CSS Center product change log

1. Policy update: Streamlining CSS Policies

   February 2024

   To improve clarity, CSS participation policies are being streamlined. The following requirements are now consolidated for CSSs: Minimum Requirements: These now include compliance with modified versions of Shopping ads and free listings policies. See the updated minimum requirements document for full details. Shopping ads and free listings policies: Minor wording adjustments have been made to these policies to reduce confusion for CSSs (e.g., replacing "merchant" with broader terminology). Review the updated policies for specific changes. CSS product data specifications and CSS product page req…

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2. New beta: Drive organic traffic directly to your CSS website for shopping-related queries.

   New features now available on CSS Center to help you manage this experience!

   The CSS program is extended and now includes new opportunities that allow you to show your CSS product pages to customers searching for products across Google. Learn more about CSS program opportunities. Sign up to have your CSS product pages show prominently in some of the organic search results for shopping-related customer queries across Google. We've begun ramping up experiments for our new visual shopping experiences in a subset of countries (currently in Czechia, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom) and we plan to continue to roll out this experience in additional countries following…

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3. New performance metrics in CSS Center

   March 1, 2023

   New performance reporting metrics are available in CSS Center. You can now view impressions and average click through rate on the “Performance” page in addition to aggregated ad clicks over the last 30 days. Learn more about the Performance page in CSS Center.

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4. Upload your logo to CSS Center

   March 1, 2023

   You can now upload your CSS logo directly in CSS Center without creating a request for the support team. Learn how to Upload a logo to CSS Center.

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5. Opportunities report in CSS Center

   November 9, 2022

   The "Opportunities" report presents an aggregated list of possible fixes that a CSS can initiate to increase the performance of product listings. For each opportunity, the report shows an estimated number of how much clicks will increase if the issue is fixed. This allows CSSs to assess the impact before fixing an issue. Learn more about the Opportunities page

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6. Automated account switching

   January 14, 2022

   This automated account switching feature in CSS Center lets you initiate a request to switch an existing Merchant Center account from a different CSS to your CSS. You can specify if you want to associate the account directly with your CSS, or place the account under a specific MCA that is associated with your CSS. Learn more about automated account switching

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7. Update to user management in CSS Center

   December 2021

   You can now change access requirements for all Merchant Center (MC) accounts associated with a particular CSS in a single step. If you are an admin for a CSS domain account or a CSS group in the Comparison Shopping Service (CSS) Center, you can increase access requirements, reduce access requirements, or stop requiring access for MC accounts associated with your CSS domain through CSS support services.

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8. Column customizer now available on the Merchant Center accounts page

   Feb. 4th, 2021

   New functionality to allow customizing columns on the Merchant Center accounts page is now available for you in the CSS Center. You can create and save your own view on the accounts table by selecting and ordering the columns you would like to see. The custom views work in the same way as the saved filters already present on this page, it's linked to the account and also to the user.

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9. New reporting pages

   Jan. 27th, 2021

   New account and item diagnostics pages on CSS domain level are now available for you in the CSS Center. You now have a central place to see aggregate information about account and item status (for example, disapprovals) including specific issues across your associated merchant accounts. Note that specific issues are only shown for accounts that have enabled access for your CSS in Merchant Center. Learn more about reports in Comparison Shopping Service Center

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10. Auto labels and new filtering options on accounts page

    Nov. 19th, 2020

    Auto labels are now available, providing the users with actionable insights on their merchant accounts and also giving the possibility to easily prioritize accounts and filter views in CSS Center at the CSS Domain level. For example, the users can now view their top 10 or all inactive accounts. In addition, new filtering options on accounts page on CSS domain level are now available where you can filter your accounts by additional dimensions, including account status, account selection for surfaces across Google, and automatic labels to better manage and prioritize your accounts.

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11. New Account History page

    Oct. 23rd, 2020

    New Account History page is now available for you on the Comparison Shopping Service (CSS) Center showing the specific history of merchant accounts in terms of opt-in/opt-out, suspensions, and added/removed accounts. The new Account History page can be found under the new Reports menu. You can also find Account History information on the redesigned Overview page. Learn more about reports in Comparison Shopping Service Center

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12. New Content API functionalities

    Aug. 18th, 2020

    New Content API functionality is available for you to add and manage account labels on the Comparison Shopping Service (CSS) Center. In addition, you can now list all of the associated Merchant Center accounts to your CSS domain via the Content API. Learn more about CSS label management

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