A useful Merchant Center feed turns your store catalogue into consistent product records. For peptide skincare, that means identifying the finished serum or moisturizer precisely, sending the correct size and price, and keeping every update aligned with the page a shopper sees. Most practical feed work is careful mapping and maintenance rather than keyword insertion.
The examples below concern eligible finished topical cosmetics. They are not a feed template for injectable peptides, research compounds or retatrutide. Review Google's Shopping healthcare policy for the actual offer and market. A correctly formatted row does not establish product eligibility.
In this guide
1. Choose the catalogue source and update owner
Use the supported connection, file or other data-source method that your store can maintain reliably. Name an owner for product identity and another for stock and price changes if those responsibilities differ. Avoid maintaining competing copies by hand without knowing which source takes precedence. Begin with a few products so you can inspect each resulting record.
Build a mapping sheet before submitting data. Record the store field, the Merchant Center attribute and a validation rule. Google's product data specification is the reference for required and conditional attributes; requirements vary by product and destination.
| Store information | Feed attribute | Validation rule |
|---|---|---|
| Variant SKU | id | Stable, unique value for this purchasable item |
| Product identity | title or structured_title | Brand, product format and distinguishing size |
| Product explanation | description or structured_description | Accurate item details supported by the page |
| Selected variant URL | link | Loads the submitted item and size |
| Main pack photograph | image_link | Public image URL showing the actual item |
| Current selling information | price, availability | Matches the page and checkout |
| Manufacturer identifiers | brand, gtin, mpn as applicable | Use genuine assigned identifiers |
| Variant family | item_group_id | Shared only by genuine variants |
2. Write the title for identification
Use a consistent pattern such as brand, product type and size. Keep the meaningful identity near the start and avoid promotional claims or repeated keywords. Titles can contain up to 150 characters. Google's title guidance requires structured_title for titles created with generative AI, so preserve that distinction when exporting AI-assisted catalogue copy.
Describe the actual formulation, format and package contents in plain language. Do not add claims about treating disease to make a cosmetic description sound stronger. AI-created descriptions similarly use structured_description under the product specification. Human review should confirm the facts against approved product information before any generated copy enters the feed.
3. Inspect an illustrative product row
The following is a deliberately incomplete example for a fictional brand. It demonstrates field alignment, not a ready-to-upload product. The generated example title uses the structured title field. Replace the example domain, add the reviewed description and actual identifiers, and validate all country-specific requirements before submission.
| id | structured_title | size | price | availability | link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EX-SERUM-30 | trained_algorithmic_media:Example Brand Peptide Face Serum 30 ml | 30 ml | 38.00 USD | in_stock | https://example.com/products/peptide-serum?size=30ml |
The corresponding page must show the 30 ml item at that price and allow the same item to be purchased. Price uses a number and currency; follow Google's price attribute rules for your market and promotion setup. Do not advertise a subscription-only or member-only price as the ordinary purchase price.
4. Keep variants and identifiers distinct
If the same serum comes in 30 ml and 60 ml, give each purchasable size a unique id and its own accurate price, image and selected URL. Use the same item_group_id for that genuine variant family, with the relevant distinguishing attributes. Do not group unrelated serums merely because they contain peptides. Google's variant grouping guidance explains the distinction.
Populate size for size variants and follow the current variant_option guidance where applicable. The size attribute documentation also covers non-apparel products. Copy the manufacturer's assigned GTIN for each exact variant where one exists. Never invent a barcode or use a private SKU as a GTIN; consult Google's GTIN requirements when an identifier is missing.
5. Connect usable images and real shipping terms
The main image URL should open the image itself, with a clear view of the item sold. Keep price stickers, shipping slogans and promotional overlays off the primary pack image. Use a photograph representing the submitted variant. Google's image-link guidance covers accessibility, formats and image quality; check its current size requirements when preparing new assets.
Configure common shipping services at account level where suitable. Use item-level shipping data when a product needs an override, and verify how that override affects the account settings. Record both handling and transit time, plus the charge customers actually pay. Google's shipping attribute documentation explains these components. Test a representative address rather than assuming the displayed delivery promise matches checkout.
6. Resolve diagnostics at the source
- After processing, inspect the submitted product record and compare it with the source row and live page.
- Open Products and Needs attention; group issues by cause and affected item IDs.
- Fix a shared mapping error once in the source rather than manually repairing every product.
- Resubmit or synchronize, then verify that the processed values and issue status actually changed.
- For policy issues, review the stated reason and correct the underlying offer or evidence before using the available review process.
Merchant Center's Needs attention documentation explains issue filters and product status history. Maintain a short record of the cause, owner and correction. A successful upload means the data was received; inspect product eligibility separately before treating the assortment as campaign-ready.
Recheck synchronization after promotions, stock changes and packaging updates. Sample the most commercially important items regularly and verify that stale prices cannot survive a source change. Once the feed is stable, use the Shopping campaign guide to choose an assortment, budget and reporting structure.
