Your feed serving URL (CSV and XML)
Reference for the stable feed URL /tools gives each store, covering the CSV and XML variants, what Google Merchant Center fetches and how often, and how to keep the URL private and stable.
After enrichment, each store gets one stable feed URL that Google Merchant Center fetches on a schedule. The same feed is available as CSV or XML, so pick whichever your Merchant Center feed setup expects. The URL serves your enriched data as a supplemental layer over your source catalogue, so your store data is never overwritten. Keep the URL private: anyone with it can read your feed.
What the feed URL is
Once you've run enrichment, /tools gives each store a single stable feed URL. This is the address you hand to Google Merchant Center as a scheduled fetch. Google visits the URL on its schedule, downloads your feed, and updates your Shopping products from it.
You set this URL in Merchant Center once. It doesn't change when you re-enrich, resync, or edit products: the address stays fixed for the life of the store, and the data behind it updates.
CSV and XML variants
The same feed is served in two formats. They contain identical enriched data; the only difference is the file format Merchant Center parses.
| Variant | Use it when |
|---|---|
| CSV | Your Merchant Center feed is configured as a delimited-text scheduled fetch, or you want to open the feed in a spreadsheet to inspect it |
| XML | Your Merchant Center feed is configured as an XML scheduled fetch (the most common setup for Shopping feeds) |
Pick whichever matches the feed type you selected in Merchant Center. If you're unsure, XML is the conventional choice for a Shopping product feed, but there's no advantage in the data either way.
What Google fetches, and how often
Google fetches on the schedule you configure in Merchant Center: most merchants set a daily fetch. On each fetch:
- Google requests your feed URL.
- /tools serves your latest enriched feed at that moment.
- Merchant Center reconciles the result against your existing products and updates them.
The freshness Google sees is therefore set by your Merchant Center fetch frequency, not by how often you enrich. If your store's prices or stock move quickly, a more frequent fetch keeps Google closer to reality and reduces price/availability mismatches: a common disapproval cause covered in Fixing disapproved products.
Deep dive Enriched data is a supplemental layer
The feed at your URL is not a rewrite of your store: it's your source catalogue with an enrichment layer applied on top, resolved at serve time.
- Your source data is read, never overwritten. Whether your catalogue comes from a Shopify connection or a feed URL, /tools reads it and keeps it as the base. Enriched fields (better titles, filled GTINs, correct Google Product Categories, normalised colour, and so on) are held separately and layered over that base when the feed is served. Your Shopify products are untouched; see Connect a Shopify store.
- The served feed is always the merged result. When Google fetches, it receives the combined view: your original fields plus every enrichment that applies. You never manage two feeds: there's one URL, and it always reflects the current merged state.
- Re-enriching updates the layer, not the address. Improving your feed changes what's served at the URL, but the URL itself is constant. This is why you configure Merchant Center once and leave it.
- A lapsed subscription stops the serve. If the store's subscription lapses, the URL stops returning your feed and Google's fetch fails: see Subscription and billing. Reactivating restores the exact same URL and data.
Keeping the URL private and stable
Your feed URL is unguessable, but it isn't authenticated: anyone who has the link can read your feed. Treat it like a credential:
- Only paste it into Merchant Center's feed settings. Don't post it in shared docs, tickets, or anywhere public.
- Don't hard-code it into third-party tools unless you trust them with your full product data.
- You don't need to rotate it. The URL is designed to be stable so Merchant Center never loses its source; there's no routine reason to change it.
If the URL is ever fetching an error rather than your feed, that's a serving problem to diagnose: start with Common sync errors.
Frequently asked questions
Should I give Merchant Center the CSV or the XML URL?
Either works, since they carry the same enriched data. Use whichever matches how you're adding the feed in Merchant Center; if you're setting up a scheduled fetch fresh, XML is the most common choice for Shopping feeds, but CSV is equally valid.
Does the URL change when I re-enrich?
No. The feed URL is stable for the life of the store. New enrichment runs update the data served at that same URL, so you set it in Merchant Center once and never touch it again.
Can I put this URL on the public web?
No. Treat it like a password: anyone with the link can read your full product feed. Only paste it into your Merchant Center feed settings.
How fresh is the data Google sees?
Google fetches on the schedule you set in Merchant Center (typically daily). Each fetch returns your latest enriched feed, so the freshness Google sees is governed by that fetch cadence.