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Merchant Listings

Last updated: Apr 17, 2023

https://cmlabs.co/en-sg/seo-terms/merchant-listings

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What are Merchant Listings?

Merchant listings are a feature provided by Google for online business website managers through Google Merchant, better known as the Merchant Center.

In September 2022, Google announced the development of this feature to improve the quality of the product experience, which was previously only available to Merchant Center users in search activity.

The listing report is also made easier with updated documentation that can be done in Google Search Console.

To make it more accessible to business website owners, Google is expanding the eligibility of websites that use structured data.

There are two kinds of categories for product experience that are introduced here, namely:

Merchant listing experiences: this section is intended for website pages that help buyers complete transactions for a product or service.
Product snippet: used for a group of website pages that include extensive product information, such as product pages, reviews, and other related information.

Prior to this update, the product snippet feature was supported by the product schema, while merchant listing experiences were supported by product details from the Google Merchant Center feed.

But now, business owners can qualify for merchant listing experiences simply by providing product data on their website without needing to create a Google Merchant Center account.

Merchant Listings Report for Website Owners

To provide business owners with comprehensive reports based on this new experience, the structured data is transformed into two reports, namely merchant listings and product snippets.

Both reports can be seen in the Shopping section of the Google Search Console navigation menu area.

The existence of this comprehensive report can help business website owners see errors and warnings on several product pages.

In addition, business owners can also see valid pages for schema markup that has been implemented on the website.

The data that can be seen in the Google Search Console is divided into reports for merchant listings and product snippets.

In the listing report, business owners can identify issues based on the structured data, sales page relevance, and property ranges and product data schemas used to define clothing sizes and ratings.

For business owners, it's important to check the listing report to see if the website page includes the correct product information.

Product Page Optimization Strategy with Merchant Listings

As is the case with SEO strategies in general, your business website's product pages also need to be optimized by considering in the listing.

Here are some ways you can optimally increase product page visibility:

1. Providing Product Data

The first step that business website owners can take to be deemed worthy of inclusion in merchant listings is to provide product data.

Make sure to prepare structured data on website pages or Google Merchant Center feeds. It would be better if you provided the data on both platforms.

To make it more practical, you can add structured data to the Merchant Center auto feed, which is automatically generated from on-page content. This can help Google understand the products you offer.

2. Add Pricing Data

Product pages need to present comprehensive information. For that, make sure the product price data is stated clearly.

Adding pricing data or product prices is complex due to the many options supported by Google.

The first step that can be taken in this case is to choose the type of pricing that will be used by the website and supported by Google.

Be sure to read Google's documentation on pricing models to see what types are supported.

After selecting the pricing type, you can simplify the data that will be submitted to Google so it can be communicated easily to consumers.

At this stage, also specify information about the fee for shipping or delivery of goods that has an impact on the overall price.

Don't forget to simplify information around shipping costs and ensure that the practices you apply comply with Google's requirements.

3. Provides Product Identifier

After providing product data and prices, you need to provide the identifier of the product itself.

The identifier here includes the brand name, product, and GTIN number. The more information that is included, the more optimized your product page will be in Google's eyes.

If product information has been entered, check the report in the Merchant Center on Google Search Console to see if there are errors or warnings related to that data.