Merchants who sell products with a Global Trade Item Numbers (GTIN) must make sure that GTINs are added to their data feed by May 16, 2016.

The deadline was set in order to improve the Google Shopping experience. The result? Better product data, improved user experiences and more productive online ad campaigns.

Columnist and Googler Matt Lawson explains to Search Engine Land why you need to take GTINs seriously – and why it makes things better. “Providing Google with the correct GTIN for a product in your feed can increase the conversion rate for that product by up to 20%(based on an internal analysis of advertisers who have already added GTINs),” says Lawson, Director of Performance Ads Marketing for Google.

Read more here:

• View the full article
• Learn more about GS1 and omni-channel commerce
• Need a GS1 barcode?