Product feed vs rich content: what Google Shopping really expects

Having a good product flow is essential. But today, that is no longer enough. If you rely on Google Shopping to generate traffic and sell, you should also think about “rich content”. Why? Because Google is no longer content with reading your feed: it also analyzes your product pages, your structured data, your customer reviews... In short, anything that helps him better understand what you're selling.

In this article, we explain what Google really expects — and how to optimize your campaigns by combining product feeds and rich content.

Product flow: the basis of the game

The product feed is your ticket to appear on Google Shopping. It contains all the essential information about your products, such as:

Product identifiers (id, gtin, mpn...)
Titles and descriptions (clear, informative, not too long)
Images (pro, clean, no text on the image)
Price, availability and up-to-date product links
Categories compliant with the official Google taxonomy

A good feed allows Google to correctly display your products in the Shopping tab, on YouTube, Discover, or even Gmail (via Performance Max). But this flow must also be structured, coherent and precise. Without it, you're limiting your distribution.

Rich content: what makes the difference

A quick reminder: Schema.org, it's a standard vocabulary supported by Google and other search engines. It allows you to clearly indicate to Google what your page contains (product, price, stock, reviews...), thanks to structured data tags directly integrated into the HTML code.

Rich content is all the data that comes from complete your feed, and that Google will read directly on your product pages thanks to Schema.org structured data.

Among the most important:

Les customer reviews
Les delivery information (deadlines, methods, costs)
La availability In stock
Les features : color, size, material, use, compatibility...

Result: your products may appear with Rich Snippets in the search results, with more information visible from the preview. It reassures the user and boosts the click rate.

Google can also use this information in more visual experiences (like Google Lens) or product carousels. In short: the more enriched your content is, the more you exist in its ecosystem.

Do we really need to combine the two? (Spoiler: yes)

Yes, and Google says it itself: the combination of product flow and rich data is the best strategy. Why? Because:

Elle Increase your coverage on the various Google surfaces
Elle reduces inconsistencies between flow and site
Elle improves the user experience and the understanding of your pages
Elle contributes to SEO thanks to structured data

And above all, it sends positive signals to Google about trustworthiness of your data. This can impact the quality of delivery of your ads (and therefore your performance).

5 concrete tips to do the right thing

Check the consistency between your feed and your product pages : same price, same stock, same visuals.
Add standardized identifiers (GTIN, MY). Google loves that.
Update your data daily, especially if you have a lot of breakups or promos.
Implement structured data correctly, and test them with the tool from Rich Results test.
Monitor Merchant Center reports to quickly correct errors and alerts.

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*****

Google Shopping is becoming more and more demanding. It is no longer enough to have a clean flow: you also need to enrich your pages with structured content, designed for algorithms (and users).

👉 By combining these two levers, you:

increase your chances of appearing,
improve your clicks,
maximize your conversions.

And if you are looking for a solution to automate all of this — from enriching the flow to the contextualization of the pages — Dataïads can help you.