How can I get access to ALL 'required' information?

[Amber Linz]

Hi there!

I'm wondering if you can help me? I'm looking to integrate with Google Shopping's API to gain access to existing brands data. I want to be able to access information such as an item's price, description, link, image, color, gender, material, pattern and size. 

I understand that when brands integrate with Google Shopping's API, there is some information that is required and others that are optional. However, after a quick search of well-known brands, I realised there's some discrepancy over what information users can see (as shown in the screenshots below). All companies include their brand name, product name and image but some include more information and others don't (even though more information is 'required' as per Google Shopping's API standards).

My question is: if I integrated with Google Shopping's API, would I be able to gain access to ALL information that a brand is required to input (ID, title, description, link, image link, availability... etc)? Or am I (as an everyday user) seeing the same information that I would see if I integrated with Google Shopping's API?

Thanks!

Amber

[Shopping API Forum Advisor]

Hello Amber,

I’m James from the Content API support team. Thank you for raising your concern to us.

Can you please confirm if those products that were being displayed in the given screenshot are uploaded within the Content API feed in your merchant account? I asked this because only the product data (both required and optional) that was uploaded within the Content API feed can be retrieved using the Content API for Shopping tool. 

Take note that the Content API for Shopping tool allows you to manage your inventory within your merchant account, but cannot be used to retrieve those information within the view that you have shared within those screenshots.

Having said that, if those products are indeed uploaded within your merchant account, then from the Content API’s perspective, you can use the products.get method that allows you to get information of a specific product (this includes both optional and required attributes) within the Content API feed in your merchant account. You may also use the products.list method that allows you to retrieve the list of all products including its data (optional and required attribute) uploaded within your Content API feed.

On the other hand, you may refer here to see what are the product resources or attributes that can be retrieved via Content API.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

Regards,

James Howell Content API for Shopping Team

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[Amber Linz]

Hey James! Thanks so much for the speedy reply!

I think I might have been unclear in my initial message 😌 sorry! I don't have a merchant account at the moment. Those screenshots were taken from the perspective of a user who's simply searching Google Shopping. 

I am in the process of launching a new site that should enable users to start typing a brand name eg 'Adidas' and then the product name eg 'Forum Low Shoes'. Those fields should autofill on my platform and pull all the information associated with that product from Google Shopping (description, price, availability etc). So, to be clear, I am not a merchant that is inputting data into the Content API, but rather I want to pull the existing data from the API. 

As I understand it, there are certain fields that are required by brands according to Google Shopping's API standards eg price, availability, description etc. However, although those fields are required of brands, there's a lot of discrepancy about what information is shown to an ordinary user. In all cases, the brand's name, product name and image is shown, but sometimes there's more information eg description and other times not (which is what those screenshots in the previous message show).

My question is: if I integrated with Google Shopping's API (not as a brand, just as a company that wants to utilise Google Shopping's info), would I be able to see all required information that brands must input when they integrate with the content API or will I only be able to see what a regular user can see (as per screenshots)?

Thanks!

Amber

[Shopping API Forum Advisor]

Hi Amber,

The Content API is used to managed the products in the Merchant Center. You can retrieve the information from a Merchant Center account only if that merchant gives you access. You will be able to retrieve all the product information in a given Merchant Center account using Products.list call (not by brand but with Merchant Center id). For more information regarding discrepancy scenarios, please contact the Merchant Center team and Google Ads team. The Content API scope is Merchant Center.

https://developers.google.com/shopping-content/guides/products/products-api#productslist

Google Ads help https://support.google.com/google-ads/gethelp

How to contact the Merchant Center team:  Via 'Help center and support' option under the 'Help' button. You will get the 'Help' button in the upper right hand corner of the Merchant Center account dashboard.

Thanks,

Lakshmi

Content API for Shopping Team

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