How to Use Google Merchant Center Attribute Rules: A Step-By-Step Guide

If you’re looking for a way to update your product feed without directly modifying your feed, you’ve come to the right place. 

Attribute Rules in Google Merchant Center Next (GMC) are an often-overlooked tool for dynamically updating product feeds without touching the feed itself.

In this guide, I’ll walk through what Attribute Rules in GMC are, how they work, and when to use them effectively.

What Are Google Merchant Center Attribute Rules?

Attribute Rules are a set of conditional rules that allow you to adjust or add product attributes (like custom_label, product_type, brand, etc.) right in GMC. These rules apply after the feed is uploaded, allowing changes to be made without modifying your source file or feed integration.

Think of them like the “Find and Replace” tool in Excel, only smarter.

What Can You Use Attribute Rules For?

Attribute Rules are great for:

• Adding custom labels for campaign segmentation (ex, tagging discounted items, bestsellers, or high-margin products)
• Correcting or enhancing data from incomplete or inconsistent feeds (ex, standardizing capitalization, or adding in brand names)
• Mapping categories or consolidating product types (ex, mapping all mentions of "Tees" in a product title to "T-Shirts")

How Do Attribute Rules Work?

Attribute Rules use if/then logic to evaluate and adjust product data. Here’s how it works:

Within GMC, navigate to Settings> Data sources > select the feed name > Attribute rules > Add attribute rule

1. Choose the target attribute you want to modify (ex, custom_label_0, brand, or product_type).
   
2. Define conditions that trigger the rule (ex, if the product title contains “clearance”). You can do this multiple times using the “or” option to apply additional logic.
   
3. Set the resulting value (ex, then set custom_label_0 to “Clearance”).
   
4. Preview the rule to see how it impacts your products.
   
5. Apply the rule, and it will retroactively update applicable items within the Merchant Center.

You can also chain rules together to apply multiple adjustments in order, allowing for more complex logic.

When to Use Attribute Rules

Feed attribute rules can be helpful for many use cases, but it's important to understand when they’re appropriate to use. In general, attribute rules are best suited for minor or temporary updates to your product data. 

If you're planning to make large-scale or long-term changes that affect a significant number of SKUs, it's better to update the feed directly to ensure consistency and maintain feed hygiene.

When You Should Use Attribute Rules:

When You Should Update the Feed Instead

My general rule of thumb is, if it’s a short-term or temporary change, use an attribute rule. If it’s a long-term change, update the feed itself. However, I understand that not all retailers have the systems in place to manage some of these changes, and in those cases, you may need to rely on attribute rules more often.

Pro Tips for Using Attribute Rules Effectively

• Always preview changes before applying, especially when using broad conditions
  
• Name your rules clearly (ex, “Label Premium Products by Price”) so they’re easy to manage
  
• Audit regularly because layers of rules can become confusing or outdated
  
• Use sparingly since they’re best for tactical, not foundational, data management

Final Thoughts

Attribute Rules in Google Merchant Center are a useful tool that lets you react quickly to changing product feeds to properly structure your campaigns without needing help from a developer to update a feed. But with great power comes great responsibility; use them strategically and know when it’s time to go back to the feed.

Want help creating rules that work for your Shopping campaigns? Contact us – our ecommerce team is here to help!