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Automatic item updates

Automatic item updates is a Merchant Center feature that corrects a product's price, availability or condition to match its page on your website.

How it works

Google reads the product’s landing page, using the page’s structured data markup and Google’s own data extractors, and compares it with the data you submitted. When the page and the feed disagree, Merchant Center updates its copy of the product with the page’s value. You switch updates for price, availability and condition on or off separately, and each is on by default. Google asks for structured data on the site before you turn the updates on.

Google overwrites availability when the page shows the product out of stock. A separate option updates products that the page shows back in stock. With item updates off, products whose data disagrees with the page aren’t shown.

To fix the prices in your feed, see price mismatch disapprovals. For stock data, see availability in Merchant Center.

Where you see it

  • Merchant Center: the account’s automatic item updates settings.
  • Merchant API: the itemUpdates settings in the automaticImprovements resource of the Accounts sub-API.

Example

Example store, not client data.

The tableware shop sends its feed once a night. At 10:00 the last dinner set sells, and the product page switches to out of stock. The feed still says in stock until the next night. With availability updates on, Google can mark the set out of stock once it crawls the page, instead of advertising a product nobody can buy for the rest of the day.

Not to be confused with

  • Autofeed — Google adds whole products from the site. Item updates only correct three attributes of products you have already submitted.
  • Attribute rules — your own changes to feed data. They follow fixed instructions and never read the site.

Right and wrong readings

  • Wrong: “With item updates on, it’s fine if the feed’s prices and stock lag behind the site.” Right: the updates depend on crawling, and Google does not guarantee how long a change on the site takes to be processed. For sites whose data changes often, Google recommends uploading feeds regularly or using the API for immediate updates such as stock levels.

Sources