.

What is GMC?

Google Merchant Center (GMC) is Google’s official platform for managing product data, used for uploading, managing, and optimizing product data feeds.

Core functionalities of GMC include:

1. Management of Product Feeds

• Upload product information (title, images, price, inventory, categories, etc.)
• Allow products to be prominently displayed in Google Shopping, search results, and advertising placements
• Different feed management for various product lines or testing different titles/images

2. Account Verification and Product Approval

• Check if products comply with Google Shopping policies
• Conduct verification against store information, shipping policies, and return policies
• Determine whether ads can run or will be temporarily paused

3. Integration with Google Ads for Ad Placement

• Use GMC to connect with Google Ads to run Shopping Ads
• Create Performance Max / Shopping / Discovery campaigns

4. Data Insights

• Analyze product visibility, clicks, and click-through rates
• Which products are getting more visibility? Which products need optimization?

How to Register a GMC Account and Connect to Google Ads?

For newly entering cross-border merchants wishing to use GMC, you must first register a GMC account to manage products and advertising placements.

Step 1: Register a Google Account

Pre-registration materials:

• Individual store domain
• Business email
• Brand materials (Logo, return policy, etc.)

Step 2: Create a GMC Account

Access the Google Merchant Center official website → Use your Google account to log in → Fill in store information:

• Store name
• Website URL
• Basic business information
• Return policy

Important: Your domain name must be verified and declared as owned. You can do this through HTML file uploads / Meta tags / Google Analytics verifications.

Step 3: Add Product Feeds

GMC supports the upload of various product feeds, and you can choose any method:

• Manual upload (CSV/Excel)
• Google Sheets
• Content API (Advanced)
• Shopify / WooCommerce automatic integration plugins

New users are recommended to use Google Sheets for simplicity and agility, and after uploading products, official verification is needed.

Step 4: Link to Google Ads

Access GMC → Select "Linked accounts" → Add Google Ads ID

Google Ads will automatically send a linking request, and after acceptance, the link will be completed.

Once linked successfully, you can start creating Shopping Ads, Performance Max (PMax), and Discovery ads.

How to Optimize Product Data for Better Ad Performance?

Regardless of advertising estimates and placement patterns, the quality of the product feed ultimately affects whether Shopping Ads can effectively achieve stable visibility and real-world conversion rates.

• Optimize Titles: Product titles are critical parameters for Google’s algorithm; you can use a naming structure of "Brand + Product Keywords + Specs/Model Number + Scenario/Usage".
• Optimize Image Quality: High-quality main images significantly improve CTR; it is recommended to use at least 75% of images with a high rating, and all product images should have uniform dimensions.
• Provide Complete Product Attributes: Including brand, color, material, size, usage group, and other attributes.
• Real-time Update of Prices and Inventory: Google compares information in product feeds with site information, and it’s best to perform real-time updates.

GMC allows sellers to upload multiple product feeds, so you can perform simple A/B testing to observe effects, such as different title versions, different pricing strategies, different focus angles, and attribute combinations.

Reasons for GMC Account Suspension and the Appeal Process

The review system of Google Merchant Center is extremely strict, with a strong emphasis on authenticity, website credibility, and merchant compliance. Once any abnormality is detected in the website, products, account, policies, or operational behavior, the system may trigger suspension, ad disapproval, or account termination. Common reasons include:

• Incomplete website policies (missing refund, shipping, terms)
• Product price inconsistent with the actual page
• Using click-bait or misleading titles
• Products violating Google Shopping policies (e.g., counterfeit items)
• Missing GTIN/UPC (mandatory for certain categories)
• Use of fake reviews or misleading images

How to Appeal a GMC Suspension? (Full Steps)

A GMC appeal must include complete evidence and a thorough explanation; otherwise, it will be auto-rejected.

Step 1: Complete All On-Site Fixes

• Update site-wide HTTPS security protocol and copyright year
• Improve navigation (Home/Shop/Contact/About/Policies) and policy pages
• Remove fake promotions and deceptive plugins
• Remove counterfeit, sensitive, or high-risk products
• Fix invalid redirects during checkout
• Replace all product images with real photos
• Ensure feed data matches website content

Step 2: Complete All Required Fields in GMC

• Shipping settings (country, cost, delivery time)
• Tax settings (e.g., for the US)
• Business information
• Website verification + claim
• Updated product feed data

Step 3: Prepare a Fix Report

Google places strong emphasis on clear explanations. Organize all fixes into a document, preferably with screenshots.

Step 4: Submit the GMC Appeal and Wait for Review

Clearly explain the account status and declare all fixes made. Attach the full fix documentation.

GMC appeal results typically take 24–72 hours.

Google's algorithm relies on the most stable, precise, and potentially long-term aggregated data flow, GMC is no longer just a "post-upload product data backend", but a pipeline connecting product data → ad placement → user pathways → discovery of re-converting the core funnel.

Regardless of whether you are a small-scale trader or an established cross-border team, leveraging GMC will enhance your core competitiveness.

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