Google’s Merchant Data Update Explained

Google has introduced new updates to its Merchant Listing structured data guidelines, giving online retailers more ways to provide accurate product information directly through their website markup.

The latest changes include a new Category property for products and additional guidance on using structured data to show how long promotional prices are active. These updates aim to improve how Google understands product details and displays shopping information in search results.

New Category property added for products

One of the biggest changes is the introduction of the new Category property within Product structured data.

Although the property is not currently required, Google recommends merchants use it because it provides a clearer way to classify products within website markup.

Previously, merchants mainly relied on product feed attributes submitted through Google Merchant Center to define categories. The new property allows businesses to include this information directly within their webpage structured data, helping create better alignment between website content and product feeds.

How the Category property works

The new Category property supports two different formats:

Plain text categories

Merchants can use simple text descriptions to define their own product categories, similar to the existing product_type attribute used in product feeds.

For example, a retailer could label a product using a custom category such as:

Women’s Dresses
Outdoor Furniture
Running Shoes

Google recommends keeping custom category names within its recommended character limit to ensure they are processed correctly.

Google Product Category (GPC)

Merchants can also use a CategoryCode object to connect products directly with Google’s own product classification system.

This allows retailers to provide a recognised Google Product Category (GPC) using either:

A numeric category ID
A full category path

For example, a clothing retailer could specify a category such as:

Apparel & Accessories > Clothing > Dresses

By adding GPC information directly into structured data, merchants can ensure their website markup matches the product categories already provided through their Merchant Center feeds.

New structured data guidance for sale periods

Google has also expanded its Merchant Listing documentation with clearer instructions on showing when promotional prices begin and end.

The update introduces additional guidance around three structured data properties:

priceValidUntil
validFrom
validThrough

These properties allow merchants to communicate the exact timeframe of a sale price, helping Google display more accurate pricing information in search results.

Improving sale price accuracy

The new sale duration guidance helps prevent outdated promotions from appearing after they have expired.

For example, retailers can specify:

When a discounted price becomes active
When the offer ends
When the displayed price is no longer valid

Google recommends including both a start date and an end date using the ISO 8601 date format, which helps search systems correctly interpret the timing of promotions.

Where merchants should add sale information

The sale duration properties can be added in different areas of structured data depending on how pricing information is organised.

Merchants can include these details within:

The Offer section, when the current sale price is directly listed there
The PriceSpecification section, when the promotional price is defined through a separate pricing structure

Providing accurate dates and times helps Google understand exactly when an offer applies and reduces the risk of incorrect pricing information appearing in search results.

Why the update matters for merchants

These structured data improvements give retailers greater control over how Google understands their products.

The new Category property creates stronger consistency between website markup and Merchant Center product feeds, while the sale duration updates allow businesses to communicate promotional pricing more accurately.

Previously, much of this information depended heavily on product feeds. These updates provide merchants with a page-level method of sharing important product details directly through structured data.

Better product visibility in search

For online retailers, accurate structured data plays an important role in helping products appear correctly across Google Search features.

By adding clearer category information and accurate promotional dates, merchants can improve the quality of product data available to Google, potentially supporting better visibility and a stronger shopping experience for customers.

As Google continues to improve its understanding of product information, keeping structured data accurate and up to date will remain an important part of ecommerce SEO strategies.