Goal: To set up Google free shopping listings to improve product visibility and drive traffic to an online store.
Ideal Outcome: Products will be listed on Google Shopping for free, and customers can find and purchase products from the merchant's online store.
Requirements or prerequisites: Before setting up shipping returns in Google Merchant Center, merchants must have an active Google Merchant Center account that is verified and claimed with their websites and product feeds linked to their Google Ads account.
Why this is done: To increase product visibility and drive traffic to the merchant’s online store at no cost. Merchants can increase their reach and attract new customers by making products more discoverable.
Where this is done: In Google Merchant Center.
When this is done: Anytime. However, doing this as soon as possible is recommended to take advantage of the free advertising opportunity.
Who does this: This may include the business owner, marketing team, or operations team, depending on the size and structure of the organization.
How to set up Google shopping free listings
Sign in to your Google Merchant Center here. Choose the appropriate Gmail account and log in with your password. Click “Next”.
Click “Manage programs” under “Growth” and activate “Free product listings”. Click “Get started” to set up.
Make sure to read through the full Google policies before you hit “Start final review”.
Under “Products”, click “Feeds” to review your product listings. Click on the product(s) or feed name.
Finally, you should be able to see a blue ticked box named “Free Listings” on the right under “Products” > “Feeds”> “Settings” tab. This means that your product listing is now activated with Google Merchant Center’s free listings.
