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First you need to create your feeds, then Google evaluates them.
Create feeds
Generate your feed(s). You transmit most of your inventory data to
Google by feeds. To get started, create your Merchant feed (and Services feed if applicable):
Merchants feed: The Merchants feed describes your merchants
and merchant level action links.
Services feed(optional / not recommended):
It is not recommended to implement services feeds for new starter integrations.
If you are looking to maintain your existing integration, follow
this legacy documentation.
Export your feeds. The feeds format is described with the
protocol buffer 3 syntax,
however you can reference the samples mentioned above to see the JSON format.
We recommend that you upload the feeds in JSON format.
If you really want to proceed with pb3 format, for general information on how to use protocol
buffers to generate a pb3 file, see
Protocol Buffer Basics: Java.
Upload the feeds to your SFTP server. To upload your feeds, use
the
SFTP server information that Google provided to you and the
private key that you created in
Setup. The Google SFTP server is available at
sftp://partnerupload.google.com on port 19321.
Upload your files with unique names, such as a name that includes a
timestamp. Unique names help with troubleshooting and allow queries for
the feed status.
To determine the size of the feeds and frequency of delivery, use the
following guidelines:
Size of feed files and shards:
Keep the feed file size below 200MB (after compression). Compress them using gzip
If your file may reach more than 200MB (after compression), split them in multiple
shards following the
Sharding feed files
tutorial. However, the legacy starter integration alone is unlikely to
reach the 200MB limit.
Frequency of complete updates:
A complete merchant feed is provided once a day.
(If implemented) A complete service feed is provided once a day.
Google evaluates feeds
Once you upload your feeds, Google processes and evaluates them for quality
and completeness. We look at several factors:
Feeds meet the specifications.
Feeds include all required fields.
Each merchant has at least one action_link or one service with at least action_link defined.
The majority of your merchant data matches with Google Maps locations.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-09-18 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eYou must begin by creating your Merchant feed, and optionally a Services feed, to transmit inventory data to Google, with the Merchant feed being mandatory.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe Merchant feed requires specific fields such as \u003ccode\u003emerchant_id\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003ename\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003egeo\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003etelephone\u003c/code\u003e, and \u003ccode\u003eaction_link\u003c/code\u003e, while fields like \u003ccode\u003ecategory\u003c/code\u003e are nice-to-have and \u003ccode\u003ebrand_id\u003c/code\u003e is optional, with all other fields in the reference section being ignored.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eFeed files should be kept under 200MB (after compression using gzip), and for larger datasets, you can split them into multiple shards; additionally, each file should be uploaded with a unique name that may include a timestamp.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eUpload the feed files to Google's SFTP server at \u003ccode\u003esftp://partnerupload.google.com\u003c/code\u003e on port \u003ccode\u003e19321\u003c/code\u003e using the provided server information and your private key.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAfter uploading, Google will process and evaluate your feeds based on specifications, required fields, the presence of \u003ccode\u003eaction_link\u003c/code\u003e information, and matching with Google Maps locations.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Begin by generating your Merchant feed, which is required, and optionally a Services feed. Upload the feeds in JSON format to your SFTP dropbox using unique file names, ensuring files are under 200MB (compressed) or sharded. Include feed metadata with `PROCESS_AS_COMPLETE`. Required Merchant feed fields include `merchant_id`, `name`, `geo`, `telephone`, and `action_link`. Upload a complete Merchant feed daily. Google then evaluates uploaded feeds, checking for specification adherence, required fields, action links, and data accuracy.\n"],null,[]]