Templates interface
A template is a feed you can stamp out repeatedly. Build one for Google Shopping and every market you launch starts from it in seconds instead of being rebuilt by hand - and when the specification changes, you fix it once.
Create one at Catalog > Advanced Product Feeds > Templates > Add New Template. This screen defines what the template is; the content settings define what it produces.
Field descriptions
Name: identifies the template in the admin panel and in reports.
Type: the output format.
- CSV: comma-separated values.
- TXT: plain text.
- XML: structured XML, which is what most marketplaces expect, Google and Meta included.
Marketplace: pre-fills the marketplace on every feed created from this template. Set it to Google Merchant Center on Google-targeted templates and feeds spawned from them get the Google Merchant API tab automatically, with no extra setup. Leave on -- None -- for generic templates. Every bundled Google Shopping template already ships with this set.
Description: internal notes. Worth filling in - six months from now "Google Merchant Center - UK" is the difference between confidence and guesswork.
Link to documentation: the marketplace's own specification page, for example https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/7052112. Saves the next person hunting for it.
Logo: an image for quick visual identification in the grid. Allowed types: .jpg, .jpeg, .png.
Example
A completed Template information form:
| Field | Example value |
|---|---|
| Name | Google Shopping - UK |
| Type | XML |
| Marketplace | Google Merchant Center |
| Description | Feed for Google Merchant Center (UK market) |
| Link to Documentation | https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/7052112 |
| Logo | google_feed_logo.png |
With the template identified, move on to [Content settings CSV/TXT(/configuration/content-settings-csv-txt/) or [Content settings XML(/configuration/content-settings-xml/) to define the structure it produces.