Ecommerce Encyclopedia

‟Ecommerce is a powerful means to connect the unconnected to global trade” - Arancha Gonzalez

What Google Merchant center is and why you need it

Every online store owner and marketer should be aware of Google Merchant Center as a means to gain oversight as well as increase customer interactions. To take advantage of Google search as a free traffic source, they will have to utilize Google Merchant Center.

1. Google Merchant Center definition

Google Merchant Center is a type of dashboard on which product listings of online stores are displayed. A business owner can upload their products to Google Merchant Center and change the items’ appearance or information when they desire. Said changes will then be synchronized with every other Google service.

2. What Google Merchant Center brings to the table

  • Increased visibility: When Google shows your product listings through relevant searches, customers can easily look at them and use the provided listing as your store’s convenient catalog.
  • Integration with other Google services: Google allows integration between GMC and other Google business tools, most notably Google Analytics, Google AdWords and Google Local Search. Google Analytics can be supported by custom segments for GMC; Google AdWords helps marketing for your online business with transferred product data from Google Merchant Center; Google Local Search makes geotargeting easier with tags.
  • Visible product reviews: When a product appears on the listings, its online reviews are also a part of what are displayed. Usually it would be star ratings with review quotes from verified purchasers, preferably ones with higher ratings.

3. Requirements for signing up

  1. You have at least one Google account. Why “at least”? Because GMC allows multiple logins.
  2. A verified Google My Business account that strictly follows Google guidelines.
  3. All necessary information is available (pricing, stock, shipping time or day., etc.) to make sure that everything the customers want to know is clear and transparent.
  4. Other ecommerce platforms have requested you to integrate datas.