Google is revamping several things. It recently surprised us with its logo change, dropping the serifs from its letters, which got a lot of people talking. But there’s another change keeping those of us in online marketing busy, involving one of the options within the Google Display Network.
In case you didn’t know, from September 15 we need to have the new Google Shopping data feed ready, with the changes Google has been announcing for a few weeks. One of the biggest surprises this summer is that a previously optional field has become mandatory: the now-famous “GTIN”
What is the GTIN?
GTIN (Global Trade Item Number)
It’s the number that identifies each trade item and is unique worldwide. It lets you identify any product without looking up specific information, since all that data is already encoded in a series of numeric combinations. Every product has one, and the vast majority of brands display it on their products.
There are different types of GTIN for different international markets: EAN for Europe, JAN for Japan, UPC for the USA and ISBN for books.
Since creating a data feed requires specifying the country where we want to publish our Google Shopping feed, that’s what determines which numbers go in the GTIN.
In our case, since almost all the data feeds we build are for European markets, we need to identify the EAN (European Article Number) and place it in the feed’s GTIN attribute.
For a US data feed you need to enter the UPC code, and for a feed for Japan you must provide the JAN.
If you’re creating a feed to sell books, use the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) regardless of the country you’re targeting.
The GTIN in the Google Shopping feed is vital for stores selling electronics, sportswear, fashion or multi-brand products, as Google is notifying that from September 15 it’s a mandatory field for anyone selling products from some of the best-known brands, including Nike, Adidas, Toshiba, Lenovo, Michael Kors, Nikon and Oakley.
How do you find the GTIN for Google Shopping?
Finding the GTIN is as easy as finding the barcode on each product’s packaging. Just locate the numbers below the barcode and you have the product’s GTIN. The number of digits varies depending on the product’s country of origin or the sales market.
EAN, ISBN and JAN
The GTIN for products sold in Europe or Japan, or for books anywhere in the world, has 13 digits and is found below the barcode. This is the GTIN we need to specify if our feed targets any European country.
UPC
To sell products in the United States, you need to enter the UPC in the GTIN field. It has 12 digits, which also appear below the barcode, as shown in the image below.
GTIN and Brand attributes: an inseparable duo.
But it’s not just about having the GTIN in your data feed: along with this new attribute, you also need to specify the Brand. Both are mandatory for anyone running a Google Shopping campaign and selling new products.
For now this is only mandatory for those who sell products from certain brands specified by Google, and the list will keep growing. At the end of this post you’ll find the list of brands that require both elements.
GTIN for handmade or self-produced items.
If you sell products without a unique product identifier because they’re handmade, enter the following label in the GTIN field for each product: [identifier exists]. This exempts you from entering a numeric value.
But this does NOT work as a “wildcard” for other products backed by a brand. When there’s a brand behind a handmade product, it means there’s an established company that had to register it commercially to sell it, and it most likely has a trade number.
You can try entering this value, but at some point your data feed will be reviewed and you may be notified that you’re breaching some of the criteria. If you sell products that are NOT on the brand list and you’re still unsure which GTIN to use, it’s better to leave the field empty.
Google Shopping data feeds for eCommerce
In LogiCommerce we have a set of fields for entering each item’s GTIN, so you have all the fields required for a Google Shopping campaign.
Since this field will gradually become standard for any campaign, it’s a good idea to start filling in this information now.
But beyond the GTIN, there are other relevant changes to the Google Shopping feed to keep in mind for September 15.
Simplified Google Shopping taxonomies
Changes have been made to simplify the paths for finding the taxonomy, especially for products such as clothing, footwear, medicines and video game accessories.
And, presumably given how hard it was to find the right taxonomy for some food and drinks, subcategories have been added.
The categories with the most changes are listed below, and Google recommends reviewing them to assign products to the right taxonomy:
- DIY & hardware
- Home décor
- Arts & crafts
- Sporting goods
- Vehicle parts & accessories
Some sporting goods, especially sportswear, have been moved into the clothing taxonomy. For example, there’s no longer a taxonomy for sports skirts; it’s now enough to assign them to the skirts taxonomy.
Detailed product attributes
Some markets are already asking for a set of attributes relevant to identifying the product, and it’s a good idea to start specifying them too. For now they’re optional, but given how feeds are being refined, they’re sure to become mandatory.
If your online store sells clothing or footwear, keep the following attributes in mind:
- Size
- Color
- Gender
- Age group
Automatic extensions
If you use promotional text to announce free shipping or special offers on your products, from September 30 you’ll no longer be able to do it this way.
For this, they’ve defined a sale price attribute [sale_price], where you can specify the price after any discount offered.
As for shipping, it will be specified directly in the attributes Google is enabling for that purpose.
This is precisely one of the biggest changes coming to the Google Shopping feed, with a deadline of February 1, 2016. But since it’s quite an important and broad topic, we’ll cover it in another post to make clear what changes the feed will have by then.
Finally, here’s a list of the brands for which Google is starting to require the product GTIN. If you currently have an active Google Shopping campaign and sell products from brands that will require this attribute, you may have received an alert that your products will be disapproved if the data feed isn’t updated correctly. If you haven’t received this alert, you still have time to add this information.
Brands requiring GTIN on September 15
Here’s the list of brands that must provide the GTIN by September 15 to have a data feed on Google Shopping:
Acer
Adidas
Apple
Asics
ASUS
Audio-Technica
Beats By Dr Dre
Belkin Components
Bose
Brooks
Brother
Calvin Klein
Canon
Columbia
Converse
Crocs
Disney
Epson
Fossil
Garmin
HP
JBL
Kate Spade
Lenovo
Levi’s
LG
Merrell
Michael Kors
MICHAEL Michael Kors
Microsoft
Motorola
Netgear
New Balance
Nike
Nikon
Nintendo
Oakley
Patagonia
Polo Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren
RCA
Rubie’s
Samsung
Skechers
Sony
Sperry Top Sider
The North Face
Toshiba
Under Armour
Western Digital
