Missing identifiers in the Google feed? We know how to fix it!

Google Shopping requires a unique identifier for your product in the XML feed — a brand, barcode, or manufacturer’s number. If your goods do not have such a label, it is necessary to put information about them in the feed. How to do it?

Unique identifiers are located in the G:BRAND, G:MPN, and G:GTIN elements in the Google Shopping feed.

• Element G:BRAND indicates the product brand. You can find detailed information about the element here.
• Element G:GTIN is a barcode — a unique designation of your goods. It must always be stated if it is assigned by the manufacturer. It can take various forms — you can find the entire specification here.
• The G:MPN element is the manufacturer’s part designation. It is required where there is no G:GTIN. An exception goes for unique goods that do not have such a designation assigned by the manufacturer. You can find details on this element here.
• These identifiers are used to uniquely find the product by the customer.
• Google requires that each item contains at least two of the three identifiers. If a product does not meet this condition, it is necessary to assign the element G:IDENTIFIER_EXISTS and fill it with the value FALSE.

So let’s go through it:

Query

1. Start by creating a product query that includes products that contain one or no identifiers.
2. On the Products page, switch to the Custom Query tab and enter: ([G: BRAND] = “” AND [G: MPN] = “” AND [G: GTIN] = “”) OR ([G: BRAND]! = “” AND [G: MPN] = “” AND [G: GTIN] = “”) OR ([G: BRAND] = “” AND [G: MPN]! = “” AND [G: GTIN] = “” ) OR ([G: BRAND] = “” AND [G: MPN] = “” AND [G: GTIN]! = “”).
3. Start the search.
4. The search will result in products having only one or no identifier and do not meet Google’s requirements.
5. Save your query (e. g. “Insufficiently identified products”).

Element

Make sure your feed contains the G:IDENTIFIER_EXISTS element. You can find this in the Elements tab. If your XML does not contain it, create it on the same tab in the right corner.

Rule

1. Create a new rule that you apply to the previously created query, and this rule sets the G:IDENTIFIER_EXISTS element to FALSE.
2. On the Rules page, click the CREATE RULE button and enter a name for it, such as “Setting G: IDENTIFIER_EXISTS for products with insufficient identification.”
3. In the final condition for the product query field, check the query created in the right column from the beginning of this manual.
4. Select the rule type Rewrite
5. Select element G:IDENTIFIER_EXISTS.
6. Enter new content: FALSE.

Then save the rule, and the next time the rules are processed automatically, this rule will already be applied and projected into the output file.

Read how to use Mergado in advertising management:

• Get started with Mergado (part 1)
• Get started with Mergado (part 2)
• Get started with Mergado (part 3)

With Mergado, you can edit product feeds in bulk and set the advertisement yourself. It will improve the quality of your work on managing online stores and save you the cost of hiring a programmer.

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